“We want to encourage freshmen who are accomplishing good things,” says Jeffrey Scruggs, a member of the Maxwell School Advisory Board as well as an SU trustee. Providing consistent support through senior year, he said, “is a way of having a lasting impression—rather than giving a one-time award that doesn’t necessarily encourage someone to stay for the balance of their education.”

Improving student retention is a critical issue across higher education. Nationally, about a third of first-year students don’t return for sophomore year, due to factors including a lack of preparedness, inadequate support, and concerns about costs and loan debt. While retention rates are much higher at the most selective colleges, the same pressures apply, and top students may be tempted to transfer to other institutions for lower costs. By supporting standout freshmen, the Scruggs scholarship makes an important contribution to efforts at Maxwell—and SU as a whole—to make sure students have the resources to stay on track, says Maxwell Dean David Van Slyke.

“In addition to academics and social support, one of the factors that influences a student’s decision to stay is whether their hard work is being recognized—and of course whether they can afford to continue,” he says. Once a student makes it through year one, continuation becomes less precarious. “Research shows that students who experience success and come back for their second year are highly likely both to stay and to graduate in four years,” Van Slyke explains.

The costs of a private education—not just for tuition and campus living but internships, study abroad, and other opportunities—may particularly impact students from diverse racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. So student-retention strategies also help foster diversity in the campus community.

“What’s important to me is that we have students who really reflect the diversity of our nation and the world,” says Van Slyke. “We want them to come to Syracuse University and the Maxwell School and experience academic success, and also find lots of other support systems that help each student be successful as a whole person and as a future potential leader.”

For Toluwanimi Fajolu, as she plans her academic path for sophomore year and beyond, receiving the Scruggs scholarship is making a real difference. “When I got the news, I was ecstatic because it reduced the financial load on my parents,” she says. “As a student, it also reduces the stress of college and allows me to focus on my academics.”

By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

This article appeared in the spring 2020 print edition of Maxwell Perspective © Maxwell School of Syracuse University.