Retention history, factors, and terminology
Past to Present: A Historical Look at Retention
Berger, J. B., Ramirez, G. B., & Lyons, S. (2012). Past to present: A historical look at retention. In A. Seidman (Ed.), College student retention: Formula for student success (pp. 7-34). Rowman & Littlefield Pub.
Key Points: A historical overview of the history of college retention. When it began, why it began, and the theories surrounding it.
Initial Thoughts: I'm always intrigued by the history of subjects I never thought about having history—which is ridiculous I know because everything has a history. One fun fact, the average size college had 174 students by 1850. Honestly, I couldn't help but think about the "big business" of college. Was there freedom in not having to worry about retention? Did retention become important because after the expansion and boom of post-WWII colleges had forgotten what it was like before the 1900s to struggle to stay alive? Was retention all about finances and not as much about the student? "This separation between admissions and retention changed rapidly after the mid-1970s as campuses became increasingly aware that the enrollment boom of the previous few decades was about over" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 24).
I was struck by the 1960s section about the inequities in the school systems as colleges attempted to "promote access and diversity on college campuses" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 20) and those secondary education school system inequities were brought to light. How is it 60 plus years later there are still inequities in our K-12 system? That makes me sick.
Financial aid. The 1990s brought the recognition that financial barriers were a factor in college retention (Berger et al., 2012 p. 27).
Theorist:
"Spady's initial model and call for this type of knowledge development was the beginning of an ongoing movement in which retention would become a major focus of theory, research, policy, and practice throughout American higher education" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 22)
Tinto's interactionalist theory: Basically social integration is important as well as an initial fit with the college culture (Berger et al., 2012 p. 23)
David Kames: "Institutions with greater size and complexity, along with a superior capacity to place graduates in prestigious social and occupational roles, have lower rates of attrition than do other types of postsecondary institutions" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 23). Okay, this one I'm like, duh. You can look at any of the stats of the Ivys or elite universities and see their graduation rates are in the 90%. This goes back to being able to attract the best of the best and weed out the "undesirables."
Alexander Astin: "The amount of physical and psychological energy a student invests in the collegiate experiences (both social and academic) directly influence departure decisions" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 23).
Braxton: 4 propositions:
Students bring to college different entry characteristics, which will impact their initial commitment to the institution.
Students' initial commitment to the institution will impact their future commitment to the institution.
Students' continued commitment to the institution is enhanced by the level of social integration they realize early on.
The greater the level of commitment to the institution, the higher the likelihood of the student being retained through graduation. (Braxton, 2000 as cited in Berger et al., 2012 p. 27).
Learning Communities began in the 1990s as there was a new emphasis on blending academic and social theories on retention (Berger et al., 2012 p. 27).
Persistence and Retention also became notable in the 90s. "Increasingly student success has been recognized as the ability to persist to the completion of a degree at one or more colleges" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 28).
The Current and Future Trends section discusses retention rates between freshmen of highly selective institutions (8%), less selective 4-year institutions (35%), and open-enrollment institutions (50%). It then goes on to say, "As higher education becomes increasingly important for success in a society that has become knowledge- and technology-oriented, retention and persistence are more important than ever" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 29). I guess my first thought was, maybe we are placing too high of a standard on a liberal arts degree. Something is sloshing around in my brain but not coming out fully formed about certificate programs, trades programs ... not sure. I'll have to spend some time thinking more about what that section stirred in me.
*UPDATE: After writing the above paragraph I ran across this article, You don't need a bachelor's degree to land a high-paying job. It basically states what we've known for a while. There's a shortage of trade-type jobs along with health care and these 2-year degrees can make more money than some 4-year degrees.
I also like what Sara Goldrick-Rab has to say in Paying the Price. If we start with 2-year degrees being free then at least everyone has the chance to gain a credential. I mentioned in another post how it would be great if 4-year institutions offered stackable degree options. So even if something comes up and the student needs to leave school (permanently or temporarily) they at least have a better shot of leaving with some type of credential and not just debt.
One last note. As we were researching colleges for my son, I personally was lead to the colleges with higher retention rates. To me that said, if they have higher rates of graduation then they are doing something right. However, what this actually might be saying is, we've selected the best of the best and they were bound to graduate anyway (see only 8% drop rate). My son picked the college with the lowest retention rate because they gave him the biggest scholarship. The lesson I learned, if you have a student who is high-achieving enough to earn some merit scholarships, the colleges with the lower retention rates want to give you the most money because you will help their retention rates. It's not that these schools are doing anything less than other schools. In fact, I've been very impressed with my son's experience so far. As the text states, "most national rankings, such as the US News & World Report and others, use retention numbers to help rank institutions. These rankings are increasingly serving as a source of information to guide families in choosing colleges for their children, which creates a consumer-driven form of accountability. These trends appear to be here to stay and they make paying attention to retention more important than ever before. The continued increase of competition for resources in higher education will make retention crucial in the future." (Berger et al., 2012 p. 30)
Question: Why did a woman have to go to college to become a housewife or mother? Were they getting a degree in home economics? "The primary goal of women's college at that time was to prepare women for their eventual roles as housewives, mothers, and elementary school teachers" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 16).
