Race Matters! Investigating University Retention and Graduation Rates

• In Event: Posters II

Abstract

Measurements of success among institutions of higher education include the ability to recruit, retain, and graduate motivated students. Nevertheless, assessing institutional performance by means of overall retention and graduation rates are not useful, because such measures often fail to take into account the increasing diversity of undergraduate college students. In an attempt to truly ascertain the demographic characteristics of students retained, the following study examined semester to semester retention and graduation rates of a single cohort of students over a five-year period. Despite moderately successful retention rates after one year, twenty-five percent of students did not return between their second and third semester. Both race and gender further affected retention and graduation rates, with female African American students at greatest risk of college attrition. This study improved our understanding of retention and is helping to guide university efforts at improving retention and graduation rates.

Author

• William Hale, Louisiana State University Shreveport