Student retention
An issue, a discussion and a way forward, for higher education professionals
Poor retention rates is an ever present problem among higher education institutions
all over the world. Maintaining high student retention is vital to the survival of a higher
education institute. Many higher education providers with poor retention rates are at risk of
becoming unprofitable. Before they can combat the problem, higher education institutes
must identify what is going wrong and the magnitude of the issue.
This paper investigates why being aware of student retention rates is important to
administrators at tertiary education providers, as well as providing institutes with strategies
to combat poor retention. The scope of the study is wide reaching, approaching the issue
from individual, institutional and national levels. It is not a literary review, instead it is a
collection of only the most useful information that we could source that we believe helps
the reader to understand the issue of retention and its relevance to them.
Produced by Cobek Software Limited
Author: Brittany Cotter
Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
For Higher Education Professionals
Contents
Student retention
1
Student Retention: Definition
2
Why is student retention important?
4
Worldwide retention rates today
6
What causes low student retention rates?
8
What to look out for
9
Student retention: ‘Best practice’ 10
To summarise
12
About Cobek
12
References
13
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
For Higher Education Professionals
Student Retention: Definition
Before exploring the issue in detail, let’s define what we are talking about.
‘Retention’ refers to the length of time that students continue to study at a particular institution. The
word is often used as a metric, measuring the percentage of students that remain in study until they
have completed a particular qualification.
Retention, Attrition or Persistence?
Student retention is difficult to define and often acquires different meanings depending on the context of the term’s usage.
Confusion of what the term ‘retention’ means stems from scholars interchanging the term with other words with varied
connotations. ‘Attrition’ is often used where ‘retention’ would be more appropriate, as attrition refers only to the re-enrollment
of students in consecutive semesters (Seidman, 2012). Whereas ‘persistence’, also often used as a synonym for ‘retention’
concerns the desire and action of a student to stay in higher education from initial entry to qualification completion
(Seidman, 2012). Departure of a student, no matter the circumstances is defined as a loss for a higher education institution.
However, the difference between voluntary and involuntary departure due to low grades or academic dishonesty is not often
distinguished. This creates the question as to whether departure should be defined by the outside observer or according to
the perception of the actor (Seidman, 2012).
Similarly, how to measure retention is equally debatable. The most common metric for measuring student retention is by
dividing the number of returning students by the number enrolled the previous year.
Number of students re-enrolled the following year
(Number of students in the yearly cohort - Exclusions) x 100
(Adapted from Hagedorn, 2006).
However, this metric does not take into account transfer students, part time students and students that enroll in the second
semester of the year or in summer school. It also deems students who take a break from study to return later and finish their
studies as ‘non-persisters’ or ‘dropouts’ (Hagedorn, 2006). Thus, to provide a clearer picture of students retained in study
Hagedorn (2006), recommends broadening the definition of ‘persisters’ to include those who graduate within 1.5 times the
average time taken to complete a qualification. For example, students who complete a standard three year degree within four
and a half years of first beginning study would be defined as ‘persisters’. To gain a larger, more general picture of retention
performance it is beneficial for higher education institutes to use a variety of metric.
Students who are failing to meet the demands of study can be identified using the successful course completion rate (SCCR),
illustrated below:
Number of courses with grade (A, B, C, D, F)
Number of courses enrolled
(Adapted from Hagedorn, 2006).
The above equation can be used to calculate how likely a student is to fail a course by using the percentage of obtainment of
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
For Higher Education Professionals
each grade. It is an alternative to a grade point average.
A means of comparing retention on an annual basis:
Current total degree seeking enrolled students - (current year newly enrolled students)
Past year’s EFTS seeking enrollment (all semesters) - EFTS graduates
(Adapted from Hagedorn, 2006).
This would allow staff at a higher education institute to gain a clear insight into the current retention rate within a course
before they address what to do about retention.
An additional problem with more traditional measurements of retention is that they cannot be used in measuring retention
rates of one year certificate or diploma courses. Measuring graduation rates would provide a clearer picture of how many
students are retained and complete the qualification. Again it is useful to take into account those who complete the course
within 1.5 times the average completion time. A recommended formula is illustrated below
EFTS graduates throughout the academic year
EFTS entering the qualification 1.5 years ago
(Adapted from Hagedorn, 2006).
