College Student Retention

Abstract

Although access to higher education is virtually universally available, many students who start in a higher education program drop out prior to completing a degree or achieving their individual academic and/or social goals. In response to student attrition, colleges have developed intervention programs and services to try to retain students. In spite of all of the programs and services, according to the U.S. Department of Education, Center for Educational Statistics, only 50% of those who enter higher education actually earn a bachelor's degree. Enrollment management and the retention of students remain a top priority of federal and state government, of colleges and universities, college students and their parents. This book offers a formula for student success intended to assist colleges and universities in retaining and graduating students. Although access to higher education is virtually universally available, many students who start in a higher education program drop out prior to completing a degree or achieving their individual academic and/or social goals. In response to student attrition, colleges have developed intervention programs and services to try to retain students. In spite of all of the programs and services to help retain students, according to the U.S. Department of Education, Center for Educational Statistics, only 50% of those who enter higher education actually earn a bachelor's degree. Enrollment management and the retention of students remain a top priority of federal and state government, colleges, universities, and parents of students who are attending college and of students themselves. This book offers a formula for student success intended to assist colleges and universities in retaining and graduating students. Contributors: Some of the leading educators who study college student retention contributed to this book. All are truly dedicated to helping students achieve their individual academic and personal goals. A list of each and their affiliation follows: Alexander W. Astin: Allan M. Cartter Professor of Higher Education at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Director of the Higher Education Research Institute. Elizabeth Barlow: Executive Director of Institutional Research at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. John Bean: Associate Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University, Bloomington. Joseph B. Berger: Associate Professor of Education and Chair of the Department of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration in the School of Education at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. John Braxton: Professor of Education in the Higher Education Leadership and Policy Program in the Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Kurt Burkum: Doctoral student and Ostar Fellow in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State University. Alberto F. Cabrera: Specializes in research methodologies, college choice, college students, classroom experiences, minorities in higher education, and economics of education. Gloria Crisp: Doctoral student in educational leadership with a focus on higher education in the department of Educational Leadership and Cultural Studies, College of Education at the University of Houston. Linda Hagedorn: Associate professor and the associate director of the Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis (CHEPA), as well as the program chair for the Community College Leadership program in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. Steve LaNasa: Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Planning at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where he is responsible for outcomes assessment, planning, and program evaluation. Amy S. HirschyAssistant professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and the Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education at the University of Louisville. Stephanie D. Lee Doctoral student in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Susan C. Lyon: Works in the Office of Student Affairs in the School of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Thomas G. Mortensen: Senior Scholar at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, D.C., and an independent higher education policy analyst living in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Amaury Nora: Professor of Higher Education and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development in the College of Education at the University of Houston. Leticia Oseguera: Doctoral candidate in the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Education's Higher Education and Organizational Change program. Alan Seidman: The creator and editor of the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. John H. Schuh: Distinguished professor of educational leadership at Iowa State University, Ames, where he is also department chair. Vincent Tinto: Distinguished University Professor at Syracuse University and chair of the higher education program.