Business Student Retention Research Project

CMU Business Student Retention Research Report

May 6th, 2016

Dr. Morgan Bridge

Mav Retention

Cody Daniels, Alberto Delgado, Omar Delgado, Gina Jagoda, Matt Merola

Colorado Mesa University Department of Business

Marketing Research 350 Section 001

CMU Business Student Retention 1

Table of ContentsExecutive Summary....................................................................................................................................5

Project Background.................................................................................................................................5

Research Questions.................................................................................................................................6

Concise Statement of Method.................................................................................................................7

Summary of Major Findings.....................................................................................................................7

Conclusions & Recommendations...........................................................................................................8

Introduction..............................................................................................................................................16

Background Information........................................................................................................................16

Research Questions...............................................................................................................................17

Research Methodology.............................................................................................................................19

Secondary Data......................................................................................................................................19

Primary Data..........................................................................................................................................19

Research Population..............................................................................................................................20

Sampling Plan........................................................................................................................................21

Sampling Type.......................................................................................................................................21

Statistical Results......................................................................................................................................23

Question #1...........................................................................................................................................23

1.1 Descriptive, Descriptive...............................................................................................................23

1.2 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q5 Join a Club or Organization...............................24

1.3 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities.......................24

1.4 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q21 FBS Contributed to Retention........................25

1.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q10 Use TLC * Q1 Graduate CMU....................................................26

1.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q14 Quality of Education * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities.....27

Question #2...........................................................................................................................................28


2.2 Independent Sample Test Q34 Current GPA * Q1 Graduate CMU...............................................29

2.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q25 Economy Affects Retention.....................30

2.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School................................................................................................................................................31

2.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q13 Tuition and Fees * Q17 Access to Financial Aid........................32


2.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q9 Meet Academic Advisor * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School............................................................................................................................................33

Question #3...........................................................................................................................................34


3.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q28 Gender............................................35

3.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q39 Learning Style..........................................36

3.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Based Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q6 Attend Class Regularly............37

3.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q24 Passion for Field of Work * Q28 Gender..................................38

3.6 One Way Anova Q36 Hours Worked * Q34 Current GPA............................................................39

3.7 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q6 Attend Class Regularly * Q36 Hours Worked Per Week.............40

3.8 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q31 Student Race.........................................41

Question #4...........................................................................................................................................42


4.2 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q37 Economic Family Status..................................42

4.3 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q35 Education of Parents......................................43

4.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q1 Graduate CMU.......................44

4.5 Descriptive Crosstab Q27 Parents Expectations * Q1 Graduate CMU.........................................45

4.6 Linear Regression Q37 Economic Family Status...........................................................................46

4.7 Paired Samples T-Test Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q27 Parents Expectations Influenced College...............................................................................................................................................46

4.8 Independent Samples Test Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q28 Gender..................................47

Question #5...........................................................................................................................................48


5.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q3 Financial Support * Q1 Graduate CMU......................................49

5.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q18 Education to Employment * Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention...........................................................................................................................................50

5.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention * Q25 Economy Affects Retention...........................................................................................................................................51

5.5 Independent Samples Test Q3 Financial Support * Q13 Tuition and Fees...................................52

5.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q18 Education to Employment * Q25 Economy Affects Retention. 53

Question #6...........................................................................................................................................54


6.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q22 Socially Connectedness * Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU.....55


6.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU * Q9 Meet Academic Advisor.......56

6.4 Linear Regression Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU, Q4, Q9, Q10, Q14, Q22, Q23......................57

6.5 Paired Samples Test Q10 Using the TLC * Q14 Quality of Education at CMU..............................57

Question #7...........................................................................................................................................58

7.1 Frequency Distribution Q39 Learning Style.................................................................................58

Pie Chart................................................................................................................................................59

Why Student Wouldn’t Complete Their Degree at CMU...................................................................59

Conclusions & Recommendations............................................................................................................61

Limitations.............................................................................................................................................68

Appendix A: Frequency Distribution........................................................................................................71

Appendix B: Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................94

Appendix C: Literature Review.................................................................................................................97


Executive Summary


Executive SummaryProject Background

The purpose of this study was to design and collect data and findings on the contributing

factors in retention for the students in the department of business programs at Colorado Mesa

University. Our professor Deborah Parman directed and supervised our class all semester long

for the research of this study. Our group for our marketing research class focused completely on

the upper division students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) in the business program for the

course of this study. As a class, our group developed a survey questionnaire that our group

believed would produce dependable and accurate data that into interesting findings of

contributing factors on what accounts for student retention and departure at Colorado Mesa

University. After printing the final questionnaire surveys, our group administered these surveys

to multiple upper division business classes to collect data. This data was then collected and

inputted onto a software program called SPSS so the data could be analyzed. The results of this

analysis are presented in this report.


Research Questions

1. What are some institutional values/practices that positively affect student retention in

higher education? i/e., what prevents students from leaving before the completion of

their course of study?

2. Why do college students depart voluntarily from their institutions? What accounts for

student departure?

3. Do individual characteristics (academic ability, race, or gender) play a role in the college

student departure/retention process?

4. Do family background characteristics (family socioeconomic status, parental educational

level, and parental expectations) play a role in the college student departure/retention

process?

5. How do external factors, such as a weak economy or doubtful job outlook impact

retention rates at institutions of higher education?

6. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of academic vs. social support in boosting rates of

retention at institutions of higher education?

7. Do student learning styles affect retention rates?


Concise Statement of Method

In the early stages of this project, our group conducted a literature review that came from

research for relevant information on each of the seven research questions. Our group then

accumulated the information our group found into a literature review to provide background

knowledge and understanding on research already done on what accounts for students retention

and departure at academic institutions. This research and findings on the subject helped our

marketing class in developing questions that should be asked on the business student retention

survey. The data that was collected was from using non-probability convenience sampling and

questions used were ordinally-interval hybrid scales with sematic differential. At Colorado Mesa

University there are approximately 1400 students enrolled in the upper division business classes

and our group collected a population sample size of 480. To figure out our confidence interval,

our group had to use the sample size calculator which our group found we had a confidence

interval of +/- 4.

Summary of Major Findings

The information that our research gathered from analyzing the data that our group

received had revealed some interesting findings related to the student retention and departure in

the department of business programs at Colorado Mesa University. The research revealed that

the issues of student retention are multifaceted and there is no one factor that determines whether

or not a student is likely to finish their degree program at Colorado Mesa University. Of the

respondent’s 32.38% identified that the most likely reason they would not complete their course

of study at CMU would be financial reasons.


Conclusions & Recommendations1. What are some institutional values/practices that positively affect student retention

in higher education? i/e., what prevents students from leaving before the

completion of their course of study?

Our group can conclude that the top factors ran in our descriptive statistics that

keep upper division business students at CMU are campus, classrooms, facilities, class

sizes department of business, quality of education, and business classes available. Also,

our group can conclude that most of the upper division business students are very

satisfied with the CMU campus, classrooms, and facilities of students being very satisfied

and will most likely graduate from CMU.

Recommendation:

Our group recommend that join a club or organization and the usage of the TLC

continue to be promoted because out of all the factors that affected CMU retention

positively, those were the lowest satisfaction. CMU needs to continue to promote all the

networking opportunities and the benefits in joining a club or organization so that more

students are satisfied with the clubs and organizations on campus and in particular, the

CMU business clubs.

2. Why do college students depart voluntarily from their institutions? What accounts

for student departure?

Throughout this project, our group were able to conduct various tests, which

allowed us to find the top three factors that impact why college students depart

voluntarily form their institutions. These three top factors are: Tuition and Fees,

Economy Affects Retention, and Academic Support Helps Keep Me in School. The


group can go ahead and conclude what accounts for upper division business student’s

departures. Tuition and fees are getting higher, the economy does not allow students to

maintain in school, and those students do not receive the academic support needed for

them to graduate from CMU.

Recommendation:

After analyzing what makes students depart voluntarily and what accounts for

student’s departure, our group recommends that CMU should not consider increasing

tuition and fees so much in a very short amount of time. A reason various students come

to CMU is because it is one of the lower cost universities in Colorado; however, if tuition

increase dramatically within couple of years, most students will not be able to keep

affording going to school. Another recommendation is to have CMU reach out and help

students who are truly getting affected by the economy and might not be able to continue

going to school. This would not only create a great press for CMU, but could also attract

more students. The last recommendation made was if CMU could also reach out to

students who need more academic support. Perhaps CMU could make an “Academic

Support Center”, where it allows students to go there and get the support and advice

needed.

