Developing a Student Retention Plan
Dr Jim Elliott, Student Transition and Retention Team (START) Manager, Curtin
University of Technology
Phone: 9266 7850
Fax: 9266 3052
Email: j.elliott@curtin.edu.au
Keywords: retention; attrition, planning
Abstract
Student retention is a matter of serious concern to the University. Poor retention impacts
upon the University’s reputation, and has significant implications for funding. In September
2006, the author was given the task of developing the University’s Retention Plan. This paper
describes the processes involved in this task, and progress made in the first year of the
project. Key aspects to be addressed in this paper include:
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Evaluation of retention data, including the very real problem of working out what
they actually mean
Engaging key stakeholders in support of the process
Assessing existing retention strategies
Identifying potential new student retention strategies
Trialling new strategies with the goal of identifying those to be implemented on a
wider scale in 2008
Examining potential performance indicators in the context of the problems associated
with retention data.
Introduction
Student retention is obviously an important matter for any university. The key
reasons for this fall into several categories.
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Funding issues: High attrition rates have financial implications:
– recruitment costs are partially wasted
– there is a loss of future fee and other income
– there may be effects on our sources of funding
Courses and positions can be jeopardised:
– Where attrition rates remain high for extended periods, questions can
be raised about course or even institutional viability
– Staff jobs may be at risk, or there may be pressure for inappropriate
redeployment
Reputation:
– Students who have a good experience have a positive influence on the
institution’s reputation
– students who leave without completing their course may not have such
good stories to tell. “Bad” stories tend to have greater impact than
good ones, and may therefore influence future recruitment.
Ethical and Duty of Care considerations:
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Offering a place indicates some degree of belief that the student has the
potential to succeed. There is an assumed contract therefore that the
university will attempt to provide the best possible environment for
new students.
Some students (especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds) will
need additional resources to succeed.
Any student can become an “at-risk” student at any time for reasons
beyond their control.
Evaluation of retention data, including the very real problem of working out
what they actually mean
The intuitive meaning of retention seems a simple question of whether we retain the
students we recruit. However, when we try to focus the lens on this statistic, it goes
very fuzzy. Questions arise such as:
Retained by whom? There are different figures depending on whether the measure is
retention by the whole university, the faculty, or the enrolling school within the
faculty. Enrolling areas are disturbed by losing students, even if they switch courses
to other areas of the university. The university as a whole doesn’t mind too much
about course switchers, although course switching in large numbers can be disruptive
and indicative of poor course selection in the first place. If a student switches to
another university, he/she are not lost to higher education, but the university which
loses the student has lost its investment.
Retained over what time period? The traditional measure is the proportion of students
enrolled in the subsequent calendar year, excluding those who have completed their
course. However, the date that the measure is taken will lead to a different figure. A
measure in late January will yield different data than one taken immediately after the
census date. There will also be a different figure depending on whether students who
have taken a formal leave of absence are included. The calendar year approach
carries an implication that the quickest possible progression through a degree is the
most desirable. For some students, there may be a strong case that completion over a
longer period is perfectly acceptable – including gaps between study periods.
Retaining whom? There are different figures for a range of defining characteristics
such as commencing, continuing, domestic, international, male and female, part-time,
full-time, mature-aged, school leaver, standard entry, non-standard entry, and so forth.
Measures of some potential target groups are very hard to come by. For example, we
can only identify the retention rates of students from rural and isolated areas if they
happened to have named a rural and isolated address on their enrolment information.
Likewise, retention statistics of students with disabilities can only be derived from
students who have declared this status on enrolment.
How much retention is good enough? No-one would ever argue that 100% retention
is either possible or desirable. Once that is accepted, then it becomes a matter for
discussion what is desirable. The assumption generally is that retention ought to be a
bit better than it is, but not too much better. It is accepted that factors beyond the
university’s control and the student’s control can lead to a decision not to continue.
There extent to which Curtin may have been able to intervene with students who leave
is a matter of conjecture at present. There is very little empirical information.