By becoming familiar with the rate of student retention institutes can: measure their success in terms of other similar
education providers (this is only applicable when both institutes are using the same metric for calculation); increase students’
access to valuable qualifications by knowing where to focus retention efforts.
To positively affect retention rates an institute must address what causes low retention rates. This is the focus of this white
paper.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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Why is student retention important?
Student retention is a wide reaching issue that can be seen to be threefold; the viability of a higher
education institute depends upon its ability to attract students, provide them with the means of
obtaining an education; and retain them. These three dynamics are interconnected and codependent.
By improving the environment and culture of an institution the experience of numerous different
stakeholders can also be improved.
Students determine funding
Each student of a higher education institute can be assigned a ‘dollar value’. The fees that they pay to obtain a qualification
is the main source of income for the institution. The more students an education provider attracts and retains, the more
revenue it can generate. As the number of students a public institution has at any time determines the governmental funding
that it receives, students can be seen as the commodities through which tertiary institutes earn revenue. Similarly, private
training institutes are funded through student fees, the higher the roll of an institute the more economic value it has.
By failing to retain students higher education institutes may lose not only direct funding, but also secondary revenue
sources that will affect the institute long-term, including governmental research grants and sponsorship from alumni. To
be economically viable institutions must retain a specific number of students each year. Without large numbers of students
returning it would be forced to shut down. The more money obtained from student fees, the more revenue available to be
reinvested into the institute’s programmes to attract even more students. The process is cyclical. The loss of income resulting
in the loss of students at a tertiary institute can be staggering and may even result in the loss of jobs of staff members or in
the closure of the institute.
Achieving the mission of higher education
The role of tertiary institutes is first and foremost to provide students with quality education. Specific courses of a
qualification provide them with knowledge and skills that they can apply in the real world. Responsible institutions have
a duty to their students to provide them with the support they need so that they can achieve at the highest possible level.
Good retention contributes significantly to the value of the programme for staff members, students and wider stakeholders.
It improves the quality of the learning experience, allowing them to form strong, long lasting bonds with other students and
members of faculty.
Gaining market share
Through the close monitoring of student retention higher education institutes can gain insight into how they are performing
compared to their competitors. It is likely that institutes with high rates of student retention are satisfying their needs and
are perceived to be providing them with better quality education. By providing high quality education tertiary institutes gain
recognition amongst the wider academic community. The higher recognition attracts more students and the cycle starts all
over again. Thus, it can be concluded that students are imperative to the functioning of a higher education institute.
One indicator of measuring how institutes are performing is by comparing the proportion of returning international students
to the proportion of their competitors. However, this cannot be obtained until the end of the year. International students are
charged higher fees than domestic students and supply some institutes with a large percentage of their revenue. Thus in
many cases, the proportion of international students that choose to return to an institute year after year can be determinant
of its success.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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The creation of ‘culture’
If students are satisfied with the quality of education they are receiving they are more likely to continue to study at a
particular higher education institution, as well as being more likely to obtain higher grades. The enthusiasm of students
creates the culture of an institution. Staff feel greater job satisfaction when students are satisfied with their teaching.
Activities organised by student-run movements on campus provide their peers and staff with a diverse and stimulating range
of experiences. Keeping the students happy and motivated is essential at any education provider.
Legislature changes
In recent times, governments around the world have introduced reforms regarding higher education. The focus of these
reforms is getting better value for money, as well as increasing the quality of education. Higher costs of tertiary training
courses can be mitigated through increasing the quality of the education that students are receiving.
In Australia, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency was set up under the Kevin Rudd lead government in
2010. Through this agency, the government hopes to ensure that graduates have the necessary skills to achieve success in
the workplace once they have completed a qualification (Commonwealth of Australia Department of Industry, Innovation,
Science, Research and Tertiary Education, 2009). The agency aims to create a more structured federal regulatory environment,
as previously higher education was mostly discussed at state level. In addition to students, providers and employers, the
agency has identified another key stakeholder - taxpayers - and intends to assure those taxpayers that higher education
institutes are delivering value for money (Commonwealth of Australia Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research
and Tertiary Education, 2009).
