Undergraduate student retention in higher education. Adrian College: A case study.

Adrian College, a small, private, four-year, liberal arts institution located in southeastern Michigan, consistently experienced below average student retention rates when compared to similar institutions. The purpose of this study was to identify the student entry characteristics and social and academic integration variables that affected student persistence at the College. Tinto's (1975) conceptual model of college student retention behavior provided the theoretical framework for the study. The subjects were 301 full-time incoming freshmen who enrolled in Adrian College in the fall of 1986. Institutional records and telephone interviews provided data on the subjects' entry characteristics, and on their social and academic integration within the College. Student persistence was measured by the number of semesters the student remained enrolled at the institution. Students who attended Adrian based on the advice of their high school counselor and the students' admission date to the College were the entry characteristics that had direct effects on student persistence. The social and academic integration variables that predicted persistence included students' cumulative grade point average, personal relationships with faculty members, as well as participation in both on and off-campus work, a fraternity or sorority, intramurals, academic tutoring, on-campus housing, and theatre and career development activities. The study's design enabled the researcher to identify predictors by specific year of enrollment. This study found that students' cumulative grade point average and establishing personal relationships with faculty were significant predictors for each year studied. For the first and second years of enrollment, students' satisfaction with their intellectual development predicted persistence. In the students' second year, participating in intramurals, on-campus employment and housing, academic tutoring, and a fraternity or sorority predicted persistence. Involvement in off-campus employment and career development activities in the students' third year of enrollment were added predictors. Based upon the study's results, as well as specific programs proven to be effective at other institutions, a comprehensive student retention program for Adrian College is proposed. In addition, the results were used to revise the causal model of the study so that it better accounts for the effects that social and academic integration in one year of enrollment have on social and academic integration in subsequent years.Doctor of Education (EdD)EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/103170/1/9308256.pdfDescription of 9308256.pdf : Restricted to UM users only