The Challenges of Retaining College Students and Programming Solutions. Daniel Krhin, M.S., Director of Student Support Services Ripon College

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1 The Challenges of Retaining College Students and Programming Solutions Daniel Krhin, M.S., Director of Student Support Services Ripon College The search for the causes of student failure and attrition in college has been both a formidable challenge and source of frustration for professionals and administrators in the public and private sectors of higher education. Capable students who fail in college not only presents image problems for many colleges but also drive up college budgets by forcing institutions to allocate scarce resources toward new recruitment versus retention. Retaining a student in college from one year to the next is significantly less expensive than attempting to replace that student in the system. According to Vincent Tinto: Approximately forty-one of every one hundred entrants will depart the higher educational system without earning a college degree. Most (three-quarters) of them will leave in the first two years of college, the greatest proportion occurring in the first year of college (Tinto, 1987, p.21). By utilizing current research and building on the landmark study completed by Tinto in his book Leaving College (1987), an attempt will be made to outline the causes of college attrition and suggest new or alternative approaches to solving this very complicated, extensive, and expensive problem. Several programs for improving student performance and retention will be profiled. It will also be important to examine the institution s mission statement regarding what it values for itself and for its customers or students. Effective retention programs may only be as effective in direct proportion to the support provided by the overall mission and goals of the organization. This issue will be addressed in the final section of the paper. Finally, a discussion will be presented on retention efforts at a small Midwestern liberal arts college, which has utilized the Retention Management System from Noel-Levitz. Factors Influencing Attrition in College Following a fairly lengthy search of the journal database on retention, and reading Tinto on this subject, the literature reveals multiple reasons for student attrition, with factors originating in both the student s personality structure (intention, personal adjustment, prior academic preparation, and degree of personal commitment) and in the institution s programmatic structure (existence and degree of support systems, effectiveness of advising, career planning impact). How well these two areas meld appears to be more the direct responsibility of the institution in how it arranges and presents itself to incoming and veteran students. A key element in the retention process according to Tinto (p.54) lies in how the student perceives the programming and services at an institution versus what the programs and services actually consist of. If a student becomes isolated from the academic and social culture of a college based on inaccurate perceptions or incorrect interpretation of

2 Page 2 how the system operates, the likelihood of that student being retained is low, regardless of how well a student performed in high school. High school grades (and other related measures of ability) account for but 12 percent of the variance in staying or leaving behaviors. Approximately 88 percent of the variance is left unaccounted for when only high school grades are employed to predict persistence (Tinto, p.51). Obviously many other factors work to keep students in college. In Bogart s (1993) study, factors that contribute to success in college are: (1) extended orientation to the school s culture, (2) implementation of a freshman study skills or survival course, (3) careful identification and assessment of at-risk students, (4) collaboration among faculty, staff, and administration, (5) consistent and ongoing effective communication, sharing of information, and feedback among all staff, (6) ability to respond immediately to perceived trends, and (7) the flexibility to make changes in the program when necessary. The outcome from this program is not only higher retention but also a creation of a community of relationships and bonds for the students. The transition from high school to college is so dramatic that many potentially successful students leave simply because they misperceive one or many signs in the college culture. According to Tinto, it is vital for institutions to teach students about the culture as soon as possible. Tinto also suggests that institutions should assist students, especially those more prone to drop out, in the development of effective coping mechanisms to navigate the unique college environment positively (Tinto p. 98). Students enter college with a wide variety of academic, personal and career challenges and issues (Schreiner 1990 p. c5-c6) and it is critical to identify, assess, and attempt to alleviate areas of discomfort for students as early as possible in their career. York (1993) has found that in attempting to address drop-out proneness, an institution must bridge the gap between high school and college by recognizing the unique needs and challenges its students face and identify the time and location of weak links or gaps in the existing support system. Another very important factor in establishing high retention rates at a college is the degree to which students establish close and supportive personal and professional relationships with faculty and other significant people on campus (Tinto 1987 p. 147). Mentoring or close advising provides students with the structure they need to make informed decisions about their careers. Mentoring for retention can come in various forms, from faculty involvement to contact with college counselors, career services personnel, and student services staff who have the potential to address a concern for [the student] as an individual (Patti, 1993). Close contact, interaction, and mentoring between students and faculty/staff for higher retention purposes have also been documented by others (Stith, 1994). This care and concern is crucial to one particular high-risk group of college students who experience stress due to confusion about switching majors following rejection from or disinterest in an original academic program. Many of these students are advanced credit

