December 9, 2025

Persistence Plus presenting at NECHE 2025 Annual Meeting

Chief Learning Officer to share how colleges can use behavioral science to increase retention.
Ross E O’Hara, Ph.D.
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5 min read
Chief Learning Officer Ross O'Hara is presenting at the NECHE 2025 Annual Meeting
Behavioral science offers a toolkit for increasing enrollments during challenging financial times
Changes to messaging and processes can improve student belonging, facilitate goal completion, and ultimately boost retention

Many community colleges are welcoming increased enrollments with more states sponsoring adult reconnect and free tuition programs. But these initiatives don't often come with additional resources to help colleges support this influx of students.

This Thursday, I'll present at the New England Higher Education Commission's (NECHE) 2025 Annual Meeting on "Helping Enrollment Stick: Leveraging Behavioral Science and Technology to Reach Students and Improve Outcomes." Alongside our partners from Quinsigamond and North Shore Community Colleges, we'll share how the thoughtful application of behavioral science boosts retention. From promoting social belonging to guiding at-risk students to academic success, behavioral science offers a powerful toolkit for improving the student experience without new programs or staff.

If you're attending NECHE, we're presenting at 2:00 pm in Back Bay Ballroom AB. If you're not attending NECHE but want to know more, subscribe to our newsletter below and reach out about a free pilot.

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Ross E O’Hara, Ph.D.

Chief Learning Officer

Dr. O'Hara is Chief Learning Officer at Persistence Plus, where he applies his expertise in behavioral science to develop scalable interventions that improve college student retention. He has developed motivational and empathetic messaging for college students for over 11 years, and he currently leads a Lumina Foundation-funded action research project on continuous enrollment in community colleges. Dr. O’Hara earned his Ph.D. in social psychology from Dartmouth College and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Missouri and the University of Connecticut. His research has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including AERA Open and the Journal of Postsecondary Success, and he has contributed to Behavioral Scientist, the EvoLLLution, and EDUCAUSE Review, among others.

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