“Yes, No, Maybe So”:
What We Know and Don’t
Know about Student Retention
Kathleen M. Morley, Ph.D.
Betsy O. Barefoot, Ed.D.
Policy Center on the First Year of College
October 31, 2005
The College Experience
Academic Integration
Social Integration
The College Experience
Academic Performance
Persistence
The College Experience
• Remedial programs
• Supplemental instruction
• First-year seminars
The College Experience
• Advising/counseling programs
• Comprehensive at-risk programs
• Undergraduate research
The College Experience
• Financial aid
• Student-faculty interaction
• Peer interaction
• Residence
The College Experience
• Learning communities
• Academic major
• Engagement
• Intercollegiate athletics
The College Experience
Summary:
• Best predictor: college grades
• Interventions shown to work
• So, why low retention?
• Assess campus needs & solutions
Narrowing the Focus: Most Common (and
Powerful) Retention Initiatives

First-year seminars
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Free-standing courses
Variable credit hours
Variable content
Graded or pass/fail
Required or elective
Offered at approximately
94% of American colleges
and universities
Can be integrated with
residence life

Learning communities
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Linking 2 or more courses
Thematic connection and
faculty interaction or just coenrollment
Can include a first-year
seminar
Rarely but occasionally
required
Offered at approximately
62% of American colleges
and universities
Can be integrated with
residence life
Desired Outcomes – Including, but not
Limited to, Retention

First-year seminars
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Improved retention/
graduation rates
Improved gpa’s
More credit hours
attempted/completed
Student adjustment/
involvement
Student satisfaction
Content knowledge

Learning Communities

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Improved retention/
graduation rates
Academic gpa’s and
“learning”
Connections across
disciplines
Connections with other
students
Deepened diversity and
leadership skills
Professional development
for faculty
Actual Retention Outcomes

First-year seminars
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Few random-sample or
controlled studies
Weight of evidence
points to positive and
statistically significant
effects on retention
Dynamics underlying
effects are unclear
FYS participants are 5 to
15% more likely to
graduate within 4 years

Learning communities
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Even fewer controlled
studies
Evidence points to
positive effects on
retention
Dynamics underlying
effects are unclear
LC participants are up to
15% more likely to
persist to the second
year.
Harnessing Potential Synergy

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Linking first-year seminars with learning
communities
Seminars can become linchpin that holds
larger learning community together.
Seminars can provide opportunity for
academic skills practice.
Seminars can address student issues without
taking time away from content courses.
Challenges

First-year Seminar
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“A course about nothing”
“A course about
everything”
Academic validity
Support from faculty
Student attitudes
Overall quality control

Learning Communities
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Registrar’s cooperation
It’s all or nothing – no
halfway participation
Faculty interest and
collaboration
Doesn’t work for parttime students
Overall quality control
Either Intervention Can Be an Arrow in
the Retention Quiver
It’s up to you!
Resources:
Washington Center for Improving the Quality of
Undergraduate Education, The Evergreen State
College (Learning communities)
National Resource Center for The First-Year
Experience & Students in Transition, University of
South Carolina (First-year seminars)
Contact Information

Kathleen M. Morley, Assistant Director


morley@fyfoundations.org; 828-966-5313
Betsy O. Barefoot, Co-Director & Senior
Scholar

barefoot@fyfoundations.org; 828-966-5310
Policy Center on the First Year of College
www.fyfoundations.org