With a $2.2 million federal grant in tow, McNeese State University is beefing up its services for freshman and sophomore students.

“The Cowboy Way: McNeese’s First Year Experience” will be a “robust, holistic” support program for McNeese students during their first years of college. Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Kendrick Nicholas called it a “vibrant student affairs program contributes to retention, persistence and ultimately the academic success” of McNeese students at a news conference on Tuesday.

One of the hardest transitions for college students is freshman year to sophomore year, with national statistics showing that just over 30 percent of first-year students are retained, he said. Cowboy Way provides resources, tutoring, peer support, experiences — during this critical time to boost retention and graduation rates.

“For students to be truly successful in the realm of higher education, it requires touch points from many different directions,” he said. “This grant and what it will do for our collegiate experiences of first-generation students represents a collective effort to do what is best at McNeese … and that is change the lives of our students and prepare them to be productive and contributing citizens beyond college.”

The funding is from a Title III grant award is from the United States Department of Education. The grant submitted was written by Director of Grants Development and Compliance Tammie Mayo and Director of Medical Laboratory Science Program Sonya Hidalgo.

Mayo said Cowboy Way is fulfilling one of six “vision themes” that were established during a 2022 conference: creating an all-encompassing, multi-faceted holistic approach to support student growth and development.

With the funding, McNeese will hire additional faculty members and tutors to better support students, said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Buckles.

McNeese will create an assistant director of student success and retention position, who will serve as a “case manager” to help students navigate their new life chapter, and connect them to services like tutoring and counseling. The college will also hire a director of First Year Experience (FYE) to run planned experiences for freshmen, like orientation and Cowboy Way.

This director will hire student mentors — upperclassmen who will work closely with cohorts consisting of up to 30 students, providing them with experience, guidance, studying, event planning and recreational group activities — for the mentorship program.

“That student mentor will be a resource on the ground for our incoming students,” he said.

Through the funding, the college will also provide additional tutors and graduate assistants for the Write to Excellence Center and the ACLC Center for Math and Science. Freshman and sophomore math and English courses are “gateway” classes, he said, as students who pass them are 20 percent more likely to complete their degree.

The “amplified operations” will give the confidence and momentum they need to graduate, Nicholas said.

“The first year of collegiate math and English, for some students, may not be difficult. But for other students, failure in these courses can mean stagnated progression in the degree plan, which often leads to them dropping out.”

“The goal is to really create a solid foundations for these first-time students to persevere,” Mayo said.

Cowboy Way resources will be housed in the new Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS), which also houses the Write to Excellence Center, the ACLC Center for Math and Science, the computer lab and tutoring services. Several services were moved to a central location – the Lether E. Frazar Memorial Library – at the end of the Spring 2024 semester and the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester to create a more synergetic approach to student services.

The grant will fund this program for five years.