Students who are lost to the university fall into three categories – those who take the
active step of withdrawing completely from their course during a period of study;
those who simply do not re-enrol at the end of period of study (called AWOL
students); and those whose enrolment is terminated by the university for poor
academic progress (or occasionally for reasons of misconduct). It would be useful to
obtain data from these students to learn whether there was any reasonably cost
effective intervention that would have made a difference. Accurate data of this sort
would enable the university to set specific retention targets somewhere between
current retention rates and the unattainable 100% retention rate. At the time of
writing, a research project is under way to investigate this issue.
Despite all these caveats, an examination of Curtin’s retention statistics gives some
clear indications.
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The overall retention rate is a little different between Domestic and
International students - slightly in favour of International students.
Domestic students: The highest level of attrition appears in Humanities,
Engineering and Science and the Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS). It is a
significant issue in across most of the Schools in Humanities courses plus
some specific courses elsewhere.
International students: The highest level of attrition appears in Humanities,
Engineering and Science. The schools which show these higher levels of
attrition for International students do not necessarily coincide with areas of
high attrition for domestic students.
Internal versus external enrolment: External students generally have higher
attrition. The disparity appears worst in Humanities and Curtin Business
School.
Gender: Where there is a large disparity between male and female enrolments,
the minority group appears at greater risk of attrition. Women in Engineering
and Science appear a little more at risk. Men in Social Science are slightly
more at risk. Otherwise, there appear to be few obvious marked gender
differences
Age: With some small exceptions, older students are very clearly more at risk
than younger students. This applies across all divisions, all campuses and
nearly all courses. The higher level of risk of attrition for mature aged
students is the clearest variable in the retention statistics.
Commencing students versus continuing students: There is significant attrition
amongst students from 2nd year onwards – demonstrating that retention is not
simply a 1st year issue. Nonetheless, the 1st year is still probably the biggest
single source of loss. However, these data are highly variable across courses –
which may be an indicator of frequency of course switching rather than
attrition from the University.
Entry via standard TER versus non standard TER: Non standard TER students
appear at greater risk of attrition. The biggest disparity between the two entry
modes is in Engineering and Science and Humanities. At school level, the
different in retention varies from year to year – but usually in favour of the
standard TER.
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Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL): Students admitted with significant
recognition of prior learning are often placed into the 2nd year of a course after
completion of a TAFE course or study overseas or some other qualification.
There was concern that students admitted with significant RPL may miss
Orientation support and not necessarily cope with academic content. This
appears not to be so. The data indicate that is does not seem to be an issue in
itself.
However, strong anecdotal evidence seems to support an opposite
conclusion. It will be important to investigate this variable further.
Rural home address versus metro home address: This does not seem to be an
issue in these data. The commonly held view that rural students may be at
greater risk is not shown.
ATSI students not enrolled in the CAS: These students are small in number.
Their attrition rates are higher than other students – but are better than CAS
students. The majority of these students had entered the university via the
CAS bridging course. Their progression into other courses clearly indicates
that they remain an at-risk group.
What do these data suggest?
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There is no single retention issue, and therefore no single intervention that will
“fix’ things
The nature of the University student population is an issue. By having a
substantial proportion of mature-aged students, the university therefore has a
larger number of at-risk students. However, changing our retention data by
recruiting a different kind of student population is very unlikely to be an
effective strategy, unless implemented over a very long period. In the end,
retention interventions have to work with the student population that we
actually have.
Targeted interventions may make a difference in particular areas:
o Humanities at a Faculty wide level
o Some specific courses
o Students enrolled externally
o Older students
Because of the fragmented nature of other retention/attrition data, we should
consider:
o Generalised interventions that benefit all students
o Specific student retention initiatives at enrolling area level
Engaging key stakeholders in support of the process
Retention is an issue for the whole university community. If the university is to
develop a retention plan embracing a range of retention strategies, it is critical that
this should not be seen to be a function of a specialist support area. To that end, a
Retention Plan Steering Committee was established. It included key staff and student
representation from the following areas:
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Student Transition and Retention Team (START) Manager as chairperson
University Support Services Director
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First Year Experience/Transition Coordinator
Faculty Deans of Teaching and Learning
Regional Campus representative
Student Services Director
International Office representative
Pro-Vice-Chancellor Teaching and Learning representative
Student Learning Support Centre representative
The Student Guild President
Guild Student Assist Department representative
The tasks of this Steering Group are as follows:
Task One: Overview Curtin Retention data in context of a wider theoretical
understanding of student retention
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What characteristics are shown in the retention data?
