A Retention Discussion 08 January 2007

1. A Retention Discussion 08 January 2007 "As colleges scramble for students, then, it becomes increasingly important to characterize...the potential dropout; to determine the reasons why he or she might withdraw, and to see if procedures or programs could be established to help reduce those numbers that are going back out the open door" Rounds, 1984

2. Goals for the Day • Understand role we all play in student retention • Consider ways to improve our work with students • Reflect on building a larger model

3. Outline for the day • Glossary of terms • Toward a JCU Vocabulary • National trends • Reflections on JCU • Discussion

4. Glossary of Terms • Attrition • Retention • Persistence • Student Success • Degree Attainment

5. Attrition • The loss of matriculated students due to non-enrollment in an expected term • Historically, lack of student progression can be characterized as: • Dropping out (permanent, long term) • Stopping out (temporary, short term) • Leave of absence, semester off

6. Attrition positive attrition • “successful non-returners” • Students who leave with goals met • Satisfied with their college experience • Dropped out of college, but either completed their academic goals or made progress toward achieving them

7. Attrition neutral attrition • This is the realm of personal, financial, health and childcare problems • The institution did not necessarily play a role in causing the attrition • NOR did it play a role is preventing it

8. Attrition negative attrition • Students dissatisfied with the experience at the institution from an academic, social, experiential or value-based perspective • Students were unprepared for class work or were not sufficiently motivated to complete their course of studies

9. Reasons why students leave • Dismissals • Transferring • Completed desired classes • Needed to work • Other financial reasons • Conflicts at home/personal reasons • Change in family status • Taking time off • Conflicts with job/military • Not satisfied • Academic problems

10. Attrition Although some students leave for reasons beyond the control of the institution, most attrition is preventable Levitz & Noel, 1989

11. Reasons why students leave • Dismissals (institutional decision/control) • *** Transferring *** (+ or -) • Completed desired classes (+) • Needed to work (neutral) • Other financial reasons (neutral) • Conflicts at home/personal reasons (neutral) • Change in family status (neutral) • Taking time off (neutral) • Conflicts with job/military (neutral) • Not satisfied (-) • Academic problems (-)

12. Retention • A student's completion of a particular course or a particular term • Student has made a choice to remain • Retention is the flip side of attrition • It is a student that does not leave mid-semester

13. Retention • Strategic/assessment • Proactive/monitoring • Preventive • Exit Interviews

14. Retention Strategic/assessment • Understanding student expectations • Cohort tracking • Aggregate numbers • Predictive modeling • Assessment tools – CIRP, NSSE

15. Retention Proactive/monitoring • Defining at-risk students • Profiling • Identifying students who don’t do what is expected • Realm of “Big Brother”

16. Retention Preventive • Reactionary strategy • Intervention occurs • Efforts made to “save” the student • Payment plans, increased aid, academic support, academic amnesty/forgiveness, personal counseling, changes in system (new courses, roommate, advisor)

17. Retention Exit Interviews • Attrition is identified and classified • Positive, neutral, negative • Time of semester • Understanding root causes • Systemic? Personal? • Inform processes

18. Persistence • Refers to a student's continuedenrollment in college beyond any particular term • Continuity: the property of a continuous and connected period of time • Beyond cap-and-gown measuring • Stopping out rarely results in completing a degree • 51% of students complete at one institution in 6 years • An additional 7% complete via transfer

19. Student Success • Students use college for their purposes and frequently achieve those purposes short of program completion • Thus, it is hard to pinpoint the proportion of attrition that represents student failure Sheldon (1982) • SCT students have become learners • Degrees have become outcomes

20. Student Success • Academic Support • Emotional Support • Social Support • Financial Support The food, clothing, and shelter of the college experience

21. Student Success • Hallberg model of student success • College Success Factors Index (CSFI)

22. 8 Factors • High correlation between involvement and success • Living on campus, and campus jobs (Astin, 1984) • Mentoring and friendship (Bern, 1966; Scott, 1971) • Extra-curricular activities (Wolford, 1964; Bernis, 1967; Spady, 1971) • Faculty interaction (Rock, 1971; Spady, 1970) • Involvement relates to more than academic success • Identity achievement (Weston & Stein) • General satisfaction with the college experience (Witt & Handal, 1984) • Lack of involvement can be a negative influence (Seaman, 1959)

23. 8 Factors • Encouragement and/or participation of one's family in college is an important factor in student success • Family expectations of success may be as important as student's own expectations (Hackman & Dysinger, 1970) • College persisters are more likely to come from families who parents are more educated (Chase, 1970; Cope & Hewitt, 1970; and Spady, 1971) • College persisters get more parental advice, praise, and expressed interest (Trent & Ryle, 1965) • Parental feelings on education, demonstrating pride, and discussing career goals are important factors in the equation of college success and persistence (Lunneborg & Lunneborg, 1976)