3. Do individual characteristics (academic ability, race, or gender) play a role in the

college student departure/retention process?

In the process of performing hundreds of tests at different test levels our group

found factors in individual characteristics that have an effect in the way that college

students perceive their education and graduating from CMU. The question race and


likelihood to graduate from CMU showed the most intriguing result where students

coming from minorities had higher mean responses on likelihood to stays and graduate

from CMU even though they are way underrepresented in the business department. This

result might have some factors such as students coming from minorities usually have less

economic support from parents than those who are the majority and have more economic

support to go or transfer to other universities away from home, that comes with more

expenses.

It was also interesting to find that students working 10-30 hours are more likely to

attend class than students working only 0-9 hours, it does look like this individual

characteristic plays a role on how much effort students put into attending class, at the

same time where hours worked have no effect on student’s GPA. One would think that

the most you work the less effort and time is put into a grade and consequently an overall

GPA. Another interesting finding was that students with concrete random learning styles

are less likely to graduate from CMU in contrast of the other three learning styles. This

could be accounted that it is hard for students with this style to create formal reports,

have routines; redoing papers once it’s done, choosing only one answer and having no

other options. The business department teachers sometimes have firm rules on their

teaching, which could have an effect on students with this learning style.

Recommendation:

Not all individual characteristics play a role in the performance of students

attending CMU and consequently graduating from CMU. Although, there is still room for

improvement for example in attracting more students from different races to have a more


balances diversity in the business department, and at the same time increase the rate of

retention on those that are in the majority race in the business department. This could be

done promoting the importance of diverse business people in a global business industry.

For the majority it could be promoted and proved that Colorado Mesa University has the

same and/or higher quality level of educations that those bigger universities have in other

states or bigger cities. It does not seem like there is a lot the business department can do

about concrete random learners because the world of business there are really tight

deadlines and failures, which need to be redone. A lot of the time in the business world

there has to be really good formal reports. It may be that this learning style just does not

go along with the business world.

4. Do family background characteristics (family socioeconomic status, parental

educational level, and parental expectations) play a role in the college student

departure/retention process?

After running these tests, our group can conclude that the top family background

characteristic ran in our descriptive statistics that keeps upper division business students

at CMU is emotional support. The data also stated that parental expectations and financial

support are top contributing variables for student retention. From additional tests ran, the

group can also conclude that a student’s economic family status and the education of their

parents contribute to the retention of upper division business students.

Recommendation:

Based on the data, the university should consider reaching out to parents of

students as soon as the students begin to attend and through their experience at CMU. By


reaching out and elaborating on the importance of their involvement with their loved

ones, the university can capitalize on building an emotionally strong student-parent

relationships to better control the outcome of student retention. A common pattern or

trend is for parents to drop their loved ones off at college to learn on their own and from

experience. This is a great idea when it comes to learning responsibilities but the result

can be negative without a consistent emotional connection to home and remembering

why a student is put there in the first place. Strengthening relationships at home will

overall grow larger retention rates for upper division business students.



Our group found that external factors that lead to doubtful job outlook impact

have a big impact on retention. The question, do you agree that education at CMU will

lead to desired employment is one of the biggest factors, and the current economy has

affected their decision to stay in school is the less likely external reason for business

student retention.

Recommendation:

A weak or unstable economy does play a role in a student’s decision to remain in

school. CMU should provide students ongoing information related to potential economic

outlooks and job opportunities for when they enter the job market. The group

recommends that CMU keeps improving their education to employment and financial

support. This is recommended because our group found that all the upper division

students that took the survey strongly agree that their education at CMU will lead to


desired employment and the current economy has affected their decision to stay in

school. The group also recommends that CMU really emphasizes on helping the

graduating students find employment and their desired job when they receive their

business degree.

6. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of academic vs. social support in boosting

rates of retention at institutions of higher education?

Our group can conclude that the largest factors dealing with the social and

academic support and how it effects on the retention rate are meeting with academic

advisors, socializing, and academic support (TLC) and participation in campus activities.

These are the most important relevant factors that motivates student at CMU to continue

on and get a degree from CMU. Socializing was also one of the most important factors

for students when it comes to continuing their education at CMU with the mean answer

being 4.04.

Recommendation:

The group recommends that the use of academic advisors and getting involved

with groups of fellow students whether it is clubs and organizations or just a group of

friends can improve the quality and outcomes of college to the students at CMU. The

guidance and academic support that advisors provide students should be more

encouraged.


It appears that learning styles don’t have much of an effect on retention rates. The

different learning styles are somewhat close in their overall percentages with abstract


random having an overall percentage of 29.9 (+/- 4), abstract sequential 28.8% (+/- 4),

and concrete sequential 26.1 (+/- 4). The learning style that had the least overall

percentage was the concrete random learning style with 15.2% (+/- 4).

Recommendation:

The learning objectives for the upper division business student’s focus on helping

students identify their learning style and how to best utilize their learning style to increase

success and satisfaction at CMU. Not only will this help instructors reach a variety of

students through multiple teaching methods, but it will also ensure that student’s needs

are being met.


Introduction


IntroductionBackground Information

The purpose of this study was to design and collect data and findings on the contributing

factors in retention for the students in the department of business programs at Colorado Mesa

University. Our professor Deborah Parman directed and supervised our class all semester long

for the research of this study. Our group for our marketing research class focused completely on

the upper division students (sophomores, juniors, and seniors) in the business program for the

course of this study. As a class, our group developed a survey questionnaire that our group

believed would produce dependable and accurate data that into interesting findings of

contributing factors on what accounts for business student retention and departure at Colorado

Mesa University. After printing the final questionnaire surveys, the group administered these

surveys to multiple upper division business classes to collect data. Our group ended up with a

sample size of 1400 out of a sample population of 480 and found that there was a confidence

interval of +/- 4 by using the sample size calculator. This data was then collected and inputted

onto a software program called SPSS so the data could be analyzed. The results of this analysis

are presented in this report.


Research Questions

1. What are some institutional values/practices that positively affect student retention in

higher education? i/e., what prevents students from leaving before the completion of

their course of study?

2. Why do college students depart voluntarily from their institutions? What accounts for

student departure?

3. Do individual characteristics (academic ability, race, or gender) play a role in the college


4. Do family background characteristics (family socioeconomic status, parental educational


process?



6. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of academic vs. social support in boosting rates of

retention at institutions of higher education?



Research Methodology


Research Methodology

The research our group conducted on the business student retention study report was

descriptive-quantitative. The research data that our group collected was to provide the class with

descriptive information on the quantitative results of the survey questionnaires. The descriptive-

quantitative research information our group found was then used to develop conclusions and

provide recommendations on the relationships and statistical significance that was uncovered in

the data set that leads to business student retention and departure at Colorado Mesa University.

Secondary Data

The secondary data information tends to be readily available and inexpensive to obtain.

The secondary data that was collected were from other sources that our group used in order to

research and record our findings in the literature review at the beginning of the semester of

student retention and departure at academic institutions. The articles in the literature review that

our group cited from were written by other people based on their own independent research and

findings. By quoting and using some of their research in the literature review means our group

used it as secondary data for our report. The purpose of using secondary data is so that primary

research that is being researched can be compared to data collected by other people because the

researcher does not have the ability to collect for themselves. It is also good to have secondary

data for background knowledge and information to your primary data so it can show the facts in

supporting researcher’s statements.

Primary Data

The primary data information is data that has been collected first-hand experience or data

that is generated by participants in a survey to help researchers with their study. In the study our


group conducted as a class the main form of primary data was the questionnaire surveys that our

group distributed to the upper division students that are enrolled in in the upper division business

classes for the Spring of 2016. Before handing out the survey, members of the marketing

research sections would explain who our group are, what the reasoning was in our class

surveying the students, and then our group explained the process to fill out each of the surveys to

the upper division business students. The group then collected the surveys from each class and

input the data onto SPSS and began to use analytical tools to discover statistical results such as

statistical significance and tendencies relating to student retention and departure among students

in the department of business at Colorado Mesa University.

Research Population

The population included in the research included all upper division business seminar

students attending class during the Spring of 2016 semester at Colorado Mesa University.

Sample Population: A total of 1400 students are enrolled in the upper division business classes at

CMU.

Sample Size: A total of 480 surveys were administered and made available to the upper division

business students at CMU.

