PEMBROKE — After approving construction of a new residence hall Thursday, the board of trustees at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke heard about a continuing challenge: retaining students.

The dormitory, which will house 480 students, will be constructed through the university’s foundation on the north end. At a projected cost of $18 million, it is scheduled for completion in July or August 2011.

The board also approved an increase of $41 in student fees and a 5.49 percent, or $113, raise in tuition for a full year. Fees have been raised across The University of North Carolina System and must be approved by the Board of Governors.

“Probably we’re going to be one of the lowest, if not the lowest,” said Diane Jones, vice chancellor for Student Affairs.

The trustees then turned their attention to retention and graduating rates, the “most consistent and overarching” issue at the institution, said interim Chancellor Charles Jenkins.

“There’s no question that this is the No. 1 question on the burner for most institutions,” he said.

A 21-member committee that meets weekly is working to raise the 66.9 percent retention rate of first-time freshmen attending the university full time. The UNC System set a goal of 70.8 percent for UNCP for this school year. The university also is being asked to improve its four-year graduation rate of 12.5 percent to 18 percent.

Jenkins listed several factors that he said contribute to low retention: geographic location of a university; amount of financial aid awarded; number of commuters; large minority population; and large number of first-generation college students.

Staff members are conducting studies and exit interviews to identify factors in a student’s departure or success at UNCP. The results show that unlike many universities, white students at UNCP have lower rates of retention and graduation than black and American Indian students, said Beverly King, assistant vice chancellor of Institutional Advancement.

Males also have lower rates of retention and graduate than do females. A student’s grade-point average is the best predictor of success at UNCP, said Jackie Clark, vice chancellor for Enrollment Management.

“Many schools in the country are having problems retaining their minority students,” she said. “We are not.”

The university will need to raise its expectations of students, not lower its standards, Jenkins said.

“There needs to be some balance in being an opportunity institution and one that does not face its problems,” Jenkins said. “... How do we help students have a real desire and motivation to get a college degree?”

The university saw a record number of first-year students, 1,222, a 13.9 percent increase, enroll this fall.

The board also approved a collaborative doctoral degree in physical therapy with Eastern Carolina University. Earlier this year, UNCP staff put the idea to the UNC System and accrediting agencies. The university does not have an undergraduate degree specifically in physical therapy. It was advised to collaborate with Eastern Carolina University, which established a doctorate of physical therapy degree in 2004, Provost Charles Harrington said.

“It’s been a very difficult nut for us to crack,” he said.

The program — scheduled for implementation in 2011 — will be a collaboration of staff and curriculum. Though it will be an Eastern Carolina degree initially, UNCP will assume the degree later.

“Given what we’re faced with right now, it is without question the best route and maybe the shortest,” Jenkins said.

In other board business:

— The board approved the concurring of 537 degrees, 120 to graduate students, for winter commencement on Dec. 12.

— Clark informed the board that new “that’s brave” recruiting ads had been rolled out on billboards, radio, previews in movie theaters and stickers on bathroom mirrors in malls.