Question: Who were the "undesirables" mentioned on page 18: "The rise of selective admissions policies developed not only to ensure that students were academically qualified but also as a way to weed out "undesirables" (Berger et al., 2012 p. 18).
Quotable Quotes:
"By 1850, the average size of a college was 174 students. Collegiate education continued to expand from an elite institution serving only privileged white males to a more diverse student body, which included women" (Berger et al., 2012, p. 16).
Increasing Persistence: Research-Based Strategies for College Student Success
Habley, W. (2012). Increasing persistence: Research-based strategies for college student success. Jossey-Bass.
Key Points: Chapter 1: Defining, Refining Perspectives on Student Success.
History of definitions used throughout the years regarding retention and persistence and how terms might sometimes seem interchangeable and therefore confusing. Discusses the way retention and persistence used to have a negative connotation and now has turned more positive with phrases like "student success" initiatives.
Chapter 2: Overview of Theoretical Perspectives on Student Success
Theories and perspectives on student retention. This includes both research done on student and institutional factors regarding retention.
Initial Thoughts: One thing that isn't discussed much in the issue of retention within this chapter is the financial capabilities of the students. The chapter states "Yet, in spite of all that is known, there has been little change in retention and degree completion rates in more than four decades. Nearly one-third of first-year students do not return for a second year ..." (Habley, 2012, p. 16).
Question: They do not return for a second year at the same institution but do they go onto another institution?
"... Fewer than half of all students who earn bachelor's degrees do so within five years of high school graduation, and approximately 40% of all students who enter higher education in a given fall will not earn a degree anywhere at any time in their lives" (Habley, 2012, p. 16).
Again, I think about financial factors that may attribute to this. Those who are working 40 hours or more a week while also trying to stay in school full-time with 15 credits so they can receive financial aid.
"With the additional factors of multiple ways in which students can earn college credit and the phenomena of students whirling and increase time to degree, it is not likely that the future holds a great deal of promise for improvements and retention or degree completion based on the existing retention framework" (Habley, 2012, p. 16)
Not all students want a degree. "Some students come to upgrade their work skills while others come to completely retrain. Some intend to complete one or two courses that will be transferred to another institution to complete degree requirements. Still others come out of intellectual curiosity, to take a course in an area of personal interest, or to explore the possibilities for additional post secondary education. Many of these individuals succeed yet none of them fit the linear or temporal definition of retention." (Habley, 2012, p. 15)
Theories:
Alexander Astin (1984, 1993) (Psychological perspective) - Involvement. "The basic tenant of involvement is that students learn more the more they are involved in both the academic and social aspects of the collegiate experience" (Habley, 2012, p. 11).
"He found that the most important forms of student involvement were academic involvement, involvement with faculty, and involvement with student peer groups" (Habley, 2012, p. 23).
Vincent Tinto (1975, 1987, 1988, 1993) (Sociological perspective) - Integration. "Student departure is a result of the extent to which students come to share the attitudes and beliefs of their peers and faculty and the extent to which students adhere to the structural rules and requirements of the institution—the institutional culture" (Habley, 2012, p. 11).
Interactionalist Theory - formal and informal academic and social integration (Habley, 2012, p. 21). Gaining membership in the institution's community.
"The primary principles of Tinto’s model of institutions with affective retention programs are those that committed to the development of support of social and educational communities and which all students are integrated as competent members" (Habley, 2012, p. 21).
Later Tinto added to his original model: "adjustment, difficulty, incongruence, isolation, finances, learning, and external obligations or commitments" (Tinto, 1993, p. 112 as cited in, Habley, 2012, p. 21).
George Kuh - Engagement. Student success increases the more time that is spent studying and being involved in other activities (I assume as long as that means it doesn't interrupt with studies). Also student success increases when the institution creates organized learning opportunities for the students (Habley, 2012, p. 12).
Kuh and Love (2000) - (Cultural perspective) Racial/ethnic minorities, first-gen and international students
Spady (Sociological perspective) - 5 variables that contribute to students' social integration.
Academic potential
Normative congruence
Grade performance
Intellectual development
Friendship support (Habley, 2012, p. 20)
Bean and Eaton (2002) (Psychological perspective) - "Four psychological processes that lead to academic and social integration" (Habley, 2012, p. 22).
Positive self-efficacy
Handling stress
Increasing efficacy
Internal local of control (do you feel like you have control over the events that influence your life?)
"They stressed the importance of institutional provisions for service learning, freshman interest groups and other learning communities, freshman orientation seminars, and mentoring programs to support student success" (Habley, 2012, p. 12).
Bean (1980) (Organizational perspective) - "Institutional quality and opportunity were the two most important variables influencing commitment" (Habley, 2012, p. 24).
