What We Know About First Year Student Retention

Clayton Smith, Vice-Provost, Students & Registrar

It is time

Last fall, we under-enrolled year 2 students by 178 (a 5.6% drop in flow-through rate)

Looking at this fall’s registration stats, it looks like we will register even fewer year 2 students this fall

…all while enrolling a constant number of year 1 students!

What is at stake when students leave

Lost revenue: Tuition revenue Ancillary fees for student services, books, events Miscellaneous revenues Alumni donations and involvement

Social cost for the student for society

Damage to the University of Windsor’s reputation Sunk costs from recruiting and orienting the student

The financial impactFirst year intake 3,120

Enrolment at the end of 1st year 81.5%

Number of students lost in year 594

Tuition revenue @ $4,660/year x 3 years $13,980

Ancillary fees @ $560/year x 3 years $1,680

Miscellaneous revenues @ $1,000/year x 3 years $3,000

Alumni donations and involvement $500

Total revenue / student over 3 years $19,160

Lost revenue from attrition of 594 1st year students $11,381,040

The financial impact (cont.)The cost for first year attrition is only part of the total picture.

We lose 594 first year students for a retention rate of 81.5%. Based on the CUDO-published graduation rate of 71.1% over 7 years,

we also lose potential revenue based on attrition of students in years 2, 3 and 4.

Using similar assumptions about foregone revenue as for first year students, the potential loss each academic year is

$3,793,680

If we could keep 20% of early leavers enrolled, we would gain

$758,736in additional funding each year.

Fact #1

Student attrition impacts our

financial bottom line.

Who are the students who leave during or after 1st

year?

By Student Type

First-time, full-time: 80.5% continueCollege transfers: 60.4% continue International students: 62.2% continuePart-time:

1st Year Entry: 33% continue 2nd Year Entry: 68% continue

We expect to find lower retention levels also for First Generation students, Aboriginal students, and new Canadian immigrants.

By Student Type (Cont.)

69% of part-time students who do not graduate in a 7-year period tend to drop out in either the first (38%) or second semesters (31%). This means that only 31% of those students who start as part-time graduate in a 7-year period.

By Faculty…Returning to the Same Faculty

2004 2005 2006 2007

Business 69.2% 66.8% 65.7% 63.2%

Engineering 76.1% 80.5% 81.4% 80.9%

FASS 77.4% 82.1% 83.7% 84.9%

HK 85.8% 81.1% 81.6% 80.3%

Inter-Faculty 69.0% 58.3% 52.7% 46.4%

Nursing 89.8% 86.4% 88.9% 89.0%

Science 78.1% 74.0% 76.2% 76.0%

Note: based on full-time entering students who return the subsequent fallas either a part-time or full-time student.

By Faculty…Returning to a Different Faculty

2004 2005 2006 2007

Business 6.3% 4.1% 3.7% 3.0%

Engineering 7.2% 4.4% 3.4% 3.0%

FASS 1.9% 1.9% 2.1% 2.3%

HK 4.7% 6.8% 7.0% 7.1%

Inter-Faculty 15.5% 25.2% 28.6% 32.6%

Nursing 1.1% 1.2% 0.1% 0.0%

Science 7.8% 7.3% 6.8% 6.4

Note: based on full-time entering students who return the subsequent fallas either a part-time or full-time student.

By Faculty…Left the University

2004 2005 2006 2007

Business 24.5% 29.1% 30.6% 33.7%

Engineering 16.7% 15.0% 15.2% 16.2%

FASS 20.6% 16.0% 14.2% 12.8%

HK 9.4% 12.1% 11.4% 12.6%

Inter-Faculty 15.5% 16.5% 18.7% 20.8%

Nursing 9.1% 12.3% 11.0% 11.0%

Science 14.1% 18.7% 17.1% 17.6%

Note: based on full-time entering students who return the subsequent fallas either a part-time or full-time student.

By Program

Undeclared: 61.4% (FT), 68.8% (FT/PT)AAUs with lower retention rates…some of

these students may also be relatively undecided about their major:PsychologySociologyEconomicsGeneral Science

Being undecided about majoris a factor in student attrition!Being undecided about majoris a factor in student attrition!

