For this blog, I want to jump back to my years in college student development. As a dean of student life, I focused on retention. Many internal and external factors impact retention, but two of the most powerful, in my experience, are:
- Academic Preparation -- How well a student is prepared academically to meet the rigor of the specific college.
- Institutional Fit -- How closely does the student fit the institutional mission and culture of the specific college.
In theory, if a student is prepared well academically AND agrees with the mission/culture of the college, he/she will be retained and progress toward graduation. Admissions and student development staff need to work together to improve retention and should focus on these two areas. Admissions staff members should be looking for these two elements as they recruit students, and student development staff needs to be implementing support and activities to grow these qualities.
Academic Preparation
Academics is the primary reason that colleges exist, and each college has a different level of academic rigor. In the admissions process, colleges evaluate the data to identify students with an academic preparation that aligns with its level of rigor. Logically, the colleges and universities with high academic rigor are looking for students who are well prepared academically, and vice versa. While we can debate the validity of these data points, college admissions committees still use the objective data of high school grade point average, class rank, and standardized test scores to evaluate a student's academic preparation.
If students are not prepared in such a way to align with the academic rigor of the institution, they are going to have an academically frustrating college experience and, ultimately, will be at risk of leaving the institution. While admissions teams are always looking for students who are academically prepared, there are times (especially when enrollment numbers are down) when students are admitted who are not as prepared as they should be academically. Identifying these "at risk" students early (using admissions data) and putting academic interventions in place can help to support these students well, reduce academic frustration, and increase the likelihood of retention.
Institutional Fit
In the business world, "culture eats strategy for breakfast" (Drucker 2013). Likewise, in the world of college student retention, "institutional fit" eats other retention factors for breakfast. If a student believes in the mission of the college, embraces how that mission is lived out, and is a "raving fan" of the college, they are going to fight to overcome the other retention obstacles that he may encounter.
Institutional fit can also include an academic side to retention. Students need to be prepared to exert the expected academic effort in and out of the classroom. Unfortunately, whether they are academically prepared or not, some students don't want to work hard in college and will likely face a rude awakening ... do I stay and work hard or transfer to an easier college? Institutional fit also includes programming. Many students transfer because the college does not offer a desired major; even if a student is a raving fan in all other areas of the institution, she may be a retention risk due to programming.
I am most familiar with small, Christian colleges that have distinct mission statements, aligned with theological and philosophical worldviews. If a student doesn't fit with the theological or worldview perspectives of these institutions, he will become frustrated with faith or lifestyle expectations, and, ultimately, will be at risk of leaving the institution. Additionally, small Christian colleges, also, may not be able to offer all the majors and programs that a large university can, thus, impacting retention.
Of course, colleges understand the importance of institutional fit as it pertains to student retention, and they have entire departments dedicated to strengthening institutional fit and creating raving fans through new student orientation, fun social activities, and student development programs. However, these are usually not student specific. It is essential for student development staff to identify any student who doesn't fit with the college and implement intervention strategies to help strengthen this important element.
Categorizing Students
While not everything about retention can be put into a graph, I like using a quadrant graph to help categorize students based on these two important factors. A quadrant graph allows the staff to specifically identify each student and subsequently implement intervention strategies to help the student. Each student would be ranked in academic preparation (x axis) and institutional fit (y axis); both would use a 0 (low) to 10 (high) scale.
The graph would identify those students who fit into the different categories below:
Ideal Students -- Quadrant A (top right)
- These students are well prepared academically and believe strongly in the mission of the institution.
Fit Students -- Quadrant B (top left)
- These students fit the institution well (and may even be your raving fans), but they need academic support to be successful.
Prepared Students -- Quadrant C (bottom right)
- These students are very well prepared academically, but they don't fully embrace the mission of the institution.
At Risk Students -- Quadrant D (bottom left)
- These students are not prepared academically AND they don't fully embrace the mission of the institution.
Using the Data
Identifying these students is an important start to creating an action plan. In the graph below, the following students are ranked and placed into the four categories.
Ideal Students -- JK (9,9), HI (8,8)
Fit Students -- BC (4,8), AB (1,7), CD (2,6)
Prepared Students -- FG (7,4), IJ (7,2), EF (9,2)
At-Risk Students -- DE (3,2), GH (1,2)
Clearly, the main goal is to increase your number of Ideal Students (quadrant A). This can be done through the admissions process by rejecting applicants with lower gpa/test scores or those applicants who do not fit the mission of the college, but many college admissions offices are not in a position to take this step in a drastic way.
Increasing the number of Ideal Students can also be done through interventions.
Ideal Students - Quad A
Don't forget about these students -- the worst thing that could happen would be to lose these students! Celebrate and invest in them! Often these students received scholarships and positions of leadership; use them and rely on them to both promote the academic rigor and to be the "raving fans" for the college. Utilize them for campus visit days as hosts and ambassadors to recruit new students (and pay them). Invite them to be a part of special lectures, field experiences, research teams, or trips.
Fit Students (but not prepared) - Quad B
Invest significantly in the academic support of these students; they are your "raving fans" and will help to promote the college to others. Use peer tutors from your Ideal Students and your Prepared Students to reduce the academic frustration that these students may feel. If identified early enough as needing academic support, offer a free class to them in the summer to help boost their academic preparation. Connect them early with your most supportive professor / academic advisor and support, support, support.
Prepared Students (but not fit) - Quad C
Although these students may be the top of the class academically, they are not (yet) loyal fans of your college. They may not agree with your theological or philosophical worldview and lifestyle expectations ... and they are smart. It is going to be more difficult to retain your Prepared Students than your Fit Students because they tend to have a perspective that they can "take their academic abilities elsewhere"; therefore, it is vital to get them to embrace who you are as an institution. Provide a summer reading or orientation session that dives deeply into the fabric of your institution, and give them time to ask questions. Connect them early with "raving fans," those professors, student development staff, students (Quad A&B) who truly live and breath the mission of the institution. Invest in these students as they will shine academically for you if you can turn them into raving fans!
At-Risk Students - Quad D
Unfortunately, these students have to move significantly in both academic preparation and institutional fit to become an Ideal Student. Now, any movement will help them be less of a retention risk, but the investment still might not result in these students making it to graduation. With unlimited funds, a college can invest deeply into these students in both the institutional fit and academic areas, including individual tutors, peer mentors and a ton of human/time resources. While every student is a valuable part of the community, students who are not academically prepared or are not a good fit for your institution may become culture killers and detract (rather than attract) future Ideal Student. Be careful, especially if the percentage of at-risk students on campus begins to approach a tipping point (20-25%). Watching this percentage is also an important reason for putting students on a graphing.
In order to increase the number of Ideal Students on campus, colleges must start with an admissions staff with a laser focus on what academic preparation and institutional fit means for their specific college ... followed by ranking them on these two factors. Finally, the student development staff must implement interventions specifically designed to move students into the Ideal Student quadrant.
Each college will have unique interventions that are effective for their context, but hopefully this provides a framework to improve college student retention.