Sample Type: Non-probability convenience sampling

Confidence Interval: The confidence interval was +/- 4. The confidence interval was calculated

using the Creative Research Systems Sample Size Calculator. The confidence level of 95% was

used.


Sampling Plan1. Define target population

a. Colorado Mesa University Business Students

b. January 19th, 2016 – May 6th 2016

c. Upper division students

2. Data Collection method

a. Primary data: survey administered to upper division business classes

b. Secondary data: Literature review

3. Identify Sample size needed

a. 1400 upper division business students

4. Determine appropriate sampling method

a. Written survey was deemed appropriate

5. Determine necessary sample sizes

a. Our group determined that with a sample size of 1400 out of a sample population

of 480 there would have a confidence interval of +/- 4.

Sampling Type

Throughout the course of this semester project our group used a non-probability

convenience sampling plan for the purpose of this project. The non-probability part of the plans

means that the random selection is not involved in the sampling; this means that not all the

individuals that our group wanted to test and record data from have an equal chance of being

selected to take part for the survey. This sampling plan was used so our group could focus on the

upper division students exclusively, so the questionnaire surveys were only administered to

sophomore, junior, and senior students.


Statistical Results


Statistical ResultsQuestion #11.1 Descriptive, Descriptive

Descriptive Statistics

N Mean

Graduate CMU 480 4.76

Campus, Classrooms, Facilities 480 4.42

Class Sizes Dept. of Bus 478 4.30

Quality of Education 479 3.95

Business Classes Available 479 3.64

Meet Academic Advisor 479 3.58

Access to Financial Aid 475 3.57

Academic Support Helps Keep me in School 480 3.46

Tuition and Fees 478 3.37

Campus Activities 467 3.25

Join a Club or Organization 479 3.22

FBS Confirmed Concentration 285 2.94

FBS Contributed to Retention 286 2.81

Use TLC 478 2.49

Valid N (listwise) 269

In the descriptive, descriptive crosstab ran above, the means for the 14 different survey

questions are calculated and listed in descending order. The means were based on a Likert scale

of 1 being less satisfied and 5 being most satisfied. These questions correlated with the positive

retention rates of upper division CMU business students and what affects them from

staying/leaving.


1.2 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q5 Join a Club or Organization

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q5 Join a Club or Organization

Graduate CMU

Join a Club or Organization Mean N % of Total N

Very Unlikely 4.80 74 15.4%

2 4.59 81 16.9%

3 4.82 107 22.3%

4 4.71 99 20.7%

Very Likely 4.86 118 24.6%

Total 4.76 479 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percentage for upper division business

students that said they would join a club or organization and how likely they are to graduate from

CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 24.6% (+/- 4) of them said they

are very likely to join a club or organization before they graduate from CMU.

1.3 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities

Graduate CMU

Campus, Classrooms,

Facilities

Mean N % of Total N

2 3.67 6 1.3%

3 4.28 36 7.5%

4 4.81 190 39.6%

Very Satisfied 4.83 248 51.7%

Total 4.76 480 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percentage for upper division business

students of how satisfied they are with CMU’s campus, classrooms, and facilities and how likely

they are to graduate from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 51.7%

(+/- 4) of them said that they are very satisfied with the CMU’s campus, classrooms, and

facilities.


1.4 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q21 FBS Contributed to Retention

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q21 FBS Contributed to Retention

Graduate CMU

FBS Contributed to

Retention

Mean N % of Total N

Strongly Disagree 4.72 64 22.4%

2 4.76 51 17.8%

3 4.82 84 29.4%

4 4.73 49 17.1%

Strongly Agree 4.84 38 13.3%

Total 4.78 286 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percent for upper division business

students that said the FBS class contributed to their retention and how likely they are to graduate

from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 29.4% (+/- 4) of them said

they agree that the FBS class contributed to their retention.


1.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q10 Use TLC * Q1 Graduate CMU

Q10 Use TLC * Q1 Graduate CMU Crosstabulation

Graduate CMU Total

Very Unlikely 2 3 4 Very Likely

Use TLC

Very UnlikelyCount 0 0 2 8 119 129

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 1.7% 24.9% 27.0%

2Count 0 1 4 13 109 127

% of Total 0.0% 0.2% 0.8% 2.7% 22.8% 26.6%

3Count 3 1 4 7 109 124

% of Total 0.6% 0.2% 0.8% 1.5% 22.8% 25.9%

4Count 5 1 1 7 42 56

% of Total 1.0% 0.2% 0.2% 1.5% 8.8% 11.7%

Very LikelyCount 1 0 2 7 32 42

% of Total 0.2% 0.0% 0.4% 1.5% 6.7% 8.8%

TotalCount 9 3 13 42 411 478

% of Total 1.9% 0.6% 2.7% 8.8% 86.0% 100.0%

In the descriptive crosstab ran above, shows the percentage of upper division business

students that use the TLC and how likely they are to graduate from CMU. Out of all the upper

division students that took the survey 24.9% (+/- 4) are very unlikely and 6.7% (+/- 4) are very

likely to use the TLC before they graduate from CMU.


1.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q14 Quality of Education * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities

Q14 Quality of Education * Q15 Campus, Classrooms, Facilities Crosstabulation

Campus, Classrooms, Facilities Total

2 3 4 Very Satisfied

Quality of Education

Not SatisfiedCount 1 1 2 0 4

% of Total 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.0% 0.8%

2Count 5 3 11 4 23

% of Total 1.0% 0.6% 2.3% 0.8% 4.8%

3Count 0 21 49 22 92

% of Total 0.0% 4.4% 10.2% 4.6% 19.2%

4Count 0 11 113 112 236

% of Total 0.0% 2.3% 23.6% 23.4% 49.3%

Very SatisfiedCount 0 0 15 109 124

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 3.1% 22.8% 25.9%

TotalCount 6 36 190 247 479

% of Total 1.3% 7.5% 39.7% 51.6% 100.0%


student’s satisfaction on the quality of education they are receiving at CMU and their satisfaction

of the CMU campus, classrooms, and education. Out of all the upper division students that took

the survey 22.8% (+/- 4) are very satisfied with the quality of education they are receiving at

CMU and their satisfaction of the CMU campus, classrooms, and education.


Question #22.1 Descriptive, Descriptive


N Mean


Campus, Classrooms, Facilities 480 4.42

Class Sizes Dept. of Bus 478 4.30

Education to Employment 480 4.10

Passion for Field of Work Motivates Retention 480 4.08

Quality of Education 479 3.95





Economy Affects Retention 478 3.39

Tuition and Fees 478 3.37


In the descriptive crosstab ran above, the means for the 12 different survey questions are

calculated and listed in descending order. The means were based on a Likert scale of 1 being less

satisfied and 5 being most satisfied. These questions correlated with the positive retention rates

of upper division CMU business students and what affects them from staying/leaving.


2.2 Independent Sample Test Q34 Current GPA * Q1 Graduate CMU

Statistics

Current GPA

NValid 435

Missing 45

Median 3.4000

Independent Samples Test

Levene's Test for

Equality of

Variances

t-test for Equality of Means

F Sig. t df Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Graduate

CMU

Equal

variances

assumed

16.352 .000 2.220 433 .027 .149 .067 .017 .281

Equal

variances not

assumed

2.168 362.420 .031 .149 .069 .014 .284

In the Independent Sample ran above, it shows the significance level of .031 (+/- 4),

meaning there is a statistical significance difference in students who will graduate CMU based

on their GPA when using a 3.4 cut point.


2.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q25 Economy Affects Retention

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q25 Economy Affects Retention Crosstabulation

Economy Affects Retention Total

Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly Agree

Graduate

CMU

Very

Unlikely

Count 1 2 3 1 2 9

% of Total 0.2% 0.4% 0.6% 0.2% 0.4% 1.9%

2Count 0 1 0 0 2 3

% of Total 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 0.6%

3Count 1 3 4 3 2 13

% of Total 0.2% 0.6% 0.8% 0.6% 0.4% 2.7%

4Count 1 9 9 16 7 42

% of Total 0.2% 1.9% 1.9% 3.3% 1.5% 8.8%


% of Total 9.4% 13.8% 18.6% 22.0% 22.2% 86.0%

TotalCount 48 81 105 125 119 478

% of Total 10.0% 16.9% 22.0% 26.2% 24.9% 100.0%

In the descriptive crosstab ran above, shows the percent of upper division business

students that will graduate CMU and how likely they economy will affect their retention. Out of

all the upper division students that took the survey 22% (+/- 4) agree the economy affects

retention and are very likely to graduate from CMU.


