{"id":161386,"date":"2025-09-17T13:57:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=161386"},"modified":"2025-09-17T13:57:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:57:18","slug":"2025-outstanding-unit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2025\/09\/17\/2025-outstanding-unit\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Outstanding Unit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rachel Schwab, left, coordinator; Theresa Haghnazarian, director; and Bethany DeLong, associate director, have reimagined how the College of Health, Education and Human Services Enrollment and Retention Team engages with future students and supports them on the path to graduation. (Photo by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

Fueled by creativity, collaboration and a student-first focus, Wright State University\u2019s College of Health, Education and Human Services<\/a> Enrollment and Retention Team has reimagined how it engages with future students and supports them on the path to graduation.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s innovative work has boosted enrollment, strengthened student support and built a vibrant community \u2014 earning them Wright State University\u2019s 2025 Outstanding Unit Award.<\/p>\n

Over the past three years, the team \u2014 Theresa Haghnazarian, director; Bethany DeLong, associate director; and Rachel Schwab, coordinator \u2014 has transformed the college\u2019s recruitment and retention efforts into a coordinated and personalized operation.<\/p>\n

The results speak for themselves: fall 2024 enrollment in the college rose 9% over the previous year and fall 2025 numbers are tracking 6.7% higher than the same time last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Enrollment and Retention Team\u2019s primary objective is to support students through their Wright State journey, from recruitment through graduation,\u201d Schwab said. \u201cIn my time with this team, I have seen the college transform from the remnants of two separate units into a cohesive college with a clear mission and vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

From large-scale events like Future Teachers Day and the Wright State and Premier Health Nursing and Health Careers Camp to specialized Aviation Visit Days and nursing lab tours, the team delivers successful recruitment experiences.<\/p>\n

The team organizes some of Wright State\u2019s most successful recruitment events, including Future Teachers Day, the Wright State and Premier Health Nursing and Health Careers Camp, Aviation Visit Days and Nursing Lab Tours. These events routinely attract hundreds of prospective students and boast impressive yield rates. Wright State\u2019s Admissions team even cited the Nursing Lab Tours as the model for program-specific campus visits.<\/p>\n

The Enrollment and Retention Team\u2019s work doesn\u2019t stop at recruitment. The team plays a vital role in student success, managing education and nursing program applications, overseeing the Dean\u2019s Student Advisory Board and Dean\u2019s Scholars and supporting retention-focused programming. Events like CHEH Kick Off, Cards for Kids, Donuts with the Dean and Trivia Night foster a sense of belonging and strengthen the student experience.<\/p>\n

The team also supports the Premier Health Wright State Nursing Academy, which provides scholarship funds and workforce opportunities at Premier Health sites for nursing students.<\/p>\n

One of the team\u2019s most meaningful initiatives grew out of the annual Trivia Night fundraiser: the creation of a Student Emergency Fund, which provides one-time financial support to students facing unexpected hardships, helping them stay on track toward graduation. In 2023, the college\u2019s persistence rate reached 76.4%, surpassing the university average, a testament to the team\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a collaborative, student-first focus, the College of Health, Education and Human Services Enrollment and Retention Team has reimagined how it engages with future students and supports them on the path to graduation. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":161497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,724,2048,711,744,725,715,2402,2024],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-awards","category-enrollment-management","category-faculty-staff","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-presidents-awards-for-excellence","category-staff","series-2025-staff-awards-for-excellence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161386"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161595,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161386\/revisions\/161595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}