St. John, Cabrera, Nora, and Aker (2000) (Economic perspective) - Weighing the costs and benefits of staying enrolled in college. "This perspective holds that if a student perceives that the cost of staying in school outweighs the perceived benefits of degree completion, the student will leave college. … Multiple studies suggest that student ability to pay for college and student perceptions of the cost of college have an impact on persistence." (Habley, 2012, p. 25)
Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon (2004) / Pascarella (1985) (Integrated perspectives) Mixing theories: organizational, psychological, sociological, and economic (Habley, 2012, p. 27-28). Residential vs commuter campus.
Alan Seidman (2005b) - Retention formula - "Retention is a product of early identification plus early, intensive, and continuous intervention" (Habley, 2012, p. 29) At-risk socially, academically, and psychologically. Early intervention, intensive intervention, and continuous intervention. Reminds me of Georgia State's student success structure.
Habley (1981) - The staying environment Retention Model - Health concerns, personal concerns, and financial needs are cited most often for students unenrolling from college (Habley, 2012, p. 32). When students withdraw their advisor receives their "reason" why and I often see "dissatisfied" which might relate to Habley's Boredom or Low Concern for Student.
Astin and Oseguera (2005) - Student characteristics contributing to retention: Prediction and Control. "Prediction focuses on the odds of a student completing a degree within an acceptable time period, and control refers to the institution's capacity to enhance students’ chances of completing a degree" (Habley, 2012, p. 33). Characteristics for completing a degree: HS GPA (number one), years of foreign language studied, father's and mother's education level, whether or not the parents were alive and living with each other, parental income, female, religion: Roman Catholic, Jewish, self-rated emotional health, community service, amount of time spent in student clubs and groups. The greatest negative effect? Smoking cigarettes (Habley, 2012, p. 33).
Chickering and Gameson (1987) - Institutional conditions contributing to retention: "Practices in teaching that enhance student learning are the paramount contributors to student success" (Habley, 2012, p. 33). Good teaching matters!
Encourages contact between students and faculty
Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students
Encourages active learning
Gives prompt feedback
Emphasizes time on task
Communicates high expectations
Respects diverse talents and ways of learning
Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt (2005) - institutional conditions - DEEP (Habley, 2012, p. 36)(which sounds similar to Habley's Retention Model)
Institutional Interventions Contributing to Retention
Facilitate a smooth transition into college through pre-enrollment and post enrollment orientation to college life.
Provide advice and counsel that helps student identify and commit to a program of study.
Access entry-level academic skills that result in placement and courses that are consistent with demonstrated academic skills and provide learning support for students who are at risk.
Focus on student learning as an active, collaborative, and challenging process. (Habley, 2012, p. 37)
Pantages and Creedon (1978) - Admissions policies and counseling programs ("college fit") (Habley, 2012, p. 37).
Noel (1978) - Admissions but also counseling to include academic advising and career planning (Habley, 2012, p. 37)
Tinto (1993) - "The most effective retention program it’s not necessarily one in which practices are in place, but rather a program that is integrated into a coherent first-year experience for students" (Habley, 2012, p. 38).
"Transition programs, advising, and learning assistance remain the most prominent interventions" (Habley, 2012, p. 39).
Diversity and Inclusion on Campus
Winkle-Wagner, R. (2014). Diversity and Inclusion on campus. Routledge.
Key Points: Chapter 8: Diversity and Inclusion Towards Persistence: Crossing to the Other Side
Dissecting Tinto's academic and social integration theory and Astin's student involvement model with how they affect students of underrepresented groups: students of color, part-time students, religious minorities, female, and LGBTQ+ students.
This chapter provides a case study at the end which I found to be an excellent learning tool.
Quotable Quotes:
"To think in more intersecting ways about disparities and persistence might reveal different solutions for how to help students be successful in college. ... Considerations of students' multiple identities in categories (race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) might lead to a more meaningful approach toward meeting students' multifaceted needs." (Winkle-Warner, 2014, p. 155).
A Stronger Nation
Lumina Foundation. (2021). A stronger nation: Learning beyond high school builds American talent. https://luminafoundation.org/stronger-nation/report/2021/#/progress
Key Points: A website dedicated to tracking the goal of 60% of all adult Americans having a credential beyond highs school by 2025.
"By 2025, 60 percent of adults in the United States will need some quality credential beyond high school. To count toward this goal, any credential must have clear and transparent learning outcomes that lead to further education and employment." (Lumina Foundation, 2021, Indiana sect.)
Breaks down each state by educational attainment, county, and race and ethnicity. I found the county attainment rates by state interesting.
Initial Thoughts: cc
Quotable Quotes:
"We need a new system for education beyond high school, one built on the expectation that every adult will earn a credential. More learning must be recognized—however it is obtained, and the system must be designed specifically to meet students’ needs." (Lumina Foundation, 2021, The need for a comprehensive system sect.)
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