2.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School Crosstabulation

Academic Support Helps Keep me in School Total

Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly

Agree

Graduate

CMU

Very

Unlikely

Count 2 4 1 1 1 9

% of Total 0.4% 0.8% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1.9%

2Count 0 1 0 1 1 3

% of Total 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.6%

3Count 2 2 6 2 1 13

% of Total 0.4% 0.4% 1.3% 0.4% 0.2% 2.7%

4Count 1 8 13 15 5 42

% of Total 0.2% 1.7% 2.7% 3.1% 1.0% 8.8%


% of Total 5.2% 9.0% 26.0% 28.5% 17.3% 86.0%

TotalCount 30 58 145 156 91 480

% of Total 6.3% 12.1% 30.2% 32.5% 19.0% 100.0%


students that believe academic support helps them stay in school and how likely they are to

graduate from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 28.5% (+/- 4)

only agree that academic support helps them stay in school and are very likely that they will

graduate from CMU.


2.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q13 Tuition and Fees * Q17 Access to Financial Aid

Q13 Tuition and Fees * Q17 Access to Financial Aid Crosstabulation

Access to Financial Aid Total

Not Satisfied 2 3 4 Very

Satisfied

Tuition and

Fees

Not SatisfiedCount 9 4 7 4 2 26

% of Total 1.9% 0.8% 1.5% 0.8% 0.4% 5.5%

2Count 2 12 22 13 8 57

% of Total 0.4% 2.5% 4.6% 2.7% 1.7% 12.0%

3Count 10 16 68 48 24 166

% of Total 2.1% 3.4% 14.3% 10.1% 5.1% 35.0%

4Count 1 11 39 74 40 165

% of Total 0.2% 2.3% 8.2% 15.6% 8.4% 34.8%

Very

Satisfied

Count 1 1 12 15 31 60

% of Total 0.2% 0.2% 2.5% 3.2% 6.5% 12.7%

TotalCount 23 44 148 154 105 474

% of Total 4.9% 9.3% 31.2% 32.5% 22.2% 100.0%

In the descriptive crosstab ran above, shows the percentage of how upper division

business students feel about CMU’s tuition and fees and if they access to financial aid. Out of all

the upper division students that took the survey 15.6% (+/- 4) are only satisfied with CMU’s

tuition and fees and only satisfied with access to financial aid.


2.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q9 Meet Academic Advisor * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School

Q9 Meet Academic Advisor * Q23 Academic Support Helps Keep me in School Crosstabulation

Academic Support Helps Keep me in School Total

Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly Agree

Meet Academic

Advisor

Very

Unlikely

Count 3 8 8 3 3 25

% of Total 0.6% 1.7% 1.7% 0.6% 0.6% 5.2%

2Count 3 14 24 12 8 61

% of Total 0.6% 2.9% 5.0% 2.5% 1.7% 12.7%

3Count 8 14 45 47 14 128

% of Total 1.7% 2.9% 9.4% 9.8% 2.9% 26.7%

4Count 6 16 42 54 22 140

% of Total 1.3% 3.3% 8.8% 11.3% 4.6% 29.2%


% of Total 2.1% 1.3% 5.4% 8.1% 9.2% 26.1%

TotalCount 30 58 145 155 91 479

% of Total 6.3% 12.1% 30.3% 32.4% 19.0% 100.0%


students that meet with their academic advisor and if academic support helps them stay in school.

Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 11.3% (+/- 4) are likely to meet with

their advisors and only agree that academic support will help them stay in school.




N Mean

YOB 421 1992.47


Attend Class Regularly 480 4.66

Growth/Development Motivates Retention 479 4.30

Passion for Field of Work Motivates Retention 480 4.08

Take Part in Class Discussions 480 3.82

HS GPA 446 3.3804

Current GPA 435 3.3305

Suggested Study Time 479 2.94

Learning Style 468 2.34

Race 472 1.62

Gender 478 1.44



questions are calculated and listed in descending order according to their mean. The means were

based on a Likert scale of 1 being less satisfied and 5 being most satisfied. These questions

correlated with the positive retention rates of upper division CMU business students and to what

extend these individual characteristics play a role in the college student departure and retention

rate.


3.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q28 Gender

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q28 Gender Crosstabulation

Gender Total

Male Female

Graduate CMU

Very Unlikely

% within Graduate CMU 44.4% 55.6% 100.0%

% within Gender 1.5% 2.4% 1.9%

% of Total 0.8% 1.0% 1.9%

2



% of Total 0.4% 0.2% 0.6%

3



% of Total 2.1% 0.4% 2.5%

4


% within Gender 11.2% 5.7% 8.8%

% of Total 6.3% 2.5% 8.8%

Very Likely


% within Gender 82.8% 90.5% 86.2%

% of Total 46.4% 39.7% 86.2%

Total


% within Gender 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

% of Total 56.1% 43.9% 100.0%

The descriptive based crosstab ran above shows the percent for upper division business

students based on gender that are likely to graduate from CMU. Males show a percentage of

82.8% (+/- 4) with in gender, females have a percentage of 90.5% (+/- 4) with in gender. The

total percentage of participants accounted for 56.1% males and 43.9% females. Even though the

percentage participation for females is less, Females have a larger percentage of likelihood of

graduating from CMU.



3.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q39 Learning Style.

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q39 Learning Style Crosstabulation

Learning Style Total

CS AS AR CR

Graduate CMU

Very UnlikelyCount 2 2 3 1 8

% of Total 0.4% 0.4% 0.6% 0.2% 1.7%

2Count 0 1 1 1 3

% of Total 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.6%

3Count 1 4 4 4 13

% of Total 0.2% 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 2.8%

4Count 8 13 12 8 41

% of Total 1.7% 2.8% 2.6% 1.7% 8.8%

Very LikelyCount 111 115 120 57 403

% of Total 23.7% 24.6% 25.6% 12.2% 86.1%

TotalCount 122 135 140 71 468

% of Total 26.1% 28.8% 29.9% 15.2% 100.0%

The descriptive based crosstab ran above shows the percent for upper division business

students with different learning styles and their likelihood to graduate from CMU. Out of all the

upper division students that took the survey, the concrete random style showed the let percentage

of likelihood to graduate from CMU at 12.2% (+/- 4). This is a significantly lower percentage in

comparison with the other 3 learning styles. There are fewer students with this learning style, but

within those students, less of them are likely to graduate from CMU.


3.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Based Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q6 Attend Class Regularly.

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q6 Attend Class Regularly Crosstabulation

Attend Class Regularly Total

Very Unlikely 2 3 4 Very Likely

Graduate CMU

Very UnlikelyCount 2 1 0 1 5 9

% of Total 0.4% 0.2% 0.0% 0.2% 1.0% 1.9%

2Count 0 0 0 2 1 3

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 0.2% 0.6%

3Count 0 0 2 5 6 13

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 0.4% 1.0% 1.3% 2.7%

4Count 0 0 0 17 25 42

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.5% 5.2% 8.8%


% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 2.9% 19.8% 63.3% 86.0%

TotalCount 2 1 16 120 341 480

% of Total 0.4% 0.2% 3.3% 25.0% 71.0% 100.0%

In the previous descriptive based crosstab ran above it is found the percent for upper

division business students that believe that attending class regularly is directly related to graduate

from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 63.0% (+/- 4) of them said

they think attending class regularly is important to graduate from CMU.


3.5 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q24 Passion for Field of Work * Q28 Gender.

Q24 Passion for Field of Work Motivates Retention * Q28 Gender Crosstabulation

Gender Total

Male Female

Passion for Field of Work

Motivates Retention

Strongly DisagreeCount 8 3 11

% of Total 1.7% 0.6% 2.3%

2Count 10 5 15

% of Total 2.1% 1.0% 3.1%

3Count 46 39 85

% of Total 9.6% 8.2% 17.8%

4Count 93 86 179

% of Total 19.5% 18.0% 37.4%

Strongly AgreeCount 111 77 188

% of Total 23.2% 16.1% 39.3%

TotalCount 268 210 478

% of Total 56.1% 43.9% 100.0%

In the previous descriptive based crosstab ran above, the percent for upper division

business male students that believe that their passion for their field of work is shown directly

related to graduate from CMU. In comparison, only 16.1% of females had the passion for their

field of work motivates them to graduate from CMU at (+/- 4). Males hold a higher percentage at

23.2% (+/- 4).