3 Page 3 students who become highly discouraged after spending extensive semesters in a program now closed by institutional cut-off standards or self-selection. Students are confused, anxious, and often depressed about career alternatives and will be at risk for continuing their academic careers if a supportive intervention program is not available. Programming for this group should consist of (1) intrusive academic and career counseling, (2) provision of a caring atmosphere, (3) assistance in identifying realistic, attainable majors, and (4) specialized services to fit individualized needs. A generalist with eclectic information resources who knows basic counseling skills is the most effective person to deal with these students as the range of students is so huge (Steele, 1993). Close mentoring, proactive and intrusive involvement in students lives, emotional support, and academic skill-building appear to be additional critical components at schools that exhibit high retention rates. In a federally funded program entitled HORIZONS at Purdue University-Indiana, Paul (1994) found that the retention rate of initial cohort freshmen students involved in both the cognitive and personal growth portions of the program was at the 85 percent level measured after 10 semesters, whereas the control group of students only registered a 47 percent retention rate. It appears to be very important then to address the emotional, affective, and social realms of student s lives in addition to their academic and cognitive areas. In fact, according to Tinto, (1987 p.98) an individual s emotional response and coping repertoire to transitional problems in college, in large part, determine whether the student stays in or leaves college. Gerdes (1994) found a similar pattern in that emotional and social adjustment predicted attrition as well or better than academic factors. Additionally, Kalsner (1991) estimated that less then 15 percent of student departures come as a result of strict academic dismissal. She found that (1) uncertainty about the college environment, (2) transition/adjustment problems, and (3) financial problems contribute much more to failure to persist in college than sheer academic ability. Successful retention programs require at least three main components. The programs must be time-sensitive by attending to students needs as soon as they appear on campus. In fact, Tinto (1987 p.49) believes that the first six-to-eight weeks of a student s orientation on campus are so critical as to determine eventual retention or attrition for that student. A student may not physically make the move to depart the campus in the first segment of the initial semester, yet may have made the psychological decision to leave during that critical and apparently relatively small window of opportunity. Poor attendance, low levels of motivation, poor performances on evaluations, erratic or non-existent contact with mentors, and involvement with addictive behaviors (substance abuse, gambling, computer gaming, etc.) are all correlated with this psychological removal and eventual departure. Secondly, a successful retention program must be proactive in philosophy and practice. John Long (1995) at the University of Illinois at Chicago has found that intrusive and ongoing academic advising with some college students is critical if an institution desires strong retention numbers. This program has instituted a zero tolerance program for freshman students dropping out for academic reasons. Early contact with targeted students as early as the summer prior to initial enrollment is an important step in the intrusive involvement as the students (first generation, low income, and disabled) are given priority information about the culture of college.

4 Page 4 A third main factor important to successful retention lies in the institution s mission regarding the definition of success and how much investment and responsibility the organization wants to make in creating quality education for all its customers. Traditionally, colleges and universities have taken a curious, short-sighted, and often elitist position regarding its customers by setting up top-down decision making, both administratively and in the classroom. Kluepfel (1994), in her interview with Michael Hovland from the Noel- Levitz Centers regarding successful retention programs, found that a school s mission must be aligned to the people it serves: Successful programs do require that schools learn to think differently, that they teach their courses differently, or that they add support services. Programs (like those at Rutgers) have prompted faculty to reconceive their traditional courses and the way those courses are taught. All of this inevitably gets at the question of institutional mission and how an institution sees itself relative to its students. The best retaining institutions conceive their missions in terms of student success. A student success mission or vision says that an institution wants as many students as possible to succeed In contrast, more traditional views have suggested that one of the functions of higher education is to screen and weed out students. A student success vision is very much the opposite (Kluepfel, p ). The challenge for establishing high retention rates in colleges appears to lie in the construction of a mission statement and vision that is demanding of quality, inclusive in scope, supportive in its nature, and perceived by students as one they can relate to relative to their own professional and personal needs and interests. Cooperation among all departments is paramount and should comprise the basic foundation and orientation of the mission. Higher education must emphasize reality checks with the outside world and begin to create an environment where people are encouraged to exchange information and provide input freely without the threat of reprimand. The most successful institutions will eliminate the thinking that things are done a certain way because that is the way they have always been done. The Retention Management System and the College Student Inventory In our Student Support Services program at Ripon College, we attempt to screen and contact as many higher risk students as possible within the first few weeks of the first semester and to ascertain their academic and emotional needs. This early involvement has increased our retention significantly over the past few years. We have utilized the College Student Inventory (CSI) from Noel-Levitz as a major piece in our intervention and retention strategy. The College Student Inventory measures student perception of their academic, social, and financial environments and provides staff with indexes that measure drop-out proneness, predicted academic difficulty, educational stress, and receptivity to institutional help.