A similar example from the UK is the Quality Code set up in 2012 by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. The
Quality Code aims to discuss the responsibilities of higher education providers to their students, as well as to the government
and broader society. One responsibility is course quality assurance (The Quality Assurance Agency, 2012). This involves
implementing academic standards to ensure that students who are studying similar qualifications at comparative providers
are receiving the same level of education, knowledge and skill sets necessary to achieve in the workforce (The Quality
Assurance Agency, 2012).
Student retention is cyclical
Overall, student retention can be seen as a cyclical process, returning students provide higher education institutes with more
disposable income. Using this income they can equip their students with higher quality courses, and improving the quality of
education at a particular provider improves the quality of the educational landscape.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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Worldwide retention rates today
The average retention rate of colleges and universities in the USA sits at about the OECD average, only
50% of freshmen students at an average institution enrolled in a four year qualification leave with a
degree. The effects of ill-regarded student retention rates are comprehensive. Relatively easy access
to postsecondary education does not correlate with a more educated population, instead, a system of
wastage develops.
Retention rates in the UK
In comparison with the USA and OECD average the United Kingdom has a relatively high rate of student retention. Out of
256, 000 full time degree students who commenced higher education study in the2004-2005 school year, 78.1% completed
the degree (National Audit Office, 2007). The UK has the fifth highest estimated graduation rate in the OECD (National Audit
Office, 2007). Whilst the rates could be improved, they illustrate that it is possible for nations to aim for high completion rates
of higher education courses.
The Netherlands
Similarly, the Netherlands has relatively high qualification completion rates in higher education (Van Stolk, Tiessen, Clifft &
Levitt, 2007). However, dropout rates for both students of native Dutch origin and those who are non-Dutch are rising (Van
Stolk, Tiessen, Clifft & Levitt, 2007). Almost 23% of native Dutch first time tertiary students who began studying towards a
three year (180 point) bachelors degree in 1999 dropped out two years later, in comparison with just 20% in 1997 (Van Stolk,
Tiessen, Clifft & Levitt, 2007). The dropout rate of non-Dutch students also rose by 2.5% during the same period, reaching
28.1% in 1999 (Van Stolk, Tiessen, Clifft & Levitt, 2007).
A New Zealand example
In response to a lack of data regarding student retention specifically in New Zealand, David Scott of the Ministry of Education
(MOE) conducted a report Retention, Completion and Progression in Tertiary Education in New Zealand in 2005.The report
detailed a study in 2002 that measured the retention rate of a particular qualification at a public tertiary institution. The
findings concluded that only 40% of students that enrolled in the qualification in 1998 had completed it by the end of 2002,
9% were still in the midst of studying towards it, whilst 51% had left the institute without completing the qualification (Scott,
2005). Similar results were obtained in an MOE study in 2004 where 52-54% of students enrolled in a particular year reenrolled the following year.
Disproportionate spending
The return on the investment in higher education is often not up to standard. Whilst student loans are easily accessible to
the majority, the way in which they are being spent is less than ideal. Borrowing in order to pay for postsecondary education
is necessary for most people. However, it is only worth borrowing money if the rewards outweigh the costs. If an individual
borrows money to finance his or her studies and obtains a qualification, he or she will more than likely acquire a well paying
job, and pay back his or her loan quickly, before becoming financially stable. Thus, the reward of the study outweighs the
cost.
The effect of low retention - a ‘system of wastage’
What is often occurring due to the low student retention rate of tertiary institutions is that students who fail to complete
a qualification are no better off than those who did not venture into the tertiary sector. They have wasted time that could
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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have been used in more practical ways, such as climbing the corporate ladder; have not obtained a qualification; and have
little to show for their study, though they still are obliged to repay the loan that financed their endeavour. Often this is the
unfortunate reality that many former students face. It can be deemed a ‘system of wastage’, as despite embarking in higher
education, individuals have not obtained a formal qualification, thus the money that financed it can be thought of as having
been wasted.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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What causes low student retention rates?