What do these data suggest for key target areas for retention planning?
Task Two: Review of the resources and programs that Curtin already has in place to
address retention
Task Three: Identification of critical gaps in retention resources and programs
Task Four: Development of a Draft Retention Plan
Task Five: Identification of key goals for implementation 2008-2010
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Tasks
Timelines
Responsibilities
Budget/Resourcing
Evaluation
At the time of writing, the Steering Group is at Task Four in this process.
Assessing existing retention strategies
All universities are already intimately involved in the business of student retention.
At one level, we could argue that almost anything that we do – from initial marketing
and recruitment to alumni relations – has something to do with retention. However, it
is more helpful to assess our retention strategies within a more restricted framework.
There is a substantial literature on student retention, including empirical studies and
theoretical analyses. These have been comprehensively reviewed elsewhere, and a
summary
of
the
research
literature
may
be
found
at
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/external/ Curtin’s retention strategies were mapped
against a modified version of the variables described by Tinto’s model (1993).
Choosing to assess retention strategies in this manner make it possible to
simultaneously consider what may be missing or in need of further development.
Variable One: Individual Attributes
Students arrive at the University with a range of individual attributes that can affect
persistence. These include the characteristics of Equity Target Groups: Students of
Australian Indigenous descent (ATSI); Students from Low Socio-Economic
Backgrounds (LSES); Students from Non-English Speaking backgrounds (NESB);
Students with Disabilities (SWD); Female students studying in non-traditional fields
(WNT); Students from Rural and Isolated Areas (R&I).
This variable also includes a range of individual factors such as religion, personality,
mental health issues, family background etc. A key issue within this variable is the
existence of appropriate support services and the capacity to link students to them in a
timely manner.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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CAS services and programs
Counselling Service
Disability Services
Multi-faith support services
FYE support programs
New to Curtin E Newsletter
Housing Services
Child Care Centre
Regional campuses address the needs of a proportion of R&I students
Student Assist at the Guild
Orientation Week and Prep Week activities
International Student Advisers
Flexible arrangements for prac/fieldwork
Postgrad R&D Office advice for students
Variable Two: Student Finances
Financial issues are clearly implicated in student attrition. Costs include fees,
incidental course-related costs, and living expenses. Students may have limited
budgets and be vulnerable to experiencing financial crises when exposed to what may
seem to be relatively small additional costs. Associated with this variable is the time
factor. A large proportion of students have significant hours of employment, which
may impact on time available for class attendance, personal study time, and capacity
to engage in extra curricular activities.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Scholarships (see http://scholarships.curtin.edu.au/)
Emergency Loans
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Guild Student Assist financial help – Bookshop Grants, Art Grants, Tax Help,
Re-Boot (computer recycling) etc.
The Centrelink office on campus
“Stretch Your Student Dollar” information sessions in O Week
Multi-faith and FYE links to welfare support
Guild Employment Service and Careers@Curtin graduate service
Study at regional campuses reduces some students’ relocation costs
Flexible payment options for International students in difficult financial
situations
CAS students Enabling/Access programs
Variable Three: Developing Relationships with Prospective Students
A student does not begin their relationship with the University at the point of
enrolment. The relationship exists from well before the prospective student submits
an application to enter a course. It is important to foster positive expectations – and
more important, to subsequently meet those expectations.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Prospective Students’ Service offers a substantial range of services.
