KSU’s “Starting Blocks” project launched in Fall 2024. Block scheduling serves multiple purposes, all designed to enhance the academic experience and support student success. It streamlines the registration process for easier enrollment, ensuring students make appropriate selections of courses, including introductory English and math, during their first semester. It helps minimize potential credit loss if students change majors, and it provides students with the optimal opportunity to register for a full-time (15 credit hour) schedule. Additionally, block scheduling is meant to enhance social integration, facilitate the formation of study groups, and foster community building. Additional information is available at https://advising.kennesaw.edu/orientation/starting_blocks.php.
This project is aligned with two of our “Top 5 Strategies,” namely increasing the number of freshmen taking 15 hours or more, and increasing the number of students who have completed 30 hours or more by the start of their second fall.
Assessing the impact of block scheduling will involve various methods to measure its effectiveness in achieving its intended goals and benefits. Academic performance metrics, course enrollment data, and student feedback around belonging will all be considered.
KPIs:
- First-year full-time retention rate (assessed yearly)
- Percentage of first-time, full-time cohort enroll in 15+ credit hours (assessed yearly) – ASPIRE Priority
- Percentage of first-time, full-time cohort who have completed 30 or more credit hours by the end of summer semester (assessed yearly) – ASPIRE Priority
- NSSE Survey Results (assessed every 3 years)
Baseline measure (for each KPI):
- Fall 2023 cohort: 76.7%
- Fall 2023: 53.1%
- Summer 2023: 58%
- 2023 NSSE Survey Results
Goal or targets (for each KPI):
- Fall 2026 cohort: 82%
- Fall 2027: 76%
- Summer 2026: 70%
Next survey: No statistical difference when compared to our R2 peers when first-year students are asked whether they feel like part of the community at KSU.
Block scheduling was successfully launched for the first time in fall 2024. Students enrolled in over 350 blocks. In total, 83% of first-time freshmen enrolled in one or both blocks. This widespread participation led to a substantial increase in credit-hour intensity, with over 15 percentage point more students registering for 15 or more credit hours compared to the previous fall (68.5% in fall 2024). Similarly, the percentage of the cohort completing 30 credits hours or more in their first year grew by 5 percentage points to 65% for the fall 2024 cohort. The first-year retention rate rose by 2.9 percentage points to 79.6%.
In Fall 2025, 89% of the cohort enrolled in at least one of the 390 available blocks. Enrollment growth was again larger than anticipated and this impacted the ability for even more freshmen to enroll in blocks. Lessons learned over the past year were carefully tracked. Feedback from the colleges, advisors, and students has been gathered and is being incorporated as we build blocks for fall 2026. Additional consideration for Advanced Placement/Dual Enrollment credit, as well as changing enrollment trends by major, is also being incorporated.
Blocks for fall 2026 are being created. As mentioned, modifications are being made to allow for additional students to participate in block scheduling. This year, we also plan to engage first-time freshmen starting in summer in block scheduling in the fall. Students will register for the blocks at orientation. Enrollment will be closely monitored. Pre-orientation advising materials will be updated throughout the summer. Lessons learned will be carefully tracked.
CHALLENGES:
A potential challenge could arise if enrollment patterns differ significantly from projections, resulting in too few blocks being available overall or for students in particular majors.
SUPPORT NEEDED:
We intend to engage with other universities to better understand their approaches to managing seat capacity in block scheduling. Our goal is to learn whether they have mechanisms that seamlessly transition open seats from block enrollment to general availability when demand within a block falls short, while also ensuring that seats reserved for block students are not prematurely taken by first-year students seeking to enroll in individual block-designated sections.
