11/24/14 amk local

HAYS, Kan.-- Fort Hays State University's first-year experience, persistence and retention team received three awards and a national finalist nomination at the recent Association for Orientation, Transition and Retention in Higher Education annual convention in Orlando, Fla.

FHSU's first-year experience program, ACCESS to Success, received the Innovative Program Award. FHSU also received the Outstanding Brochure or Booklet for Special Populations, recognizing FHSU's 2014 learning communities booklet.

Jacob Patrick, an Elizabeth, Colo., graduate student at FHSU, and Teal Keller, a graduate student from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, were recognized for writing the best overall in the nation graduate student case study.

Brett Bruner, FHSU's director of persistence and retention, was a finalist for the national Outstanding Mentor to Graduate Students Award.