3.6 One Way Anova Q36 Hours Worked * Q34 Current GPA

Test of Homogeneity of Variances

Current GPA

Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig.

2.792 5 429 .017

ANOVA

Current GPA

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 1.790 5 .358 1.643 .147

Within Groups 93.520 429 .218

Total 95.310 434

The one way anova test performed above between hours worked and current GPA shows

that there is no statistical significance at .147 (+/- 4). No further tests are needed because there is

no statistical significance difference.


3.7 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q6 Attend Class Regularly * Q36 Hours Worked Per Week

Q6 Attend Class Regularly * Q36 Hours Worked Per Week Crosstabulation

% of Total

Hours Worked Per Week Total

None 1-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40+

Attend Class

Regularly

Very Unlikely 0.2% 0.2% 0.4%

2 0.2% 0.2%

3 0.2% 0.2% 1.0% 0.4% 0.8% 0.4% 3.1%

4 5.7% 1.7% 7.5% 5.9% 2.5% 1.5% 24.7%

Very Likely 17.6% 8.2% 17.8% 15.7% 6.5% 5.7% 71.5%

Total 23.5% 10.1% 26.8% 22.0% 10.1% 7.5% 100.0%

The descriptive based crosstab ran above, shows the percent for upper division business

students who work different hours and their likelihood to attend class. Surprisingly people who

work 1-9 hours are less likely to attend class at only 8.2% (+/- 4) in contrast with people who

work more hours (10-19) who are more likely to attend class at 17.8 % (+/- 4).


3.8 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate from CMU * Q31 Student Race

Report

Graduate CMU

Race Mean N % of Total N

Caucasian 4.75 377 79.9%

African American 4.76 17 3.6%

Hispanic 4.88 40 8.5%

Asian 4.63 8 1.7%

Native American 4.80 5 1.1%

Pacific Islander 5.00 4 0.8%

Other 5.00 15 3.2%

N/A 5.00 6 1.3%

Total 4.77 472 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percent for upper division business

students according to race and how likely they are to graduate from CMU. Out of all the upper

division students that took the survey, Hispanics had a mean of 4.88 likelihood to graduate from

CMU even though they had only an 8.5% (+/- 4) of total respondents. African Americans with

only 3.6% (+/- 4), are in the second place with a mean of 4.76 likelihood to graduate from CMU.

79.9% (+/- 4) were Caucasians with a mean of 4.75 likely to graduate from CMU.




N Mean


Emotional Support 480 4.45

Parents Expectations Influenced College 476 3.75

Financial Support 479 3.73

Economic Family Status 477 2.53

Contributor to Financing 451 2.13

Education Parents 474 1.38


In the descriptive crosstab ran above, the means for the 7 different survey questions are

calculated and listed in descending order. The means were based on a Likert scale of 1 being less

satisfied and 5 being most satisfied. These questions correlated with the positive retention rates

of upper division CMU business students and what affects them from staying/leaving.

4.2 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q37 Economic Family Status

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q37 Economic Family Status

Graduate CMU

Economic Family Status Mean N % of Total N

low 4.78 37 7.8%

low/mid 4.79 173 36.3%

mid/high 4.79 242 50.7%

high 4.40 25 5.2%

Total 4.77 477 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percent of upper division business

student’s families and their economic status and how likely they are to graduate from CMU. Out

of all the upper division students that took the survey, 50.7% (+/- 4) of them said their economic

family status was mid to high.


4.3 Means Based Crosstab Q1 Graduate CMU * Q35 Education of Parents

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q35 Education of Parents

Graduate CMU

Education Parents Mean N % of Total N

Yes 4.72 304 64.1%

No 4.85 162 34.2%

Not Sure 5.00 8 1.7%

Total 4.77 474 100.0%

In the means based crosstab ran above, shows the percent of upper division business

student’s parents and if they obtained a college degree and how likely they are to graduate from

CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 64.1% (+/- 4) of them said that

their parents do indeed have a college degree.


4.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q1 Graduate CMU

Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q1 Graduate CMU Crosstabulation

Graduate CMU Total

Very

Unlikely

2 3 4 Very Likely

Emotional

Support

Very

Unlikely

Count 2 0 1 2 7 12

% of Total 0.4% 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 1.5% 2.5%

2Count 1 0 2 2 6 11

% of Total 0.2% 0.0% 0.4% 0.4% 1.3% 2.3%

3Count 4 0 3 4 35 46

% of Total 0.8% 0.0% 0.6% 0.8% 7.3% 9.6%

4Count 1 1 2 10 79 93

% of Total 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 2.1% 16.5% 19.4%


% of Total 0.2% 0.4% 1.0% 5.0% 59.6% 66.3%

TotalCount 9 3 13 42 413 480

% of Total 1.9% 0.6% 2.7% 8.8% 86.0% 100.0%

In the descriptive crosstab ran above, shows the emotional support received by upper

division level business students that is contributed to their retention and how likely they are to

graduate from CMU. Out of all of the respondents, 76.1% (+/- 4) are very likely to receive

emotional support from their family and graduate from CMU.


4.5 Descriptive Crosstab Q27 Parents Expectations * Q1 Graduate CMU

Q27 Parents Expectations Influenced College * Q1 Graduate CMU Crosstabulation

Graduate CMU Total

Very

Unlikely

2 3 4 Very

Likely

Parents Expectations

Influenced College

Strongly

Disagree

Count 2 0 2 5 44 53

% of

Total

0.4% 0.0% 0.4% 1.1% 9.2% 11.1%

2

Count 0 0 1 0 27 28

% of

Total

0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 5.7% 5.9%

3

Count 2 1 3 5 73 84

% of

Total

0.4% 0.2% 0.6% 1.1% 15.3% 17.6%

4

Count 1 0 4 18 107 130

% of

Total

0.2% 0.0% 0.8% 3.8% 22.5% 27.3%

Strongly Agree

Count 4 2 3 14 158 181

% of

Total

0.8% 0.4% 0.6% 2.9% 33.2% 38.0%

Total

Count 9 3 13 42 409 476

% of

Total

1.9% 0.6% 2.7% 8.8% 85.9% 100.0%

In the descriptive crosstab ran above, shows the parental expectations that influenced

students to attend college by upper division level business students that is contributed to their

retention and how likely they are to graduate from CMU. Out of all of the respondents, 55.7%

(+/- 4) are likely to be influenced by parental expectations to attend college and very likely to

graduate from CMU.


4.6 Linear Regression Q37 Economic Family Status

Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .058a .003 .001 .698

a. Predictors: (Constant), Economic Family Status

There is a .3% (+/- 4) of variance for the economic family status of upper class division

business students.

4.7 Paired Samples T-Test Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q27 Parents Expectations Influenced College

Paired Samples Statistics

Mean N Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Pair 1

Emotional Support 4.45 476 .933 .043

Parents Expectations

Influenced College

3.75 476 1.318 .060

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences t df Sig. (2-

tailed)Mean Std.

Deviation

Std. Error

Mean

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Pair

1

Emotional Support

- Parents

Expectations

Influenced College

.695 1.398 .064 .569 .821 10.849 475 .000

According to the Paired Samples test, the significance number shows that there is a

statistically significant difference with a significance number of .000. Based on the mean of 4.45

for emotional support and 3.75 for parental expectations influencing college attendance, both

variables contribute to student retention at CMU.


4.8 Independent Samples Test Q2 Receive Emotional Support * Q28 Gender

Group Statistics

Gender N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Emotional SupportMale 268 4.37 .961 .059

Female 210 4.55 .896 .062


Levene's

Test for

Equality of

Variances


F Sig. t df Sig.

(2-

tailed)

Mean

Differenc

e

Std. Error

Differenc

e

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lowe

r

Upper

Emotiona

l Support

Equal

variances

assumed

5.293 .02

2

-2.128 476 .034 -.183 .086 -.352 -.014

Equal

variances not

assumed

-2.146 461.74

2

.032 -.183 .085 -.351 -.015

According to the Independent Samples test, the significance number shows that there is a

statistically significant difference with a significance number of .032. Based upon the mean of

4.37 for males and 4.55 for females, females are more likely to receive emotional support from

their family.




N Mean


Education to Employment 480 4.10

Financial Support 479 3.73

Job Market Motivates Retention 479 3.70


Economy Affects Retention 478 3.39






staying/leaving.


