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> Assessment > 2005 Retention Patterns

Introduction

Retention is a major key to the success of Mountain State University (MSU).  In addition to getting the students, the University must also keep the students.  Retention is also a measure by which the quality of a school is judged.  U.S. News stated that the higher proportion of freshmen who return to campus the following year and eventually graduate indicated how well the school did in offering the classes and services students needed to succeed.

In looking at retention it is important to understand that there are two important time periods for analyzing retention data.  These two periods are retention from fall to the following spring semester (fall to spring) and the retention from fall of one year to the fall semester of the next year (fall to fall). 

There are also several groups that have been identified as the key indicators in retention reporting.  MSU is required to reports retention rates to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) through their Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).  Although the requirement for retention rates has only been required for the last two years, their indicator group is defined as the cohort of first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates and they require separate retention rates for full-time and part-time students.

In analyzing the historical retention rates for MSU, there are five distinct groups that have been used in the past as key indicators.  These groups are:

1. Undergraduate first-time students

2. All undergraduate students

3. First-time, full-time undergraduate students

4. First-time, full-time degree seeking undergraduate students; and

5. First-time, full-time degree seeking undergraduate students with less than 27 credit hours.

 

Analysis

The IPEDS retention rates of full-time, first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates have increased from 60% in 2003-2004 to 61% in the 2004-2005 academic year.  The rates of the part-time, first-time bachelor’s (or equivalent) degree-seeking undergraduates have decreased from 34% in 2003-2004 to 32% in the 2004-2005 academic year. 

The retention rate for undergraduate first-time students has fallen dramatically both in the fall to spring and in the fall to fall.  Of the 466 first-time undergraduate students enrolled in the fall of 2004, only 260 returned in the spring of 2005 for a 56% retention rate.  This is down from the 67% retention rate for last year.  The rate for the students enrolled in the fall of 2003 who returned in the fall of 2004 also went down dramatically.  Of the 483 students enrolling in fall of 2003, only 199 returned the following fall for a 41% retention rate.  There appears to be a trend over the last three to four years of these retention rate decreasing.  Since this downward trend applies to both time periods it is a clear indicator that MSU is not doing enough to retain those students who have had no previous college experience.

The overall retention rate for all undergraduate students in the fall to spring was the same as the previous year at 72% with 2,851 out of 3,974 students returning.  The fall to fall timeframe showed an increased retention rate from 51% to 52% with 1,918 out of 3,684 students returning.  Since this group includes all undergraduate students, it provides an insight as to how well MSU does at retaining students in general.

The first-time, full-time undergraduate student retention rates have declined over that last three years both in the fall to spring and the fall to fall timeframe.  The fall to spring decreased from 74% in 2003-2004 to 69% in 2004-2005.  This meant that only 183 of the 264 students returned.   The fall to fall retention rate declined from 60% in 2003-2004 to 58% in 2004-2005 because only 169 of the 291 students returned.

The first-time, full-time degree seeking undergraduate retention rates increased both in the fall to spring and the fall to fall timeframes.  The fall to spring saw an increase from 73% to 75% with 182 of the 244 students returning while the fall to fall saw an increase from 58% to 62% with 177 out of 286 students returning.

The first-time, full-time degree seeking undergraduate students with less than 27 credit hours remained unchanged at 75% in the fall to spring timeframe with 180 out of 247 students returning.  There was a dramatic increase in the fall to fall timeframe with a 10% increase in retention from 52% to 62% with 177 out of 286 students returning.  Students with less than 27 credit hours would be considered freshmen and it appears that MSU is improving the retention of freshmen.

The following charts show a graphical representation of the historical retention rates in each of the key indicator groups and timeframes discussed.

In an effort to determine where we are losing students, detail information on retention by program has been provided for your review. This information shows which programs are losing freshmen (first-time undergraduates) between the fall semester and the following spring semester. It also provided information on all undergraduate students lost between fall to fall and fall to spring. Please review the information provided by the links below.