One of the major challenges for institutions of higher education continues to be the retention of first-year students, as well as, exploring and creating ways to keep these students engaged in their campus community. When discussing retention, first-year students are often of primary concern because of the increased risk of stopping-out. In addition, student engagement has been found to be a contributing factor to either the increase or decrease of student retention and will be discussed based on supporting articles.
Currently there are various approaches and trends that institutions of higher education have adopted to increase first- year success in freshman student populations. With regard to retention and first-year success Parker Palmer discusses how many institutions will often remedy this issue by adding courses that addresses a certain topic (Tinto, 1999). For instance, if an institution struggles with diversity they may create a course that discusses and analyzes diversity on campuses and its importance. In addition, Vincent Tinto mentions in a keynote speech that some higher education institutions will outsource and seek guidance from professionals who aim to increase retention rates (Tinto, 1999).
With regard to student engagement, colleges and universities have increased their support for bringing current and new students together. For example, Northern Arizona University implements the Nizhoni Academy, a summer bridge program, on their main campus in order to familiarize students with college-level coursework, buildings, dormitories, and faculty (2019).
Image above: Taken from Nizhoni Academy website. Yes, that is me in the picture at the NAU Native American Convocation Ceremony, and no I am not an alum of the Nizhoni Academy program.
These types of initiatives and programs all have one common goal, retain students during their first-year experiences in higher education. However, each of these programs can have major impacts and implications for other departments at a university. The most common of all struggles is working within the confines of each department’s financial capabilities. The cost of hiring additional faculty to teach courses, hiring retention specialists, and possibly building new housing to accommodate new learning communities can weigh heavily on a department budget. Retention efforts can also have major impacts on the other departments such as human resources because of hiring influxes, as well as, marketing departments that aim to publicize the various projects dedicated to student engagement and retention programs. Financial Aid departments can also play major roles in the execution of retention efforts and effectiveness.
As an entire institution, many 4-year public universities will allot financial aid for need-based students that qualify. In an article by L.D. Singell (2003), “merit-based aid also improves retention, but that its effect declines with need and academic ability.” All of these areas are affected when a retention initiative is being implemented and thereby can affect the growth of enrollment at an institution.
In further discussing the possible challenges that may arise when implementing efforts to retain and engage students during their first- year we examine the remarks made my Dr. Weldon Jackson, Provost of Bowie State University. In an article by J. Abdul-Alim, pertaining to retention efforts in Maryland, Dr. Jackson states that too often higher education institutions will think that retention is “everybody’s business (2013),” and thereby leading to the issue never adequately being addressed. These concerns indicate that engagement is an effort that must be made throughout all facets of a university or college. From the administration and staff to student clubs and organizations. Meaningful engagement during the first few semesters on campus could steadily affect the drop out rates at a university and increase graduation rates in the long-term.
In order to address each challenge faced by retention coordinators we must continue to analyze county, state, and national information on retention trends in public 4-year institutions. In data retrieved from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (2015) Delaware, Florida, Virginia, and California have retention rates that exceed 85%. This is approximately 7% higher than the national average of 78.4% (2015). Finding examples of successful models for a specific type of institution could prove as a step towards collectively working together to improve levels of retention on a national level.
One example, provided by Dr. Jackson, would be to designate an individual at each department or college to be the primary professional in retention. Dr. Jackson states that Bowie State University is working to make retention coordinators more accessible for students and staff (2013). The responsibility of a retention coordinator would be to understand the unique challenges by individual students at a particular college on campus. To create personal relationships with students and become more involved in their day to day lives (2013). Dr. Jackson mentioned that it is the goal of Bowie State University to increase their graduation rate from 41% to 60% by 2016.
Other suggestions for trying to solve the challenge of retention on an administrative level can be drawn from Vincent Tinto’s remark, “students are more likely to persist and graduate in settings that provide clear and consistent information about institutions requirements (1999).” The way in which an institution chooses to implement this notion can take various forms. This idea suggests that administrators and leaders of higher institutions must make concrete efforts to demystify what a college degree requires for the confused and intimidated freshman hoping to succeed in a new environment.
In addition, Tinto also suggests that our higher education institutions create more learning communities that support collaboration, enhanced critical thinking, and social development (1999).
Student retention and engagement are challenges that are not only important to administrators, politicians, and staff, but are important for the student population. In order for students to develop outside of the classroom there needs to be a diverse population that provides unique backgrounds and experiences. Engaging these students with their campus and its resources communicates a message of importance and inclusiveness. The programs and initiatives that were mentioned are all positive efforts on the part of higher education institutions to continue to develop and find ways to ensure their students success.
References
Abdul-Alim, J. (2013). Institutions must invest in retention efforts, panels says. Diverse Issues in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://diverseeducation.com/article/50573/
Annonymous. First Year Success Center. [website]. (2015). Retrieved from: https://students.asu.edu/fys
Anonymous. Native American Student Services. [website]. (2019). Retrieved from: http://nau.edu/Nizhoni-Academy/
Anonymous. First-year retention: First-time college freshman returning their second year. (2015). National center for higher education management systems. Retrieved from http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=224&year=2010&level=&mode=policy&state=0
Singell, L.D. Jr. (2003). Come and stay a while: Does financial aid effect retention conditioned on enrollment at a large public university? Economics of Education Review. Vol.23 (5), (pp.459-471).
Tinto, V. (1999). “Taking Student Retention Seriously.” Retrieved from http://www.marin.edu/WORD-PPT/TakingRetentionSeriously.pd
Comments