Northern Illinois University

Office of Retention Programs

Students on bridge

About Us

The Office of Retention Programs (ORP) was established in the fall of 1999 as an initiative of the associate provost. Its mission is to be instrumental in developing, coordinating, and implementing programs and services to assist students with successful degree completion. The Office of Retention Programs fosters interaction among students, faculty, and staff to provide the academic and personal support necessary for students to graduate.

Our goals are to collaborate with students, faculty and staff to identify obstacles to graduation and develop programs and/or services to assist student in obtaining their degree. We meet with individual students identified through our Early Alert Program and other outreach initiatives and assist them in identifying options and/or solutions to their concerns.

The Office of Retention Programs works closely with the offices of Institutional Research, Registration and Records, Testing Services, and Admissions, as well as, college offices, academic departments, and student services offices.