5.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q3 Financial Support * Q1 Graduate CMU

Q3 Financial Support * Q1 Graduate CMU Crosstabulation

Graduate CMU Total

Very

Unlikely

2 3 4 Very

Likely

Financial Support

Very

Unlikely

Count 2 0 1 2 67 72

% of Total 0.4% 0.0% 0.2% 0.4% 14.0% 15.0%

2Count 1 0 1 7 30 39

% of Total 0.2% 0.0% 0.2% 1.5% 6.3% 8.1%

3Count 1 1 2 4 55 63

% of Total 0.2% 0.2% 0.4% 0.8% 11.5% 13.2%

4Count 2 1 0 10 64 77

% of Total 0.4% 0.2% 0.0% 2.1% 13.4% 16.1%


% of Total 0.6% 0.2% 1.9% 4.0% 40.9% 47.6%

TotalCount 9 3 13 42 412 479

% of Total 1.9% 0.6% 2.7% 8.8% 86.0% 100.0%


students that how likely are they to receive financial support and how likely they are to graduate

from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 40.9% (+/- 4) are very

likely to receive financial support before they graduate from CMU.


5.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q18 Education to Employment * Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention

Q18 Education to Employment * Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention Crosstabulation

Job Market Motivates Retention Total

Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly

Agree

Education to

Employment

Strongly

Disagree

Count 1 1 1 0 0 3

% of Total 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.6%

2Count 1 6 5 0 3 15

% of Total 0.2% 1.3% 1.0% 0.0% 0.6% 3.1%

3Count 6 8 25 28 13 80

% of Total 1.3% 1.7% 5.2% 5.8% 2.7% 16.7%

4Count 6 27 55 79 47 214

% of Total 1.3% 5.6% 11.5% 16.5% 9.8% 44.7%

Strongly AgreeCount 12 11 21 41 82 167

% of Total 2.5% 2.3% 4.4% 8.6% 17.1% 34.9%

TotalCount 26 53 107 148 145 479

% of Total 5.4% 11.1% 22.3% 30.9% 30.3% 100.0%


students are confident that their education at CMU will lead to desired employment and the state

of the job market motivates them to stay in school. Out of all the upper division students that

took the survey 17.1% (+/- 4) strongly agree that their education at CMU will lead to desired

employment and the state of the job market motivates them to stay in school.


5.4 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention * Q25 Economy Affects Retention

Q26 Job Market Motivates Retention * Q25 Economy Affects Retention Crosstabulation


Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly

Agree

Job Market Motivates

Retention

Strongly

Disagree

Count 18 4 3 1 0 26

% of Total 3.8% 0.8% 0.6% 0.2% 0.0% 5.4%

2Count 7 36 5 2 3 53

% of Total 1.5% 7.5% 1.0% 0.4% 0.6% 11.1%

3Count 6 19 65 12 5 107

% of Total 1.3% 4.0% 13.6% 2.5% 1.0% 22.4%

4Count 10 10 25 91 12 148

% of Total 2.1% 2.1% 5.2% 19.0% 2.5% 31.0%


% of Total 1.5% 2.5% 1.5% 4.0% 20.7% 30.1%

TotalCount 48 81 105 125 119 478

% of Total 10.0% 16.9% 22.0% 26.2% 24.9% 100.0%


students that state of the job market motivates them to stay in school and the current economy

has affected their decision to stay in school. Out of all the upper division students that took the

survey 17.1% (+/- 4) strongly agree that the state of the job market motivates them to stay in

school and the current economy has affected their decision to stay in school.


5.5 Independent Samples Test Q3 Financial Support * Q13 Tuition and Fees

Statistics

Financial Support

NValid 479

Missing 1

Median 4.00

Group Statistics

Tuition and Fees N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

Financial Support>= 4 226 3.84 1.503 .100

< 4 251 3.65 1.469 .093


Levene's Test for

Equality of

Variances


F Sig. t df Sig. (2-

tailed)

Mean

Difference

Std. Error

Difference

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Financial

Support

Equal

variances

assumed

.004 .948 1.434 475 .152 .195 .136 -.072 .463

Equal

variances not

assumed

1.432 467.338 .153 .195 .136 -.073 .463

In the Independent sample test ran above, financial support from family while attending

CMU was ran against how satisfied are you with tuition and fees at CMU. There is statistical

significance between the two questions with a significance level of 1.95% (+/- 4) with using a

cut point of 4.00.


5.6 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q18 Education to Employment * Q25 Economy Affects Retention

Q18 Education to Employment * Q25 Economy Affects Retention Crosstabulation


Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly

Agree

Education to

Employment

Strongly

Disagree

Count 2 0 1 0 0 3

% of Total 0.4% 0.0% 0.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.6%

2Count 2 3 3 2 5 15

% of Total 0.4% 0.6% 0.6% 0.4% 1.0% 3.1%

3Count 5 12 29 23 11 80

% of Total 1.0% 2.5% 6.1% 4.8% 2.3% 16.7%

4Count 17 49 52 59 37 214

% of Total 3.6% 10.3% 10.9% 12.3% 7.7% 44.8%


% of Total 4.6% 3.6% 4.2% 8.6% 13.8% 34.7%

TotalCount 48 81 105 125 119 478

% of Total 10.0% 16.9% 22.0% 26.2% 24.9% 100.0%


students are confident that their education at CMU will lead to desired employment and the

current economy has affected their decision to stay in school. Out of all the upper division

students that took the survey 13.8% (+/- 4) strongly agree that their education at CMU will lead

to desired employment and the current economy has affected their decision to stay in school.




N Mean

Socialize with Friends 479 4.04


Socializing Motivates Retention 480 3.63



Campus Activities 467 3.25

Join a Club or Organization 479 3.22

FBS Contributed to Retention 286 2.81

Use TLC 478 2.49






staying/leaving.


6.2 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q22 Socially Connectedness * Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU

Q1 Graduate CMU * Q22 Socializing Motivates Retention Crosstabulation Socializing Motivates Retention Total

Strongly

Disagree

2 3 4 Strongly

Agree

Graduate CMU

Very

Unlikely

Count 1 1 3 3 1 9

% of

Total

0.2% 0.2% 0.6% 0.6% 0.2% 1.9%

2

Count 0 0 1 1 1 3

% of

Total

0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.6%

3

Count 3 0 3 6 1 13

% of

Total

0.6% 0.0% 0.6% 1.3% 0.2% 2.7%

4

Count 3 4 10 18 7 42

% of

Total

0.6% 0.8% 2.1% 3.8% 1.5% 8.8%

Very Likely

Count 25 40 92 148 108 413

% of

Total

5.2% 8.3% 19.2% 30.8% 22.5% 86.0%

Total

Count 32 45 109 176 118 480

% of

Total

6.7% 9.4% 22.7% 36.7% 24.6% 100.0%


students that are staying socially connected motivates them to stay in school and how likely they

are to graduate from CMU. Out of all the upper division students that took the survey 22.5% (+/-

4) strongly agree that staying socially connected helps motivates them to stay in school.


6.3 Descriptive Based Crosstab Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU * Q9 Meet Academic Advisor

Graduate CMU * Meet Academic Advisor Crosstabulation

Meet Academic Advisor Total

Very

Unlikely

2 3 4 Very Likely

Graduate

CMU

Very

Unlikely

Count 2 3 3 1 0 9

% of Total 0.4% 0.6% 0.6% 0.2% 0.0% 1.9%

2Count 0 0 1 1 1 3

% of Total 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 0.6%

3Count 1 3 5 2 2 13

% of Total 0.2% 0.6% 1.0% 0.4% 0.4% 2.7%

4Count 2 5 17 14 4 42

% of Total 0.4% 1.0% 3.5% 2.9% 0.8% 8.8%


% of Total 4.2% 10.4% 21.3% 25.5% 24.6% 86.0%

TotalCount 25 61 128 140 125 479

% of Total 5.2% 12.7% 26.7% 29.2% 26.1% 100.0%


students that are meeting with their academic advisor (Q9) helps them to stay in school and how

likely they are to graduate from CMU (Q1). Out of all the upper division students that took the

survey 24.6% (+/- 4) strongly agree that meeting with an advisor would help and motivate them

to stay in school.


