Retention and College Student Bodies: Differences Between Drop-Outs, Stop-Outs, Opt-Outs, & Transfer-Outs Dr. Bradl

1. Retention and College Student Bodies:Differences Between Drop-Outs,Stop-Outs, Opt-Outs, & Transfer-OutsDr. Bradley A. WinnUtah State University

2. The Challenge of Student Success • Who is the student body? • Who is stepping up to the challenge? • How can we best support student completion?

3. Today’s StudentsWho Are They? Full-time Part-Time Work Responsibilities Family/Community Responsibilities Millennials Gen-Xers Boomers

4. Today’s StudentsWho cares to help them succeed? Colleges and Universities Employers Home, Community, Schools The Lifelong Learners Themselves

5. Today’s Students What difference can we make? Process Quality Customer Satisfaction Quality Leadership HR Management Student Services Student Life Strategic Planning Business Results Information & Analysis Academics

6. Retention and Student Success • Almost 100,000 google hits • There’s a lot to learn; the challenge is great • Where do we begin?

7. Introduction • Literature on retention tends to treat non-returning students as a single population • Yet there are distinct subpopulations of non-retainers • Including drop-outs, stop-outs, opt-outs, and transfer-outs

8. Definitions • Drop-outs: do not return, no plans to return, did not transfer • Stop-outs: begin, leave for period of time with plans to return, then reenroll • Opt-outs: Choose to leave because they have completed their non-degree educational goal • Transfer-outs: begin college career at one college and then transfer to another

9. Accounting for Subpopulations • Calculating an aggregate non-returning statistic is of limited utility • A different strategy would be employed if they were all drop-outs as opposed to transfer-outs • Accounting for proportion & characteristics of subpopulations is critical to retention efforts • Yet, accounting for differing classes of non-returnees is more difficult

10. Accounting for Subpopulations • State tracking systems • Student surveys • Transcript examination • Preadmission materials w/educational intent • National Student Loan Clearinghouse • Long-term cohort tracking studies

11. Demographics

12. Purpose of Study • Develop methodology for differentiating between classes of non-returning students • Identify demographic differences between subpopulations • Propose implications for retention strategies for each type or class of non-returnees • Purpose is to provide a means for developing improved retention interventions

13. Utah Valley State College Study • 22,500 students • Public, state college • Associate and bachelors degrees offered • Open admission • 10% minority students • 42% part-time students • 44% female students

14. Methods • Office of Institutional Research (OIR) attempts to contact all first-time students who do not return: • Initial phone calls • Survey mailings (2) • Follow-up phone calls • Identified: • Transfers • military/missions • non-degree seekers • Other

15. Findings • Found students in each non-returnee class: drop-outs, stop-outs, opt-outs, & transfer-outs • Found significant demographic differences between non-returning classes

16. Differences • Drop-outs/Stop-outs: older • Drop-outs/Stop-outs: more children • Drop-outs/Stop-outs: work full-time • Drop-outs/Stop-outs: school-job conflict • Transfer-outs: receive parental support • Transfer-outs: better grades • Transfer-outs: fewer family responsibilities

17. Differences • Drop-outs: > 50% supporting children • Drop-outs: > 33% cited child care as reason • Drop-outs: lowest 1st term GPA • Married Drop-outs: 2.3 GPA • Single Drop-outs: 1.6 GPA • Two Drop-out Subpopulations? • Married students caring for children • Single students experiencing academic difficulty

18. Differences • Stop-outs: more likely to cite financial reasons • Stop-outs: almost half work full-time • Stop-outs: more likely to be part-time • Stop-outs: satisfied with instruction • Stop-outs: satisfied with social environment • Stop-outs: want college to help them return

19. Reasons for Leaving -- Finances • All groups ranked “finances” as #1 reason • Conflict between need to work and college • Non-resident transfers reported higher tuition • Lack of financial aid (unwillingness to incur debt) • Lack of parental financial support • Lost scholarships • Need to pay rent, car, medical bills, • Costs of marriage/children • Lost job

20. Reasons for Leaving • Drop-outs: • family, job conflict, marriage, low grades • Stop-outs: • job conflict, health concerns, family, marriage • Transfer-outs: • Job conflict, program availability, instructional quality, health concerns

21. Implications • Opt-outs succeeded in attaining their educational goals • Opt-outs should be excluded from retention rates

22. Implications • Drop-outs, stop-outs, & transfer-outs • have different characteristics • comprise different % of total non-returners • have different reasons for leaving • These differences suggest targeted intervention strategies for each class

23. Reducing Transfer-out Attrition • Transfer-out students = 1/3 of non-returners • Improve quality and reputation of programs • Improve availability of array of programs • Survey students regarding program needs • Review non-resident tuition/financial aid

24. Stop-out/Drop-out Strategies • More likely to be self-supporting, working, married with children, and financially constrained, so emphasize: • financial aid, scholarships, financial counseling • resources for child-care, family housing • evening classes, health center • family-sensitive policies (family death, divorce)

25. Stop-out/Drop-out Strategies • Younger stop-out/drop-outs are more likely to earn lower grades, so emphasize: • Early warning systems • Academic mentors • Tutoring services • Cohort study and support groups • Accessible faculty • First-year seminars

26. Institutional Mission • Discuss subpopulations from a campus-wide perspective given mission, values and strategic plan for the institution • Data should be reviewed by people with academic, student service, financial, technological, and PR viewpoints • Review traditional support services for their impact on retention

27. Yeah, But…. • Can Institutional Research move from “counting beans” to helping us support students? • Isn’t the economy is helping our retention rates? • Should we invest in retention research that disaggregates our non-returning student population?

28. The Challenge of Student Success • Who is our student body? • Who is stepping up to the challenge? • How can we best support student completion?

29. Thank you

30. Contact Information • Brad Winn • brad.winn@usu.edu • 435-851-2002