Dr. Brian C. Mitchell
Retention means something quite different depending upon the institution. At elite colleges, for example, retention rates below 85 percent in four years are a cause of concern. At two-year and four-year colleges that are overwhelmingly first generation, highly diverse, adult-learning focused, and tuition dependent, the numbers are often well below 40 percent over four years. At community colleges, two-year retention rates are even lower.
The point is that we cannot understand retention without grasping the history, mission, purpose, program offerings, and financing at an institution. The retention number is further complicated because of transfer opportunities, especially at lower division institutions. In addition, poor counseling, unfocused or changing student interests, course availability, federal and state loan policies, and student life circumstances can dramatically affect retention numbers.
Yet retention is a “blue chip” metric against which trustees, the media, consumers, and state and federal governments judge quality. It’s a startling statistic but not an especially shocking one.
The drama over retention is set against a backdrop of student loan default. Beginning in September, any college with a default rate of 30 percent or higher annually will be required by the federal government to develop a plan to educate and assist students in understanding, handling and completing the pay back of their student loans. If the plan doesn’t produce improvement within three years, affected institutions will lose their eligibility for federal loans and the Pell grant program.
Colleges and universities with persistently high default rates that do not show improvement may be subject to closure.
Let’s clear the air about the default crisis. In doing so, we’ll set aside the debates about for-profit default problems, institutions that serve “high risk” populations being unfairly targeted, and studies that “prove the theory” in support of the new federal policies.
