College Student Retention: Bridging Recruitment and Development

Introduction

The transition from high school to college can be a rocky one for many young learners, and the unacceptably high attrition rate for newly enrolled college students in the United States is testament to this. Some student development initiatives, however, have been shown to help ease this transition and to provide college students with the support and resources they need to survive the adjustment and succeed in their academic endeavors. To this end, this paper provides a discussion of how to bridge the gap between recruitment and retention, including strategies and theories used by today's college student services professionals to make this transition as seamless as possible for their students. An examination of how educators can effectively pass the baton of responsibility is followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Given the importance of completing a college education in today's society, it is not surprising that an increasing amount of attention has been paid to college student development issues in recent years (Tanaka, 2002; Deberard, Julka, & Spielmans, 2004). Indeed, there is much to consider when entering college for the first time, but many young learners may not recognize all that is involved or fully appreciate the implications of their decisions along the way. For example, according to Feldman (2005), "Every day, students make decisions that affect their ability to complete a degree. They weigh some of these choices carefully, such as which college to attend. Yet they underestimate the impact of many other choices, such as whether to drop a course or accept more hours at work, not understanding the cumulative effect these decisions might have on their likelihood of completing a degree" (p. 3).

Background and Overview

Educators are acutely aware that college coursework requires a level of responsibility and maturity that some young learners may not yet have acquired, and the potential for failure is high for these students if they are not provided with the support services they need at this crucial juncture in their academic careers. For instance, Deberard and his colleagues report that:

"The freshman year represents a stressful transition for college students. Despite a multitude of social, academic, and emotional stressors, most college students successfully cope with a complex new life role and achieve academic success. Other students are less able to successfully manage this transition and decide to leave higher education during or at the end of their freshman year. It is estimated that 40% of college students will leave higher education without getting a degree, with 75% of such students leaving within their first two years of college. Freshman class attrition rates are typically greater than any other academic year and are commonly as high as 20–30 percent." (2004, p. 66)

The implications for students who fail to complete their first year of college are profound. According to Deberard and his associates, "Each student that leaves before degree completion costs the college or university thousands of dollars in unrealized tuition, fees, and alumni contributions. The decision to leave college is also frequently economically deleterious to the college dropout, whose decision to leave often places him or her in a position to earn much less over a lifetime of work" (p. 67). Furthermore, despite these adverse consequences for both universities and students, these authors report that attrition rates have not changed significantly over the past few decades (Deberard et al., 2004).

"This fact has provided an impetus to understand risk factors for college student attrition," they advise, adding that "if such risk factors can be identified, then intervention programs can be designed to increase retention rates" (Deberard et al., 2004, p. 67). In this regard, studies to date have found a consistent correlation between college academic achievement and retention, with higher-performing students persisting in their studies to a greater degree than their lower-achieving peers (Deberard et al., 2004). Furthermore, Crosling and Webb (2002) point out that "not only are there now many more students in higher education, but they come from far more diverse backgrounds" (p. 1). Helping young college students succeed has therefore become even more challenging and complex than in years past, but several initiatives have been found effective for this purpose, as discussed below.

It is one thing to successfully recruit new learners to undergo "the college experience," but it is another thing entirely to ensure that they stay long enough to complete a degree. According to Hoyt (1999), a number of factors can affect a freshman college student's decision to continue his or her studies beyond the first year. Some studies have suggested that:

Bridging the Gap between Recruitment and Retention

1. A student's declaration of a college major or career path relates to retention;
2. Student feelings of alienation are greater in large universities than in smaller educational institutions;
3. Institutional communication, fairness in policy and decision-making, and participation have been shown to be positively related to social integration, with significant indirect effects on attrition rates; and
4. The quality of a student's experience in the classroom or the classroom environment is central to student retention (Ritschel, 1995; Tinto, 1997, as cited in Hoyt, 1999, p. 51).

According to a study of college student attrition by Deneui (2003), incoming freshmen possess little or no connection to their school and therefore have little or no sense of community. Students who participated less frequently in campus-based activities and organizations were found to experience the greatest decreases in their psychological sense of community during the academic year.

Citing Tinto's original theory of "social and academic integration" (1975), Tanaka (2002) reports that student development professionals have long sought appropriate models to help them better understand what the transition experience is like for freshmen and how they can help students overcome the typical constraints and challenges they face. Indeed, researchers have increasingly attempted to explain why some students succeed and others drop out of college. According to Tanaka, by "integration," Tinto meant the "extent to which students adapted themselves to the culture of the institution." Tinto's theory can also be applied to campuses with ethnically diverse students. Not only can students improve their success in college through greater personal involvement, but the institution can also take steps to enhance a student's "talent development." These contemporary strategies and theories share some commonalities, including:

Conclusion

The research showed that college freshmen are frequently vulnerable learners who can be susceptible to a wide range of obstacles and challenges that adversely affect their ability to accomplish their academic objectives. The good news for student development professionals, however, is that a number of valuable tools are available to help understand and address the magnitude of these issues on freshman educational attainment. The research also showed that while these tools have proven effective in the past, today's college setting has become increasingly multicultural and diverse, and student development professionals must incorporate these realities into their practice.

Because every student is unique, there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to providing effective and timely student development services. Nevertheless, the methods and theoretical frameworks described above represent a strong starting point for helping professionals assist students in achieving their academic goals and completing their college education. Continued attention to both individual student needs and institutional structures will be essential to improving retention outcomes across increasingly diverse campus communities.