24. 8 Factors • Involvement and control seem to go hand in hand • "It seems clear that the effectiveness of any attempt to increase student involvement is highly contingent on the student's perceived locus of control" (Astin, 1984)

25. 8 Factors • What are students asked to do? • Is it realistic? • Do they have input (control)? • The best predictor of success was the student's perception of the college's expectations of academic performance (Kelly, 1982)

26. 8 Factors • To socialize the student into a highly technical culture, precision is a value of college success • Lower division grade success requires perfection in spelling and grammar content mastery (Hallberg, 1988) • Some researchers feel the learning environment must receive sufficient student effort and investment of energy to bring about the desired learning and development (Astin, 1974) • Moreover, grade success is often assessed on the basis of following directions well and the elimination of errors. (Schmelzer, et al 1987)

27. 8 Factors • To fit into the fabric of our society, one needs a competitive nature in college • Getting an "A" on a tests • Competing and excelling in extra-curricular activities • Passivity is an important warning sign (Astin, 1984) • Competition is one of the highest stress areas for students (Nannini, Hallberg, Sauer, 1988) • Success in school is also generated by one's own demand to seek and discover new and challenging experiences

28. 8 Factors • " The most precious institutional resource may be student time" (Astin, 1984) • Efficiency in our culture is inseparable from time • "Getting my work in on time" has a direct bearing on grades and graduation • Lewin (1936) found time and success were complimentary qualities between person and environment

29. 8 Factors • Behavioral symptoms such as constant stress, sleeplessness, poor nutrition, or depression are often deterrents to college success • Depression, anxiety, and stress have been known to impede school and college success • Burnout appears important as a factor in student attrition (Pantages & Creedon, 1974)

30. Degree Attainment

31. Summary • Student success: • Connected/involved • Supported at home • Clearly marked pathways through JCU • Tangible, realistic expectations • A good balance of responsibility and control • Must be able to succeed • Time, Ability, Resources • Must be willing to succeed • Must be healthy and supported • It comes down to people and caring

32. National Trends • Commodification of a college degree • Transfer Swirl • Loyalty and Increased Expectations • Changing Demographics • The Advantage Paradigm

33. The Turning Point CNN/Money 2/6/2002: Is prestige worth the price? In the long run experience is far more important than a brand-name degree.By Sarah Max 2/6/2002 If you dream of sending your child to an Ivy League school, you should brace yourself for the premium you'll pay for a designer education. Yes, college is an investment. And yes, the old adage thatyou get what you payfor can apply to higher education. But whether you get a higher returnon abrand-name degree is still up for debate. In fact, some experts believe that parents' money might be better spent at smaller, lesser-known institutions.

34. The Slippery Slope

35. Transfer Swirl “Some students move from school to school like leaves twisting in the wind. They may swirl upward from a two-year to a four-year school, float laterally from one two-year school to another two-year school, or spin downward from a four-year school to a two-year school…” de los Santos and Wright, 1990

36. Loyalty • Private sector is dependent on loyalty • Repeat customers are critical for most businesses • Repeat customers = persistence? • Look to private sector to understand retention

37. Loyalty • Customer loyalty is the practice of finding, attracting, and retaining your customers who regularly purchase from you • Customer loyalty is not just customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction is the basic requirement of good business • It is expected that you should provide satisfaction to all your customers

38. Private Sector Trust a company Buy a product Loyalty is rewarded Return Customers Higher Education “Get in” Prices increase Loyalty is not rewarded Loyalty

39. Loyalty Our students are accustomed to going to Google and eBay; if you don't give them similar services, they'll vote with their fee. Mike Sfraga U of Alaska system

40. Loyalty • “What drives institutional interests in providing new services is the increasing sensitivity to student expectations of a lifestyle comparable to the ones they are familiar with as digital consumers.” Syllabus 2005

41. http://tinyurl.com/mj9wv

45. By Sept. 30, AOL lost 2.5 million subscribers • Revenue declined 3 percent • AOL abandoned its “pay-to-play” model and is now trying to succeed in a very crowded marketplace

46. Service Expectations • Bad service can be an impetus to make students react more acutely to “neutral” attrition factors • Perception is reality • When college is a product, it’s easy to change loyalty • One bad experience is all it takes • Word of mouth travels fast!

47. Service Expectations • Myspace and facebook • youtube • http://www.collegeconfidential.com/ • http://www.campusdirt.com/ • http://www.samjackson.org/college/ • http://www.ratemyprofessors.com

48. Changing demographics • The successful completion of a college degree in today's society is perceived as paramount to individual achievement.

49. Changing demographics

50. Changing demographics Risk factors to degree completion • Delaying enrollment • Enrolling part time • Being a single parent • Having children under 18 • Lack of parental support • Working full time • Lacking a high school diploma