There are a small range of Outreach programs which enable pre-university
students to have some engagement/involvement with the University
Science and Computing employ a Faculty Outreach Coordinator
CBS Email Newsletter for Prospective students
CRE Enabling Units
Curtin Connect – email e-mates for prospective international students
Careers Expos
Open Day
International Prospectus
Pre-departure Guide for International students
Information in the TISC Guide
Role of Marketing staff in each Faculty
Variable Four: Addressing the Impact of Pre-University Education
Students arrive with a broad range of competencies. Some have deficits which
jeopardise their chances of future success. We have the challenge of addressing these
needs whilst avoiding the stigmatising label of “Remedial Programs”.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Student Learning Support Centre
CBS Communication Skills Centre
Counselling Services
A small number of Peer Assisted Study Support programs exist
Various Bridging units
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CAS Bridging and Enabling programs
Speak Up (English language support)
PC Champs mentoring program
Engineering Foundation Year
CRE Enabling Units
Variable Five: Goal Commitment
This variable is whether a student can give themselves a satisfying answer about why
they are doing their course. Typically, this will involve either a commitment to the
career goal and/or there will be something intrinsically motivating about the course
itself. Interventions that increase the student’s goal commitment contribute to
improved retention.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Prospective Students Service offers Career Voyage as a basic vocational
screening assessment tool
All pre-university marketing publications have a function in assisting students
to make the right choice
Careers@Curtin offer a comprehensive range of services
Counselling Services
Many but not all departmental websites carry specific career information
FYE advisory services
Use of placements, internships and work experience in various courses
Course preference ranking is likely to be a factor in goal commitment – some
courses obviously attract more higher preference applicants than others
Faculty support websites
Variable Six: Institutional Commitment: Increasing the degree to which the
University is committed to meeting student needs and increasing the student’s
commitment to Curtin
Commitment is a two-way relationship. Students who are committed to the
University are more likely to persist, but they are less likely to do so if they do not
perceive that the University is committed to them. The faculty and general campus
climate can make a profound difference to this variable.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Physical campus environment – gardens, cafes, parking, signage etc at Bentley
are widely acknowledged to be good quality, and constantly improving
Clear and consistent administrative processes across whole university
Embedded O Week and Prep Week programs
Involvement of students in decision-making processes
Active marketing of support service at critical times
Security services
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Use of eVALUate and CEQ and responding to the feedback obtained
Student representation in key decision-making processes
Student consultation via focus groups
Variable Seven: Quality of Teaching and Learning
This is the single most important area – and is manifestly not a single variable. If the
quality of teaching and learning is poor, the retention rate will likely be poor regardless of how well the University has addressed other retention variables. The
University has a Teaching and Learning Enabling Plan and the Curriculum 2010
Project – which are already aiming to address key aspects of this. It is therefore not
strictly necessary for the Retention Plan to focus on redeveloping the same responses.
Nonetheless, there are some specific retention issues worthy of consideration.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Recent developments in intervening with students on Conditional status
Existence of 1st year communication skills/transition units such as Engineering
Foundations: Principles and Communication 100
Early formative assessment exists in a number of areas
Library support programs
IT support
Plagiarism and academic honesty policies
C2010 Course Information booklet
Use of eVALUate for continual improvement
Variable Eight: Peer Group Interaction
It is absolutely clear that students who form positive and supportive relationships with
other students are more likely to persist. This is especially so when the relationships
are within the same course of study; and the effect is further enhanced if the
University can encourage senior-to-junior student relationships.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Mentor programs operate in a small number of schools
The range of activities operating from Building 599 - PC Champs, Curtin
Volunteers, Cirq de Cirt etc
A range of faculty clubs/societies exist, with varying levels of activity
Student Housing Resident Assistant teams actively promote social activities
Many Guild functions contribute to peer group interaction
Extensive use of group work and group assignments within courses
The use in some schools of postgraduate students in mixed mentoring/teaching
roles
Variable Nine: Faculty Interaction
Students who form a positive and supportive relationship with staff are also more
likely to persist. Clearly, it is of most benefit if these relationships are with staff who
are currently teaching the students.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Open days and other central events (e.g. Multicultural Week) typically engage
students working with staff on project of mutual interest
There is movement toward clear identification of staff in key roles with
generic titles such as Year Coordinator and Course Coordinator
There are staff/student mentoring program in a small number of schools
Many areas arrange social and professional development events involving
both staff and students
In some areas, some staff have an involvement in faculty clubs
Some areas have clearly communicated arrangements in place for students to
access academic staff
Variable Ten: Developing the Graduate’s Relationship with the University
A University’s reputation ultimately lies with its own graduates. Programs which
encourage interaction between past and current students, and between past students
and University staff build a bond that can have long term benefits for all participants.
Within this variable, we might also consider former students who are not graduates –
that is, those who have left without completing a qualification.