A lack of awareness
Despite the large number of studies conducted in the USA over the past two decades little has been done to address the ever
growing problem of the inability for colleges to retain student populations. Often staff members view low rates of student
retention as a positive outcome, concluding that the low number of students who choose to pursue qualifications at a given
institute are the ‘elite’ and are superior to their peers who chose to drop out. However, as outlined in this paper, this is far from
the truth. Such attitudes are often a result of an unwillingness to change. Staff members are familiar with the current policies
of the institution and do not wish to change their practises. Thus, in order for any real progress to be made all staff must get
on board with tackling declining student retention rates.
Social causes
According to McLaughlin, Brozovsky and McLaughlin (1998) the single most significant factor that affects whether or not
students continue to pursue education at a particular institution stems from their ability - or lack thereof - to form a ‘niche’
within the environment. Many students do not feel satisfied with their experience at the institute, they may feel that the
lecturers and tutors are substandard, or may not have found a group of friends that they feel they really click with. Whatever
the reason, the importance of connectedness within the institution cannot be overemphasised.
Academic causes
The percentage of students who fail to come back to tertiary education increases proportionately the higher the year group
(Scott, 2005). This may be because courses become more difficult and students may feel that they cannot reach the standard
that the course requires, or because a course does not challenge them. Education providers will observe a correlation
between poor engagement, low assessment results and attendance and a lack of student retention. Thus, it is important that
students have easy access to help outside the classroom through extra tuition or group study sessions.
Course relevance
If students view a course as having little value, their motivation to attend classes will decrease. ‘Killer courses’ may put
students off the institution, or off study altogether, particularly if these courses are core papers to completing a qualification.
Personal issues
Beginning higher education study for the first time can often require a significant adjustment in lifestyle for a student. First
year students may find it difficult to concentrate on their studies when demands outside of study are causing them stress.
Many students have cited familial problems, the breakdown of romantic relationships, paid employment and a lack of sleep
as having negatively affected their study.
Solutions
By being aware of reasons that students do not attend class and by helping to combat, this institutions can in turn improve
their retention rates. Students need to feel that the institute cares for their needs - academic, social and psychological. Thus,
by providing students with easily accessible programmes to improve student experiences, including fully funded tutoring
programmes, social clubs and counselling services institutes will likely improve retention rates. Higher education providers
must provide students with a place where they feel ownership in order to retain large populations of students.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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What to look out for
Symptoms of low student retention
Low attendance
Low attendance also indicates the likelihood of a student failing to comple the current year. Poor attendance usually indicates
either a dissatisfaction with course quality or outside issues. Students in the first few years of studying may have poor
attendance rates due to difficulty to adapt to the lifestyle of tertiary education or are struggling with other issues.
Lack of engagement
Students who are not only failing to attend classes but are also not engaging with the institute on the most basic level
are even more of a concern. This may include students who do not check their email for notifications provided to them by
the institute, do not log on to student management systems to check their grades after release or do not collect marked
assignments from tutors. All of the above actions would indicate an ‘at risk’ student who is not likely to complete their
qualification, particularly if this behaviour occurs early during the course.
Not handing in assessments
Similarly, students who are not handing in assessments should be seen as concerning for administrators at higher education
providers. The majority of students who enjoy the course that they are studying and want to achieve will at least hand in an
attempt of an assessment even if they believe that they are likely to fail that assessment.
Poor academic performance
Students who are failing or barely passing courses despite attending classes should be identified by the organisation as
needing extra help. It is likely that they are not understanding the content that is being taught and if the institute is not
made aware of this they will leave. Many students who are struggling are embarrassed to admit that they are not performing
academically and will not ask for help, thus it is the higher education provider’s responsibility establish communication and
provide struggling students with information about resources that they can use to improve their grades.
Without help to deal with these problems, students may feel as though they are not supported at the
institute and choose not to return.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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Student retention: ‘Best practice’
Recommendations
Communication and inquisition
One means of managing student retention is through establishing open communication pathways. By engaging in
meaningful dialogue with both past and present students institution leaders can get to the root of the problem - why
students are choosing to leave the higher education provider.
Focus groups with individuals who choose not to return to a provider the following year can provide chancellors and
executive officers with insight into trends. They can identify problem courses and alter the objectives or means of teaching
or assessment to make them more enjoyable for students. A lot of knowledge can be gained from just asking one simple
question. However this often takes place in hindsight.
The problem that many tertiary institutes encounter is a lack of inquisition. Staff do not see understanding the reasons
why students choose not to return to an education provider as imperative. By simply changing attitudes higher education
institutes can begin to address poor student retention.
The New York University Steinhardt Strategies
The New York University Steinhardt Strategies for Intervention can be employed when dealing with struggling students. The
strategies can be broken into two different processes: Instructional Support Teams (IST) and Response to Intervention (RTI).
Instructional Support Teams refers to teams of staff responsible for the identification of who is struggling, illustrating
broad reaching problems, providing modifications to pedagogy and assessing the effectiveness of curriculum changes by
monitoring student progress over a long period of time (New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and
Human Development, 2008).
It is imperative that students’ differences are acknowledged along with their similarities. This is addressed using the
corresponding RTI process, an intensive instruction process that measures the impact of the intervention and assesses the
need for further intervention.
RTI is a procedure favoured by the US Education Department and is highly recommended; it illustrates that problems are not
always easily fixable and keeping students on track requires constant monitoring.
When utilising the strategies of IST and RTI education providers must use discretion in order to avoid marginalising or unfairly
labelling students as ‘at risk’ of being unsuccessful. It is important to look for trends within the student’s engagement. One
issue with the practice is that it does not provide a strategy for addressing the ssues of students who are extremely at risk,
merely those who may only be moderately struggling.
The Clearinghouse Strategy
The Clearinghouse strategy recommends a different variant of ‘best practice’ for dealing with students who are likely to be
identified as being ‘at risk’ of failing courses or not returning to a higher education institute the following year.
The use of groups is emphasised as a key medium for encouraging learning (What Works Clearinghouse, 2013). Tertiary
institutes could encourage students identified as struggling to participate in study groups addressing specific aspects of
the courses they are struggling with. With students who are struggling extensively it is important to focus on developing a
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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key skill set, institutes need to identify what it is specifically that they are struggling with and provide them with immediate
individualized feedback. In these cases one-on-one instruction through additional tutoring with academic staff may be
necessary.
An action based process
Loss of students can often be prevented by early intervention. Identifying ‘at risk’ students early on and developing a sound
relationship with them can prevent the withdrawal from qualifications year after year. Retention is best approached from a
solutions oriented perspective. The focus needs to be on retaining current students as opposed to merely attracting more
new students to keep populations steady. Responding to students queries illustrates that the higher education institute
cares for its students and their individual needs. Students will be more willing to reciprocate if they feel that the institute they
attend is dedicated to communicating with them on a personal level.
Seidman Formula and Success Model
Seidman (2012) developed the following formula for establishing high retention:
Retention = Early Identification + (Early + Intensive + Continuous) Intervention
In Seidman’s (2012) formula early identification ensures that struggling students are identified via an assessment upon
entering a higher education institute instead of later in the course when the student may already be failing or struggling to
cope. By identifying issues early on, an intervention can be implemented at the earliest possible time to help the student.
Ensuring that the intervention employed is intensive and continuous ascertains that the chosen intervention is strong
enough to implement the desired change and to persist until the change has taken complete effect.
Software and automation
Large higher education institutes often struggle with keeping track of retention rates because of their large roll. Many
students may be struggling and it is difficult and time consuming to identify who is in need of the most urgent attention.
Technology can help institutes that are struggling to keep track of student retention data.
To know where to focus intervention efforts, institutes can start by running reports which query available data sources to find
those students who match relevant criteria (such as students who failed assessments during the last week, or students who
have not attended class for three consecutive lessons). Although running reports is a manual and cumbersome process, they
are a starting point.
Through technology an institute can automatically collect the relevant data that would indicate that an individual student is
struggling, such as poor grades or low attendance; analyse which students are likely to be ‘at risk’; prioritise ‘at risk’ students
depending on how urgently issues need to be addressed; notify staff members of which students are likely to be struggling
with their study and provide a framework for taking action to address the reported issues.
More comprehensive systems would also provide a full history of attempts to combat the issues faced by the struggling
student, including who has contacted the student, what has been discussed and any solutions that have been agreed upon,
as well as a reporting function to analyse trends found across a course.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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To summarise
Each year approximately half of the students enrolled in a particular institute will choose not to return to pursue their studies
the following year. Good retention is vital to the survival and thriving of higher education providers. It determines their rating
among competitors and is the key driver of revenue.
The term ‘retention’ is defined differently depending on the specific context being discussed. Different metric may also be
used to calculate retention rates within different institutions. In general, ‘retention’ is usually defined as ‘the percentage
measuring higher education students who remain in study from the original cohort until they have completed the
qualification up to 1.5 times after the average completion time’.
Causes of poor retention include but are not limited to an incongruity between the social climate of the higher education
institute and a particular student, students’ familial problems, presence of ‘killer’ courses, or a lack of challenging and
stimulating work.
Fortunately, poor retention can often be easily identified by particular student-institute interactions once higher educators
are aware of what to look out for, such as a student not turning up to classes, not participating in group discussions in class,
failing to hand in assessments or poor grades.
Maintaining high levels of retention is a long-winded, difficult process. Using a software solution that automatically monitors
the expected retention level throughout courses, rather than on completion of a qualification can be helpful to higher
education providers when tracking retention.
Technology can play a pivotal role in identifying struggling students who are at risk of dropping out, as well as allowing staff
at higher education institutes to develop and practice an intervention strategy.
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Student Retention - An issue, a discussion and a way forward
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About Cobek
Cobek Software is a specialist software developer serving higher education institutes from our base in New Zealand. Cobek
is focused on providing solutions in areas that are often overlooked and not fully addressed by vendors of student information systems. Our solutions integrate with and work along side other systems to provide our customers with the best solution
without requiring them to throw away their existing platforms and corporate knowledge.
Our student retention solution is purpose built to help higher educators to achieve outstanding retention outcomes by
providing a complete platform that identifies where to focus attention and coordinates activities, while providing a big
picture overview for institute directors to know how things are going.
With our retention solution your institute can spend more of your time on adding value, providing students with greater
opportunities to flourish academically.
www.cobek.com
[email protected]
This white paper has been produced by Brittany Cotter of Cobek Software Limited.
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References
Commonwealth of Australia Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. (2009). Transforming Australia’s Higher Education System. Canberra: Author.
Hagedorn, L. (2006). How to define retention: A new look at an old problem. Los Angeles, CA: University of Southern
California, Rossier School of Education.
National Audit Office. (2007). Staying the course: The retention of students in higher education. London: Author.
New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. (2008). Academic interventions
for struggling learners: Using culturally responsive instructional support teams. New York: Metropolitan Center for
Urban Education. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fsteinhardt.nyu.edu%2FscmsAd
min%2Fuploads%2F005%2F119%2FAcademic%2520Interventions1.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGypjp48YZfm
9KZdzLZFK_TzP3OnA
McLaughlin, G., Brozovsky, P., & McLaughlin, J. (1998). Changing perspectives on student retention: A role for institutional
research. Research in Higher Education, 39(1), pp. 1-17.
Scott, D. (2005). Retention, completion and progression in tertiary education in New Zealand. Journal of Higher Education
Policy and Management, 7(1), pp. 3-17.
Seidman, A. (2012). College student retention: Formula for student success. (2nd edition). Plymouth, United Kingdom:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
The Quality Assurance Agency. (2012). UK Quality Code for Higher Education. Gloucester: Author.
Van Stolk, C., Tiessen, J., Clift, J., & Levitt, R. (2007). Student retention in higher education courses: International comparison.
Cambridge: RAND Corporation.
What Works Clearinghouse. (2013). Best Practice for RTI: Small Group Instruction for Students Making Minimal Progress (Tier
3). Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/30676/
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