6.4 Linear Regression Q1 Obtaining Degree from CMU, Q4, Q9, Q10, Q14, Q22, Q23

Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R

Square

Std. Error of the

Estimate

1 .368a .136 .124 .670

a. Predictors: (Constant), Academic Support Helps Keep me in

School, Meet Academic Advisor, Quality of Education, Campus

Activities, Use TLC, Socializing Motivates Retention

In the linear regression test ran above, shows that 13.6% of social and academic support

accounts for retentions and the likeliness of obtaining a degree from CMU.

6.5 Paired Samples Test Q10 Using the TLC * Q14 Quality of Education at CMU

Paired Samples Test

Paired Differences t df Sig. (2-

tailed)Mean Std.

Deviation

Std. Error

Mean

95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

Lower Upper

Pair

1

Quality of

Education - Use

TLC

1.456 1.494 .068 1.322 1.590 21.309 477 .000

In the paired samples test ran above, shows the significance of upper division business

between students visiting and using the TLC at CMU (Q10) and the quality of education they are

receiving at CMU (Q14). There is statistical significance of .000 between the use of the TLC

and the quality of education at CMU.


Question #77.1 Frequency Distribution Q39 Learning Style

Q39 Learning Style

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

Valid

CS 122 25.4 26.1 26.1

AS 135 28.1 28.8 54.9

AR 140 29.2 29.9 84.8

CR 71 14.8 15.2 100.0

Total 468 97.5 100.0

Missing System 12 2.5

Total 480 100.0

A frequency distribution reveals that the majority of students responded as having

concrete sequential learning style 26.1% (+/- 4), abstract random learning style 28.8% (+/- 4),

and abstract sequential 29.9% (+/- 4), and concrete random learning style 15.2% (+/- 4).


Pie ChartWhy Student Wouldn’t Complete Their Degree at CMU

This chart shows the distribution of the reasons that the respondents in the student survey

listed that they might not complete their degree at Colorado Mesa University. The biggest factor

for a student’s departure is financial reasons 32.28% (+/- 4).


Conclusions & Recommendations


Conclusions & Recommendations

1. What are some institutional values/practices that positively affect student retention

in higher education? i/e., what prevents students from leaving before the

completion of their course of study?

A conclusion from the tests our group ran, the top factors ran in our descriptive

statistics that keep upper division business students at CMU are campus, classrooms,

facilities with 51.7% (+/- 4) of students being very satisfied, class sizes department of

business, and quality of education with, and business classes available. Also, our group

can conclude that most of the upper division business students are satisfied with the CMU

campus, classrooms, and facilities of students being very satisfied and will most likely

graduate from CMU.

Recommendation:

The group recommends that joining a club or organization and the usage of the

TLC need to continue to be promoted because out of all the factors that affected CMU

retention positively, those were the lowest satisfaction. From the tests our group ran, only

24.6% (+/- 4) were very likely to join a club or organization and 22.8% (+/- 4) were very

unlikely usage of the TLC need CMU needs to continue to promote all the networking

opportunities and the benefits in joining a club or organization so that more students are

satisfied with the clubs and organizations on campus and in particular, the CMU business

clubs.

2. Why do college students depart voluntarily from their institutions? What accounts

for student departure?


Overall, after running all the test needed to find various statistical significance

answers, allowed us to find the top three factors that impact why college students depart

voluntarily form their institutions. These three top factors are: Tuition and Fees (+/- 4)

impact student’s retention; Economy Affects Retention (+/- 4) impacts student’s

retention, and Academic Support Helps Keep Me in School (+/- 4) impacts student’s

retention. Our group then conclude what accounts for upper division business student’s

departures. Tuition and fees are getting higher, the economy does not allow students to

maintain in school, and those students do not receive the academic support needed for

them to graduate from CMU.

Recommendation:

Finally, our group can make recommendations that can help CMU answer what

departs students voluntarily and what accounts for student’s departure. The group

recommends that CMU’s tuition and fees should be lowered or not increase throughout a

short period of time. Various students come to CMU is because it is one of the lower cost

universities in Colorado; however, there is a large percentage who are only satisfied with

tuition fees and have access to financial aid which is a 15.6% (+/- 4). CMU should reach

out and help students who are truly getting affected by the economy and might not be

able to continue going to school because there is a very high rate of 22% (+/- 4) who are

affected by the economy which could affect if they will graduate from CMU. The last

recommendation made was if CMU could also reach out to students who need more

academic support. This is because 28.5% (+/- 4) of upper division business students only

agreed to get enough academic support.


3. Do individual characteristics (academic ability, race, or gender) play a role in the

college student departure/retention process?

In the process of performing hundreds of tests at different test levels our group

found factors in individual characteristics that have an effect in the way that college

students perceive their education and graduating from CMU. The question race and

likelihood to graduate from CMU showed the most intriguing result where students

coming from minorities had higher mean responses on likelihood to stays and graduate

from CMU even though they are way underrepresented in the business department. This

result might have some factors such as students coming from minorities usually have less

economic support from parents than those who are the majority and have more economic

support to go or transfer to other universities away from home, that comes with more

expenses.

It was also interesting to find that students working 10-30 hours are more likely to

attend class than students working only 0-9 hours, it does look like this individual

characteristic plays a role on how much effort students put into attending class, at the

same time where hours worked have no effect on student’s GPA. One would think that

the most you work the less effort and time is put into a grade and consequently an overall

GPA. Another interesting finding was that students with concrete random learning styles

are less likely to graduate from CMU in contrast of the other three learning styles. This

could be accounted that it is hard for students with this style to create formal reports,

have routines; redoing papers once it’s done, choosing only one answer and having no

other options. The business department teachers sometimes have firm rules on their

teaching, which could have an effect on students with this learning style.


Recommendation:

Not all individual characteristics play a role in the performance of students

attending CMU and consequently graduating from CMU. Although, there is still room for

improvement for example in attracting more students from different races to have a more

balances diversity in the business department, and at the same time increase the rate of

retention on those that are in the majority race in the business department. This could be

done promoting the importance of diverse business people in a global business industry.

For the majority it could be promoted and proved that Colorado Mesa University has the

same and/or higher quality level of educations that those bigger universities have in other

states or bigger cities. It does not seem like there is a lot the business department can do

about concrete random learners because the world of business there are really tight

deadlines and failures, which need to be redone. A lot of the time in the business world

there has to be really good formal reports. It may be that this learning style just does not

go along with the business world.

4. Do family background characteristics (family socioeconomic status, parental

educational level, and parental expectations) play a role in the college student

departure/retention process?

After running these tests, our group can conclude that the top family background

characteristic in our descriptive statistics keeping upper division business students at

CMU is emotional support with 76.1% (+/- 4) of respondents receiving support. The data

also stated that parental expectations and financial support are top contributing variables

for student retention as well. From additional tests ran, the group can also conclude that a


student’s economic family status and the education of their parents contribute to the

retention of upper division business students.

Recommendation:

Based on the data, the university should consider reaching out to parents of

students as soon as the students begin to attend and through their experience at CMU. By

reaching out and elaborating on the importance of their involvement with their loved

ones, the university can capitalize on building an emotionally strong student-parent

relationships to better control the outcome of student retention. A common pattern or

trend is for parents to drop their loved ones off at college to learn on their own and from

experience. According to our tests, 55.7% (+/- 4) of the respondents are likely to be

influenced by parental expectations to attend college and very likely to graduate from

CMU. 64.1% (+/- 4) of them said that their parents do indeed have a college degree as

another influence as well. This is a great idea when it comes to learning everyday

responsibilities about life and how the world works but the result can be negative without

a consistent emotional connection to home and remembering why a student is put there in

the first place. Strengthening relationships at home will overall grow larger retention

rates for upper division business students.



Our group found that external factors that lead to doubtful job outlook impact

have a big impact on retention. The question, do you agree that education at CMU will

lead to desired employment is one of the biggest factors, and the current economy has


affected their decision to stay in school is the less likely external reason for business

student retention with a perfect significance level of 0.00% (+/- 4).

Recommendation:

A weak or unstable economy does play a role in a student’s decision to remain in

school. CMU should provide students ongoing information related to potential economic

outlooks and job opportunities for when they enter the job market. The group

recommends that CMU keeps improving their education to employment and financial

support. This is recommended because our group found that all the upper division

students that took the survey 13.8% (+/- 4) strongly agree that their education at CMU

will lead to desired employment and the current economy has affected their decision to

stay in school. The group also recommends that CMU really emphasizes on helping the

graduating students find employment and their desired job when they receive their

business degree.

6. Compare and contrast the effectiveness of academic vs. social support in boosting

rates of retention at institutions of higher education?