Existing Retention-related Programs/Services
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Alumni activities
Some Schools to invite graduates to specific events
Careers@Curtin events such as the Careers Fair
Identifying potential new student retention strategies
A consequence of the review of existing retention strategies makes it possible to
consider what initiatives may be introduced. The Retention Plan Steering Group has
developed a substantial number of possible ways of intervening to improve student
retention. These strategies were then ranked on the criteria of:
Potential Impact: This is a broad judgment which refers to whether the proposed
retention strategy would make a significant difference to retention. This will
generally mean a quantitative difference to retention statistics, but there may also be
qualitative arguments in favour of interventions that do not necessarily affect large
numbers of students
Difficulty in Implementation: This refers to the complexity of the strategy/intervention
and the level of resourcing required.
Urgency: This reflects how soon the university should make a start on implementing
the proposed retention strategy.
The items listed below those which ranked highest in this process. These items
scored highly on at least two of the three criteria. Some similar items have been
clustered together in this process.
Potential Retention Intervention
Strategies
Our Relationship with Future and
current students:
 Ensuring information for
prospective students is
accurate and timely – and
matches subsequent
experiences of the
university.
 Building a stronger
working relationship
between Prospective
Students Service, First
Year Transition, Careers
Service and Alumni
 Treatment of students with
respect by staff – with
consideration for the
possible availability of
“customer service” training
for staff
 Address students’
perceived lack of
flexibility of the University
on particular admin issues
(e.g. fee payment
schedules) → setting a new
framework of flexible
decision-making for
individual student’s
circumstances
The Transition period:
 Continued embedding of O
Week and subsequent
transition programs within
academic areas
 Delivery of O Week
program to late arriving
students (including as
much on-line as is
feasible).
Comments
There has been concern expressed that recruitment materials
should reflect what is actually delivered. The first item in
this section refers to ensuring both the appropriateness of
recruitment materials and processes and the quality of the
student experience both in teaching/learning and in the
wider sense of an over all Curtin student experience.
The intent of the second item is to help build a seamless
movement through the roles of future student, beginning
student, current student, completing student, graduate, and
alumni.
The final two items derived from discussions about building
respectful working relationships between students and staff.
It was observed that respectful behaviour is not expensive,
but lack of respectful behaviour is.
The Orientation and Transition Best Practice Checklist at
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/programs/orientation.cfm is a
beginning on developing a Quality Assurance process across
the whole of Curtin.
On-line delivery of O Week to late arriving students is
feasible. However, we wish to encourage as many students
as possible to attend O Week in person. On line delivery
should not give a message that O Week attendance is
optional or unnecessary.
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Introduction of “University
101” style units more
widely. OR introduction
of some of the content of
such “surviving and
thriving at uni” units
within current 1st year
units
 Further use of mentoring
programs (senior student:
new student): largely
school-based but possibly
including specific issue
mentoring groups
 Inclusion of retention and
transition as a required
item within school plans –
with particular emphasis in
areas with high attrition
rates
Connecting to sources of help:
 Raising student awareness
of the range and
availability of support
services
 Raising staff awareness of
the range and availability
of support services
 Interventions directed at
assisting students on
Conditional status –
especially development of
written agreements/plans
aimed at returning to Good
Standing
 Interventions directed at
identifying and supporting
at-risk students as early as
possible
 Developing appropriate
interventions at the point
when a student is
withdrawing (e.g. exit
interviewing, signature
from course controller, online information pop-up
providing support service
information, etc)
 For Regional Campuses –
Mentoring programs are already under development for
2008. Information for students on the planned programs is
available at
http://unilife.curtin.edu.au/newtocurtin/mentoring/index.cfm
It is proposed to expand these programs to additional
schools in 2009. Guidelines for staff on developing mentor
programs exist at
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/programs/mentoring.cfm
The extent to which schools address retention as a specific
item in their plans is not known. It is suspected that it is
variable. (The available Faculty Plans at
http://strategic.curtin.edu.au/plans.html barely mention the
issue). Focus on retention at school level is likely to lead to
more tailored and targeted interventions.
There are some indicative data that the students we lose do
not make the best use of support services. For example,
Counselling Service information sessions for students on
Terminated status showed that approximately 80% of these
students had not accessed any support services.
We may therefore need to consider processes that are
somewhat more proactive in linking students to sources of
support. The trial of an on-line referral system in
Humanities (see
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/programs/referral.cfm) has had
satisfactory results so far.
