Survey of best practices in student retention.

Print version cataloged as a continuing resource by the Library of Congress.

Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on February 24, 2017).

The 150-page study presents detailed data and commentary on student-retention issues from a survey of 38 different institutions, including 15 public and 23 private colleges and universities. Among the subjects discussed: spending on retention consulting services and information sources, staff dimensions of the retention effort, the role of faculty in retention, the role of student services such as tutoring, academic advising, facilities management and financial aid, among others. The report also looks at the kinds of retention software in use, the use of exit interviews, retention committees, predictive modeling for early alert warnings, and much more. The report presents retention rate data for many different types of students including adult students, distance learning students, first year students, graduate students and other categories of student, as well as overall retention rates from first year to graduation. Just a few of the report's many findings are that: Only about 29% of survey participants maintain records enabling them to pinpoint students who are not engaged in any or very few extra-curricular activities; close to 35% of private colleges have such records vs. 20% of public colleges. Research universities were much more likely than others to feel that the quality of student housing was a significant factor in student retention. More than 30% of private colleges noted an increase in their financial aid to students over the past two years and far fewer of them than their public college counterparts noted a decrease in financial aid. 26.7% of public schools see better retention rates in their future vs. 47.8% of private colleges.

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