Enrollment Management Electronic Newsletter

Retention Matters

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the higher education student body in the United States changed drastically. Today, a college education is no longer considered a privilege available only to the most affluent or brightest high school students. Whereas 30 years ago it was considered important, for gainful employment purposes, to have completed a secondary education, today the standard decisively has been set at the bachelor's degree level. Indeed, more and more students are finding that in order to advance their careers they need to pursue their education beyond a four-year degree. Thus, what was once seen as a privilege is now considered a "right," not only among 18-year-old high school students but also among those 30-, 40-, and even 50-somethings who missed out on that opportunity earlier in life. The implications of this trend on college student demographics have been unparalleled. Student bodies at colleges and universities are now more generationally, racially, culturally, and ethnically diverse than ever before, with many students bringing learning and physical ability differences as well as psychological and social challenges.

It naturally follows that as the demographics of college students change and grow, so must the strategies by which colleges and universities recruit and retain students. When college students were generally male, white, middle-to-upperclass, able-bodied, and academically well-prepared, it was less complicated to determine how to retain them. Today, on the other hand, what worked for that typical student of yesteryear may not work for the first-generation, low-income student who needs to take remedial classes before he or she is ready for college coursework. Colleges and universities are learning that they need to employ multiple strategies for assuring not only that their students return for their second year but also persist to graduate in (hopefully) four if not five or six years. What is more, those strategies now need to involve a concerted, dedicated, and coordinated effort on behalf of all college faculty, staff, and administrative departments. This is especially true at small colleges and universities which have to build and strengthen their niches to attract and keep their students. It takes an entire college to retain a student.

Most of us working at small colleges and universities have been "doing" retention for many years, whether or not we have been aware of it or recognized it as such. As retention specialist, my charge is to coordinate those efforts and help clarify and define what we have been doing and what we may need to expand upon or do differently in the future. Over the next few weeks, I will be submerging myself in Shepherd University--first in its history and current practices and then, more importantly, in its people. Throughout that process, I hope to learn about many of you and your areas of expertise and then meet you in person. I will be putting together a team of people with whom I will work most closely, but I hope eventually to be available to utilize the entire community as a resource as we embark upon this journey together.