5 Page 5 For several years, eligible students consisted of first-generation, low-income, and disabled students. These students were given the CSI instrument during the fall orientation, and the results were reviewed within the first few weeks of the fall semester. Due to time constraints and proportion of eligible students qualifying for program services, the program changed from administering the longer Form A to the shorter Form B instrument and changed the administration of the CSI to the summer orientation session with results being addressed in fall. This change helped the staff determine a more efficient contact ranking of students. Due to the success of the Student Support Services staff in establishing some very meaningful relationships with students after the original and follow-up sessions with the CSI results and due to increases in retention with program-eligible students, the entire incoming classes now, for the past four years, have been taking the CSI with some significant results in overall college retention. The college as a whole has given retention more attention over the past four years, and the CSI has played a major role in helping students connect to the college culture and community. From , first-to-second-year retention was averaging approximately 76 percent of the original first year cohort class. Following greater emphasis on retention at Ripon and the usage of the CSI, the first-to-second-year retention rate has increased to approximately 85 percent, a very significant increase which impacted the overall enrollment at the college from the mid-600s in the mid-1990s to nearly 1,000 students in Ripon College plans to continue using the College Student Inventory as one piece in their retention management plan. References Bogart, Martha., Hirshberg, Ruth. (1993, March). A Holistic Approach to Student Retention. Paper presented at the Annual Regional Reading and Study Skills Conference (6 th, Kansas City, MO, March 1-2, 1993) (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ). Bolles, Richard (1993). The 1993 What Color Is Your Parachute? Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. Bonstingl, John J. (1992) Schools of Quality: An Introduction to Total Quality Management in Education. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Dale, Paul. (1994). A Successful College Retention Program. Paper published through the HORIZONS Student Support Services Program at Purdue University (Indiana). (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ).

6 Page 6 Gerdes, Hilary., Mallinckrodt, Brent (1994). Emotional, Social, and Academic Adjustment of College Students: A Longitudinal Study of Retention. Journal of Counseling and Development, 72, Kalsner, Lydia. (1991, Fall). Issues in College Student Retention, New York. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ). Kluepfel, Gail. (1994) Developing Successful Retention Programs: An Interview with Michael Hovland. Journal of Developmental Education, 17, Long, John (1995, November). Zero Tolerance for Freshmen Students Dropping Out for Academic Reasons: A Retention Program for Student Support Services Program. Workshop Proceedings of the 21 st Annual Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel. Fontana, Wisconsin. Patti, Michael (1993, November). The Relationship of College Facilities and Services to Student Retention. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research association, New Orleans, LA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ). Steele, George., Kennedy, Gary., Gordon, Virginia. (1993). The Retention of Major Changers: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of College Development, 34, Schreiner, Laurie (1990). Guide for RMS Coordinators and Advisors. Guide for College Student Inventory Users produced by Noel-Levitz Centers for Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation, Inc. Coralville, Iowa. Stith, Patricia., & Russell, Fritz (1994, June). Faculty/Student Interaction: Impact on Student Retention. Paper presented at the Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, New Orleans, LA. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ). Tinto, Vincent (1987) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. York, Michael (1993, August). Cause of College Retention: A Systems Perspective. Paper presented at the Convention of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED ).