Increasing College Retention
Summary
Low retention of students who enroll in colleges and universities is a major social problem. Only about 55% of all students who enroll in U.S. colleges and universities complete their degrees at the same institution within 6 years, and retention rates for African-American and many other minority students are even lower. Completion of a college degree has major implications for students’ career and earning prospects. In addition, an educated work force is crucial to our nation’s economic vitality. Thus, understanding the factors that lead students, especially underrepresented minority students, to leave college and exploring approaches to increasing their retention are important tasks.
This project’s primary goal is to increase understanding of the factors that enhance retention of white and African-American college students. Using survey research, this project explores the institutional, academic, social, and personal factors that predict student retention. In addition, it experimentally tests hypotheses regarding ways to increase both students’ intentions to remain enrolled in college and their actual enrollment, highlighting students’ sense of belonging to their undergraduate institution as a potentially important but heretofore commonly ignored factor.
People
