I read the thread about graduation rates, and it got me thinking about freshmen retention rates. Are they any more reliable than graduation rates? Is it a factor worth comparing?
They need to be considered in context, like the graduation rates.
It is still a flawed metric in that you don’t know why students are leaving. They may be leaving simply because there aren’t enough clubs on campus… one student may not be able to find any clubs to his/her liking while another might find several.
Nevertheless, I do think both graduation and retention rates have some value when they are unusually low. Beyond that I wouldn’t read much into them.
I think it can be. However I would think that it would only really apply to schools with a large variety of majors.
Yes, schools that are relatively specialized in the type of majors they offer may have low retention rates, because students who change their majors may be more likely to have to transfer to different schools to find their new majors.
Yes, if you’re comparing similar schools. If you’re looking at two similar sized colleges, both with regional rankings, about equally well known, and one has a pretty low retention rate, you’re probably right to ask some questions, but you should ask questions. There is one school near to me that believes in giving many local students a chance at attending a 4 year college. It’s part of the mission. The retention and graduation rate show it. Might not be for you because it can be disheartening even to good students to feel like “everybody” is leaving. Or it might be a great fit. You’d have to visit.
To me it says that the students entering are not as academically focused as other colleges…be it that they are over their head, they have to work, they don’t really care, etc.
It depends on the list of the personal criteria when choosing college. My kid did not use ANY statistics / rates / ranking as her criteria, others may use them. She simply said that she would do fine anywhere and decided to focus on researching which college will match her personal criteria the best. The result was very positive, she achieved her goal of being accepted to several Med. Schools. One of the most importnat reason was that in fact she has chosen “happy place” based on her own preferences and not somebody else’s which are reflected in the retention rates, graduation rates, ranking, they simply were not her criteria.
I’d find it more informative if they said how many students didn’t return because of money, because of flunking out, or because they just didn’t like it. I know a lot of freshmen who didn’t return (or didn’t make it through the first year). Most of them just didn’t choose well in the first place. Too far from home (and their friends at the flagship), too small, too isolated, too expensive. One of these kids really didn’t think it through. His older brother went to this same Jesuit school but transferred. Now the younger brother is transferring too - to the same instate directional U. Mother is happy because it is cheaper, but why even go in the first place (son hated it from the beginning).
I think the colleges don’t always know why a student leaves because students aren,t straightforward on the exit interview. They won’t say homesick or want to be in the same school with boyfriend, so they’ll say money. If they are heading toward academic dismissal and want to beat the institution to the punch, they might say they want a program not offered. Believe me, institutions do keep these stats and agonize over the reasons looking for patterns and things they can “fix.”
The 4y graduation rates for national universities and LACs pretty much reflect their selectivity and USNWR rankings. Top state universities seem to have relatively higher retention rates than their rank/selectivity would suggest. But in general, the retention rates don’t seem to add too information to the other metrics.
Those two stats are basically the same thing. At most schools, about half of the attrition for grad rates comes from not retaining freshman.
So retention rate would only be a telling stat if it varies from that pattern.
Except for rankings that report 4 year grad rates and include programs with a lot of 4.5 or 5 year grads. Engineering especially throws off the 4 year grad rate.
So when a college makes a big deal about their 82% freshmen retention rate, is that just used car salesman hype that should be ignored?