Walton College Hires Jen Caba to Bring New Focus to Student Retention and Success

The Sam M. Walton College of Business has named Jen Caba senior director for retention and Learning Lab, a new position within the college's Student Success team. The role brings together data, proactive outreach and expanded academic support to identify student needs earlier, strengthen retention and help more Walton College students succeed.

Data-informed decision-making will be central to Caba's work. She will work closely with Walton College academic advising and other Student Success colleagues to identify trends in student progress, determine where additional support may be needed and turn those insights into targeted outreach and intervention. She also will evaluate the effectiveness of those efforts, using what is learned to help shape retention and degree-completion initiatives across the college.

The position puts a dedicated focus on retention work that is often one part of many people's responsibilities. By coordinating efforts across the Walton College and measuring their impact, Caba can help determine where additional support or intervention may make a difference and whether those efforts are working.

She also will oversee the college's Learning Lab, bringing together academic support through tutoring, supplemental instruction and other success interventions, along with a new position focused on scholarships and financial aid. Caba will establish and oversee a peer mentoring program as part of those efforts.

"As the university continues to prioritize retention, persistence and graduation rates, Walton must play a significant role, given our size," said Karen Boston, senior assistant dean for student success and chief student officer. "By creating a more intentional structure focused on retention, modifying and expanding our historical Business Communication Lab and making more data-informed decisions to support our students, I am thrilled Jen will become a part of our team to lead this initiative."

"For the last four years, I've been building relationships and knowledge across the university and supporting colleges in their student success efforts," Caba said. "This role gives me the opportunity to get directly into that work with Walton College and make a tangible impact. It's work I was already excited about, and I look forward to continuing the work in a more concentrated way."

Caba brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education, including teaching, academic leadership, assessment and student success. Most recently, she served as the U of A's director of learning innovation and assessment, directing first-year seminar programming for four of the university's six major colleges and working with faculty on teaching innovation and assessment. She previously served as director of UNIV and experiential learning, overseeing first-year experience courses and supporting experience-based learning.

Before joining the U of A, Caba spent 13 years at John Brown University as an associate professor, including eight years as head of the Department of Music and Theatre. She earned a Ph.D. in higher education/higher education administration from the U of A and a Master of Arts in leadership from Denver Seminary.

"What appeals to me about the Walton College is the commitment to being intentional, using data to inform decisions and being willing to try new things," Caba said. "That's an inspiring environment to be part of."