University-wide ‘Roar and Soar’ campaign supports students throughout first semester

When Destiny Patton came to RIT last year, she felt like she needed extra help finding the resources to succeed. Patton found that she wasn’t alone.

To help students connect more effectively with university resources, RIT’s Roar and Soar campaign shares ways that students can actively engage in classes and events to get the most out of their academic journeys, while striving to continually improve RIT student retention. 

Last year, College of Science used Roar and Soar messaging to help students connect with academic advisers and faculty and staff members who reinforce the available resources and behaviors essential to success. In addition to resources and advice, the Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences first-year experience program—called FirstByte—features events and activities, such as a carnival and panel discussions, to foster a sense of belonging within the college. This year, Roar and Soar is rolling out to more colleges across campus.

Roar and Soar messaging in the first few weeks of the semester includes important reminders for students to regularly check their email, find classrooms prior to the first day of classes, review syllabi, make to-do lists, and attend club meetings. As the semester progresses, messaging will include reminders to meet with advisers, to find study groups, and to take advantage of stress-relieving activities, for example.

Student retention remains a concern in higher education as universities struggle with declining persistence rates exacerbated by the pandemic. According to a 2024 Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education Study, 35 percent of college students report that they have considered leaving their program in the past six months.

RIT’s retention programs are geared toward fostering resilience, normalizing challenges, creating a sense of social belonging, and engaging first-year students in events and activities that quickly connect them with critical resources, new friends, and faculty and staff members.

Now in her second year at RIT, Patton, a human-centered computing major from Birmingham, Ala., is a student ambassador for her college’s retention program. She hopes to connect with other underrepresented out-of-state students who may be feeling disconnected.

“I hope to reassure people that they have a space here and they too can make it through,” added Patton.