Marshall University’s Week of Welcome is a campus wide initiative that orients freshmen with the campus community and has correlated with a rise in freshmen retention rates since it began in 2010.

Dr. Sherri Stepp, director of University College and co-chair of the WOW committee, said that when WOW began in fall 2010, Marshall’s freshmen retention rate was around 69 percent. Five years later, the 2015-2016 school year saw a retention rate of roughly 75 percent.

According to a 2015 study by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the national freshmen retention rate was 68.7 percent. Marshall is now above the national average and, although WOW does not take all the credit, Stepp said she believes it has played a role.

“WOW is a campus wide collaboration,” Stepp said. WOW is primarily funded by Academic Affairs. “It takes a village,” she added with a smile.

The classroom facilitators that teach the UNI 100 class during WOW are all staff volunteers from across campus.

“We couldn’t do it without our facilitators,” Stepp said. “They’re going above and beyond their regular job duties. It’s a lot work, but they’re willing to take the time to mentor freshmen.

Jacob Kirkendoll is a freshman studying electrical engineering at Marshall who found the WOW experience beneficial.

“It was really comfortable getting to know all the places on campus and opportunities that we could have while we’re here,” Jacob said. “[Marshall University] is about everyone.”

Sebastian Morris can be contacted at [email protected].