Student Retention

Introduction

High school students, college transfers, and parents look at many factors when preparing to go to colleges and universities. The most important factors to these groups are cost, location, program legitimacy, institutional reputation, faculty to student ratios, and financial aid. However, after arriving to these institutions of their choices reality sets in. This first year of college can be highlighted as an adjustment period for recent high school graduates or people returning back to college after years in the workforce. This year of transition can be an overwhelming experience for many students who typically are in need of an orientation or introduction to the college setting, course curriculums, and campus resources geared to help them be successful. This is also a year of transition for colleges and universities in that the success of students in their first year can have a direct impact on retention and graduation rates in the future.

In recent years the federal and state governments have viewed retention and graduation success rates as very important benchmarks since taxpayer dollars fund college and university operations and help students to pay for college. Institutional goals are shifting to focus more and more on retaining and graduating students at higher rates, because funding models of the future may be tied to how successful students are and how institutional goals are aligned to student success. Retention initiatives must include the collective attitudes and beliefs of administration, faculty, and students with an ultimate final outcome of students being successful through graduation. Retention is rich in advancing knowledge on the contributions needed to transition students in becoming accustomed to college and retaining them at higher rates. The trajectory of retention outcomes depend upon student experiences, external and internal influences such as high school academic achievement,