By High School GPA• There is a moderate positive correlation between high school

average and University GPA for full-time students, with about 40% of the variance of FT-GPA explained by high school average. – Business – 34%– Engineering – 46%– FASS – 36%– Human Kinetics– 37%– Inter-Faculty – 45%– Science – 48%

60% of why students aresuccessful is not explainedBy HS GPA!

60% of why students aresuccessful is not explainedBy HS GPA!

By High School GPA (Cont.)• There are three programs with a sufficient number

of students where more than half of those in the 70-72% high school average group were not in good standing at the end of one term. – Engineering– Biology– Chemistry

By Residence

Non-residence: 22% on probation

Residence: 32% on probation Varies by residence hall (15% in Alumni; 37% in

Laurier/MacDonald)

Fact #2

All types of students do not leave at the same rate.

Why do students leave?

The Factors

Prior to implementing web-based registration, the Educational Development Centre interviewed students as they withdrew

Recently, the Advising Centre conducted a pilot survey of students the semester following their withdrawal

Both surveys resulted in students telling us they left for personal or financial reasons…which has only limited effect on what we might do to enhance

student retention

Other Possible Factors

Living arrangements Distance from the university, distance from home Financial problems Personal issues Marital status Language difficulties Study interruption Level of parental support (emotional & financial) Student source (overseas, private school, CEGEP, high school, other university,

workforce, etc.) Access to study space and other resources Access to the internet

Other Possible Factors (Cont.)

Illness Poor choice of academic program Academic difficulties Poor or non-existent social life Needs of dependents Parental or family support

The Factors that Relate to Attrition

Financial problems

Poor marks

Personal problems

Students who withdraw

The CRI (Customer Relationship Index Inc.) Study

Adopts a proactive retention approach that identifies students at risk before they reach the point of departure and proactively intervenes by pushing advising services and university resources to them.

Step 1: An in-depth survey of all 1st year students in good standing who leave or do not re-register at Windsor over a specific period of time.

Step 2: A parallel survey of students in good standing who continue to be registered .

Step 3: Analysis of the collected data to identify: Factors that put students at risk of not completing their degree. The strength of the contribution of each factor in influencing a student to leave or stay to

completion. Build a predictive tool for applying to the next entering class

Fact #3

We need to know more about the attrition factors.

What does NSSE tell us?

NSSE – Key Findings

1st year students are less engaged than the Ontario Consortium in 4 of the 5 benchmarks of effective educational practice (level of academic challenge, active/collaborative learning, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus)

NSSE – Key Findings (Cont.)

Areas within the classroom in need of improvement:– Quality of course instruction– Number/variety of course offerings in your major– Better fit between course content, assignments,

exams– Reducing class sizes

NSSE – Key Findings (Cont.)

Areas outside the classroom in need of improvement:– Increasing contact with professors outside of class– Expanding/improving the quality of academic

support services– Improving the quality/availability of study spaces– Providing students with opportunities to

undertake research with faculty

Odette’s 1st year Advising Pilot Project

Noticed that 4th year faculty-student engagement was increasing

Possibly due to higher levels of faculty contactObtained a small grant through Queens and the Quality

Council,– Oversampled 1st year business students in NSSE– Experimental and control groups– Intervention to include:

– 12 full-time faculty members to serve as advisors – 24 student mentors– Academic plan by end of 1st semester

Fact #4

There are a number of things we could do to improve/enhance student engagement

Results of Retention Review:Teresa Farnum & Associates

March 2007

Key Findings – Observed Strengths

• Respectable retention rates• Pockets of excellence in student-centredness• FASS/HK retention activities• Windsor Welcome Week• Inclusion of parents• Residential expereience• Degree audit • Advising Centre

Priorities for Action

1. Connections– Advising– Orientation– First year experience

2. Academic Success– Early intervention initiative– Learning contracts for probation students– Learning commons (physical/virtual)

Some Other Recommendations

• Develop a retention dashboard of data• Create a retention coordinator position• Implement an evening degree completion program for

more programs• Implement a program for students who want to return

the University after a defined number of years (e.g., remove impact of F grades)

• Renew scholarships based on first year GPA (as opposed to the current semester renewal)

Fact #5

We are well-positioned to increase first-year student retention.

In Summary

1. Student attrition impacts our financial bottom line.

2. All types of students do not leave at the same rate.

3. We need to know more about the attrition factors.

4. There are a number of things we could do to improve/enhance student engagement

5. We are well-positioned to increase first-year student retention.

Questions & Comments