The introduction of an active intervention process in Curtin
Business School in second semester 2007 with students on
Conditional status is also showing promising results. There
plans in progress to intervene across the whole university
more actively with this target group in 2008.
There are a number of potential interventions at the point
when a student is withdrawing from enrolment. Most would
be directed at assisting the student to return to study in
future rather than seeking to prevent the withdrawal at that
time.
Ways of delivering support services to regional campuses
are currently under investigation.
Developing effective ways
of delivering support
services
Financial and practical support:
 Improve publicity of
Commonwealth Learning
Scholarships
 Reviewing/revising
availability and
accessibility of financial
support services
 More scholarships and/or
other financial support
available to 1st year
students (current
perception is that many
require completion of 1st
year for eligibility)
 Extending availability and
awareness of student loans
 Increasing on-campus
student accommodation
English language issues:
 Development of English
language support programs
– such as English language
bridging and/or remedial
units at low or no cost
 Early English language
diagnostic testing →
remedial support
Indigenous students:
 Tracking and supporting
CAS students who move
on to undergraduate
programs within Curtin
 Preparatory skills
programs directed at block
release CAS students
Learning Support:
 Introduce Peer Assisted
Study Support (PASS)
programmes where
appropriate
 Increased delivery of inhouse discipline specific
learning support
 Further development of
Student Learning Support
Issues to do with student financial support have been under
review in 2007. Most of the items on this list are likely to
be implemented in 2008.
Developing further student accommodation is also under
active consideration. This item was seen as high impact and
high priority, but likely to take some time to come to
fruition.
Issues to do with English language competency are being
discussed in a wider context than the Retention Plan. A
summary of what is currently provided is at
http://community.curtin.edu.au/services/english_support.cfm
Devising ways of supporting CAS students who move into
undergraduate programs is a matter currently under
consideration by CAS.
A mentor program is under development in CAS to assist
both Block Release and Bridging students.
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initiatives such as the
“Study Smart Saturday”
Further targeting of
Student Learning Support
"Pathfinder" program to
mature-aged students
Trialling new strategies with the goal of identifying those to be implemented on a
wider scale in 2008
The development and subsequent implementation of a formal retention plan will take
some time. The interim period allows the University to experiment with a number of
interventions on variables associated with student retention and attrition. There have
been a number of pilot retention initiatives trialled in 2007:
Development of a “New-to-Curtin” web site: This site is now functional at
http://www.unilife.curtin.edu.au/newtocurtin/index.cfm. It carries information
specifically relevant to new students in their transition to university. There will be
further development of this resource over time.
A Timed E-Newsletter to new students: Eight Newsletters (hosted on the New-toCurtin site) are delivered at various appropriate times during Semester One and again
to new students commencing in Semester Two. The number of hits on this site
indicates that it has been enormously successful in delivering timely information to
new students.
NB The Newsletter is also the vehicle which delivers the O Week Evaluation Survey
in Week Five.
A Revised Orientation Program: The central Orientation presentation, Study Start,
was delivered at a number of faculty orientations in Semester One to better target
students during transition. It is clear that this information session is more effective
when delivered at faculty level rather than as a centrally scheduled activity. As
consequence, it was delivered exclusively as a faculty-based event in Semester Two,
and will be continued to be delivered this way in future. A number of other centrally
scheduled sessions have also been introduced such as a mature-aged students’ session,
a session for International students that addresses culture shock, and a budgeting
information session.
Pilot Retention Programs with a small number of participating schools: There
have been active programs in progress in association with Occupational Therapy,
Multimedia Design, Social Work, Art, Education and Nursing & Midwifery. The
pilot programs include mentoring, regular email contact with new students, early alert
and referral by staff of at-risk students, drop-ins by retention staff, contact with
students on Conditional status, in-house workshops and forums.
Mentoring
programs in particular have potential for contributing positively to student
persistence. There are plans to introduce school-based mentor programs on a more
comprehensive
basis
in
2008.
Further
http://unilife.curtin.edu.au/newtocurtin/mentoring/index.cfm
details
are
at
An on-line process for staff to refer at risk students to staff of the Retention
Project: The Faculty of Humanities has been trialing this process in Semester Two.
The on-line referral form allows staff to refer students who appear to be struggling to
staff in the Retention Project with the intention of connecting students to the
appropriate source of help within the University.
