By ALLYSON COOK
Reporter

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — UCM will welcome one of its own as the new assistant vice provost for enrollment management.

Karen Goos, who earned her Master of Science in exercise science: athletic administration from UCM and a doctorate in education from the University of Missouri-Columbia, will be responsible for coordinating and assessing the retention efforts of UCM beginning April 1.

“My goal is to identify students’ barriers and create strategies to ensure student success,” Goos said.

Goos has 15 years of professional experience in higher education and enhancing student success, according to a university news release. She is currently the dean of student development and enrollment at Metropolitan Community College in Longview, but she began her career as a track coach for the University of Nebraska at Kearney. As a coach, Goos said she experienced the personal side of helping students and now has campuswide responsibility in influencing success and retention rates.

Mike Godard, vice provost for enrollment management at UCM, announced her appointment in late January. Godard said he is pleased she is taking this new position.

“Her enthusiasm and demonstrated ability to effect positive change regarding student success will be great assets in our work to increase the retention, completion and career readiness of our students at UCM,” Godard said.

In her current position at MCC-Longview, Goos created a peer mentoring program, redesigned their advising model to include more proactive success coaching, created their Student Success Center, and began implementing an early alert system. She said she wants to continue this momentum at UCM and give back to the university by helping students succeed the way she did while studying here.

“I really look forward to partnering with colleagues to see how we can ensure students are getting the most out of their college experience and thriving toward a college degree and beyond,” Goos said.

Goos will report to Provost-Chief Learning Officer, Deborah Curtis.

“Her experience serving in prior educational leadership positions will provide us with additional resources to advance our progress toward achieving our student success goals,” Curtis said in a written statement.

Goos said there will be some differences coming from a community college to a university, but she said she is ready to take on the challenge.

“I look forward to identifying the specific needs at UCM and developing solutions to drive student success,” she said.