When a first-year student says they’re going to enroll for their sophomore year, I would believe them.
As the figure below shows, intentions are more complex for students who don’t plan on or are uncertain about enrolling for their sophomore year.
The ISU NSSE retention model shows that belonging, collaboration, interactions with others and satisfaction play a significant role in retention. GPA also plays a significant role. ISU students who plan on returning for their sophomore year rate higher on all of the aforementioned items.
This post will focus on students who completed the the NSSE in spring 2023 and planned on 1) not re-enrolling at ISU or 2) were uncertain about re-enrolling to ISU for their sophomore year.
Comparing students who 1) plan on not enrolling in the fall to 2) those who are uncertain
If I had to choose a bottom line for each group, it would be these:
- Students who plan not returning for their sophomore year may have higher educational expectations in the long run, but time and competing demands interfere with short-term plans.
The question facing this group is: “Can I do this?”* - ISU students who are uncertain about returning for their sophomore year have more uncertainty about college in general. The question facing this group is: “Is college something I should do?”
ISU students who plan not returning have competing demands for their time and energy. They have limited capacity to engage in the social and academic life of college and, in many cases, leave college because they run out of time. They work a lot more hours. They spend more time commuting and family obligations. At ISU, they spend as much time preparing for class and co-curricular involvement as the uncertain group. They are somewhat less likely to feel like they are part of the ISU community and rate their quality of interactions with faculty and advisors lower. They may identify more as a working college student than as a college student with a job. This group also has lower GPAs, but their educational expectations are higher than the uncertain group.
“Admins and professors need to understand that most students are working full time and do not always have time to devote to school all day every day. And that most students don’t sleep or eat and are able to fit in all their school work and actual work.”
Student who plans on not returning
ISU students who are uncertain about returning for their sophomore year express lower confidence in their decision to attend ISU and have lower long-term educational expectations. They are less likely to collaborate with other students, but they rate the quality of interactions with advisors and faculty higher. Uncertain students also work hard and have competing demands, but to a lesser extent. They have higher GPAs than students who plan on not returning in the fall.
“I think more events at school to help people get to know each-other better (would improve ISU).”
Student who is uncertain about returning
Organizational Strategies for Retention
It’s difficult to interpret from the data what the returning uncertain and planning-to-not-return students did differently than their counterparts who didn’t return. To me, the more interesting question is about what patterns of organizational behavior influence retention.** For ISU, organizational behaviors include:
- Fostering collaboration among students – and especially faculty. I have met with several faculty who intentionally teach students how to interact and collaborate with others. This is one of ISU’s strengths, in my opinion.
- Highlighting how college is relevant to students’ lives. I think this can be done without compromising the aims of a liberal arts education.
- Feeling part of a community is an issue for many students who plan on not returning. Efforts to integrate them into the academic and social community of the university and fostering positive interactions, even small ones, could be beneficial.
- Fostering connections to physical spaces, departments, or on-campus jobs positively impact retention.
- And, last but not least, leveraging assessment research to create an action agenda for environments that help students learn.
Some of the factors that influence retention – like finances, family responsibilities, or work – are systemic to society. Still, these are addressed through a variety of programs and support systems at ISU. I wouldn’t be surprised is many of the students who planned on not returning to ISU ended up re-enrolling due to these support systems.
Notes
After slicing and dicing, the data can get small. More research would supplement the interpretations. I would view these data as part of a larger picture on college student retention research at ISU.
*These questions are from the following. It’s a really good book. Can I do it? Do I belong? Should I do it? from Social Psychological Approaches to College Student Success, H. Williams & M. Murphy, in How College Students Succeed
**More about this in de los Rios & Oseguera, 2023, Organizational Behavior and Student Persistence in College, from Improving College Student Retention. Organizational behavior and retention research literature also based on the research of Joseph Berger.