Further details are at
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/programs/referral.cfm
The “Don’t Drop Out, Drop In” Campaign: The slogan, web button (see example
at http://unilife.curtin.edu.au/) and poster compaign was launched in week three of
Semester One just before the census date. The slogan and campaign are directed at
encouraging students to talk over issues affecting study before making any decision to
leave the University. This publicity and branding initiative is intended to become a
key resource for raising awareness of sources of help for students and staff.
Addressing the needs of students on Conditional status: Students who are placed
on Conditional status have already demonstrated a significant level of risk in their
studies.
An information resource for these students has been created at
http://counselling.curtin.edu.au/conditional.html. Students have been directed to this
via the letter of advice of their academic results. In addition, there have been a series
of information sessions offered to these students, delivered by the Counselling
Service. A staff forum conducted in August 2007 indicated that there is support for a
more active process. There are University-wide plans to introduce a new process in
2008 which will aim to require these students to submit a “Returning to Good
Standing” action plan.
Making contact with students who left the University in 2006 without completing
a qualification: An attempt was made to contact all domestic students who did not
re-enrol (other than those who were terminated) by letter in July. The letter offered
contact and advice to facilitate re-entry to the University. In addition, this process
requested students to complete an on-line survey giving their reasons for not reenrolling. Unfortunately, this process demonstrated that it was almost entirely
ineffective in obtaining any response from the target group. As a consequence, the
research project referred to earlier in this paper will be implemented.
Creating a Retention Resource web site for staff: One of the frustrations in
assessing and developing retention strategies is that is has not been an easy process to
discover what occurs in one’s own university. In response, a dedicated website which
includes a function as an information portal has been created for staff at
http://retention.curtin.edu.au/
Examining potential performance indicators in the context of the problems
associated with retention data.
How would we know if we are making any difference? A problem is that “retention”
is not a single variable issue. Whether or not any individual student persists with
his/her study may be a consequence of interactions between a multitude of variables.
Some of those variables may be within the power of the University to influence, some
will be particular to the individual student, and others will be external factors. It may
be very hard to demonstrate any causal link between any intervention and any
subsequent the change to our retention data.
Nonetheless, we have to measure something. The obvious candidate is to take which
ever retention statistics that we have chosen to use and employ those as baseline data.
The question then becomes - did the chosen retention rate improve in the subsequent
years of measurement? Whilst there are the previously noted weaknesses in the use of
retention rate statistics, we cannot escape the fact that the goal of a retention plan is to
improve the rate.
Amongst other difficulties, measuring a retention rate is a lagging statistic. We
cannot know whether we have retained this year’s students until some time into the
subsequent year. And it may be that some of the interventions applied do not respond
easily a calendar year measure. For example, appropriate guidance and counselling
may lead some students to make better informed decisions about taking leave of
absence or switching courses within or external to the university. An apparent loss of
an individual student from one year to the next may not necessarily be true attrition
from the higher education system.
It is therefore wise to assemble a range of other performance indicators. These will
include evaluation data from the various retention interventions. Retention programs
are based on the assumption that we can make a difference by applying leverage to
those variables which are known to impact on retention. Positive measures of these
variables should indicate that they are affecting student retention.
Examples may be:





Evaluation data from mentor programs (both from mentors and mentees)
O Week evaluation data
Usage rates of retention websites
Data from support service areas contacts with new students and at-risk
students.
Evaluation data and participation rates in specific retention programs
At the same time, we must acknowledge that a number of variables remain entirely
out of the University’s control. No matter what we do, some students will have made
ill-considered or developmentally inappropriate course choices. Others will not be in
their course of highest preference and will have low motivation. In a strong economy,
students may find employment or non-tertiary training options to be more attractive.
And, unfortunately, some students are subject to the impact of unpredictable events
that prevent them continuing.
Despite that caveat, if we implement a comprehensive range of retention programs,
we can be reasonably confident (or at least reasonably hopeful) that we will not lose a
student for no good reason. At the same time, well-designed programs ought to
improve the wider student experience.
References and source materials
Tinto, V (1993) Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student
Attrition, University of Chicago press, Chicago
Retention Literature: a summary and series of links to key retention literature has
been placed at http://retention.curtin.edu.au/external/