Within our tests it was discovered that academic and social support accounts for

13.6% (+/- 4) of the motivation to obtain a degree from CMU. Along with all the other

factors that could possibly affect students retention form CMU, academic and social

support is a large chuck of what motivates them from receiving a degree from CMU.

Recommendation:

The group recommends that the use of academic advisors and getting involved

with groups of fellow students whether it is clubs and organizations or just a group of


friends can improve the quality and outcomes of college to the students at CMU. The

guidance and academic support that advisors provide students should be more

encouraged as it has a lower impact on student’s retention at 3.46 compared to socializing

at 4.04.


It appears that learning styles don’t have much of an effect on retention rates. The

different learning styles are somewhat close in their overall percentages with abstract

random having an overall percentage of 29.9 (+/- 4), abstract sequential 28.8% (+/- 4),

and concrete sequential 26.1 (+/- 4). The learning style that had the least overall

percentage was the concrete random learning style with 15.2% (+/- 4).

Recommendation:

The learning objectives for the upper division business student’s focus on helping

students identify their learning style and how to best utilize their learning style to increase

success and satisfaction at CMU. Not only will this help instructors reach a variety of

students through multiple teaching methods, but it will also ensure that student’s needs

are being met.


Limitations

Limitations are things that researcher cannot control despite how much they try to. These

limitations can put restrictions and problems for researchers on what they are trying to

accomplish. The limitations of this report should be considered important and to mention to

future students conducting this survey so that these limitations can be improved upon in the

future.

One big limitation the group could have been not being able to distribute the

survey to all of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Our group was only able to

get students that were only present in upper division business classes. Some

students could have been missing class these days for multiple reasons so the

group wasn’t able to get these students to fill out the survey.

It could be possible that some of the upper division students did not take the

survey seriously and rush through the survey without taking their time and

spending time being able to read each question truthfully. This could have caused

students to misrepresent themselves or how they feel about the business class and

Colorado Mesa University in general.

Some of the students our group handed the survey too did not follow the written

and verbal survey instructions such as the questions numbers 32 asking the

primary contributor to college financing and question 38 asking if you had to

speculate on what factor why you might not complete your degree. This caused

our marketing research class to have complications with the data entry process by

resulting in multiple responses to single-response questions. This could have

possibility limited some of statistical analysis tests our group could have ran.


Appendices


Appendix A: Frequency Distribution


Appendix A: Frequency DistributionStatistics

N Mean

Valid Missing

Graduate CMU 480 0 4.76

Emotional Support 480 0 4.45

Financial Support 479 1 3.73

Campus Activities 467 13 3.25

Join a Club or Organization 479 1 3.22

Attend Class Regularly 480 0 4.66

Take Part in Class Discussions 480 0 3.82

Socialize with Friends 479 1 4.04

Meet Academic Advisor 479 1 3.58

Use TLC 478 2 2.49

Suggested Study Time 479 1 2.94

Class Sizes Dept. of Bus 478 2 4.30

Tuition and Fees 478 2 3.37

Quality of Education 479 1 3.95

Campus, Classrooms, Facilities 480 0 4.42

Business Classes Available 479 1 3.64

Access to Financial Aid 475 5 3.57

Education to Employment 480 0 4.10

Growth/Development Motivates Retention 479 1 4.30

FBS Confirmed Concentration 285 195 2.94

FBS Contributed to Retention 286 194 2.81

Socializing Motivates Retention 480 0 3.63

Academic Support Helps Keep me in School 480 0 3.46

Passion for Field of Work Motivates Retention 480 0 4.08

Economy Affects Retention 478 2 3.39

Job Market Motivates Retention 479 1 3.70

Parents Expectations Influenced College 476 4 3.75

Gender 478 2 1.44


Statistics

N Mean

Valid Missing

age 421 59 23.53

Learning Style 468 12 2.34

Why No Complete Degree 454 26 4.96

Economic Family Status 477 3 2.53

Hours Worked Per Week 477 3 3.08

Education Parents 474 6 1.38

Current GPA 435 45 3.3305

HS GPA 446 34 3.3804

Contributor to Financing 451 29 2.13

Race 472 8 1.62

Class Level 475 5 2.25

YOB 421 59 1992.47

Frequency Table

1.Graduate CMU


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 9 1.9 1.9 1.9

2 3 .6 .6 2.5

3 13 2.7 2.7 5.2

4 42 8.8 8.8 14.0

Very Likely 413 86.0 86.0 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0


2.Emotional Support


Percent

Valid


2 11 2.3 2.3 4.8

3 46 9.6 9.6 14.4

4 93 19.4 19.4 33.8

Very Likely 318 66.3 66.3 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

3.Financial Support


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 72 15.0 15.0 15.0

2 39 8.1 8.1 23.2

3 63 13.1 13.2 36.3

4 77 16.0 16.1 52.4

Very Likely 228 47.5 47.6 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0

4.Campus Activities


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 50 10.4 10.7 10.7

2 71 14.8 15.2 25.9

3 146 30.4 31.3 57.2

4 111 23.1 23.8 80.9

Very Likely 89 18.5 19.1 100.0

Total 467 97.3 100.0


Total 480 100.0


5.Join a Club or Organization


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 74 15.4 15.4 15.4

2 81 16.9 16.9 32.4

3 107 22.3 22.3 54.7

4 99 20.6 20.7 75.4

Very Likely 118 24.6 24.6 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0

6.Attend Class Regularly


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 2 .4 .4 .4

2 1 .2 .2 .6

3 16 3.3 3.3 4.0

4 120 25.0 25.0 29.0

Very Likely 341 71.0 71.0 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

7.Take Part in Class Discussions


Percent

Valid


2 33 6.9 6.9 7.9

3 135 28.1 28.1 36.0

4 176 36.7 36.7 72.7

Very Likely 131 27.3 27.3 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0


8.Socialize with Friends


Percent

Valid


2 24 5.0 5.0 7.5

3 92 19.2 19.2 26.7

4 154 32.1 32.2 58.9

Very Likely 197 41.0 41.1 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0

9. Meet Academic Advisor


Percent

Valid


2 61 12.7 12.7 18.0

3 128 26.7 26.7 44.7

4 140 29.2 29.2 73.9

Very Likely 125 26.0 26.1 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0


10.Use TLC


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 129 26.9 27.0 27.0

2 127 26.5 26.6 53.6

3 124 25.8 25.9 79.5

4 56 11.7 11.7 91.2

Very Likely 42 8.8 8.8 100.0

Total 478 99.6 100.0

Missing System 2 .4

Total 480 100.0

11.Suggested Study Time


Percent

Valid

Very Unlikely 65 13.5 13.6 13.6

2 97 20.2 20.3 33.8

3 162 33.8 33.8 67.6

4 111 23.1 23.2 90.8

Very Likely 44 9.2 9.2 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0


12.Class Sizes Dept. of Bus


Percent

Valid

Not Satisfied 1 .2 .2 .2

2 5 1.0 1.0 1.3

3 57 11.9 11.9 13.2

4 202 42.1 42.3 55.4

Very Satisfied 213 44.4 44.6 100.0

Total 478 99.6 100.0

Missing System 2 .4

Total 480 100.0

13.Tuition and Fees


Percent

Valid

Not Satisfied 26 5.4 5.4 5.4

2 57 11.9 11.9 17.4

3 168 35.0 35.1 52.5

4 166 34.6 34.7 87.2

Very Satisfied 61 12.7 12.8 100.0

Total 478 99.6 100.0

Missing System 2 .4

Total 480 100.0


14.Quality of Education


Percent

Valid

Not Satisfied 4 .8 .8 .8

2 23 4.8 4.8 5.6

3 92 19.2 19.2 24.8

4 236 49.2 49.3 74.1

Very Satisfied 124 25.8 25.9 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0

15.Campus, Classrooms, Facilities


Percent

Valid

2 6 1.3 1.3 1.3

3 36 7.5 7.5 8.8

4 190 39.6 39.6 48.3

Very Satisfied 248 51.7 51.7 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

16.Business Classes Available


Percent

Valid


2 55 11.5 11.5 16.3

3 107 22.3 22.3 38.6

4 179 37.3 37.4 76.0

Very Satisfied 115 24.0 24.0 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0


17.Access to Financial Aid


Percent

Valid


2 45 9.4 9.5 14.3

3 148 30.8 31.2 45.5

4 154 32.1 32.4 77.9

Very Satisfied 105 21.9 22.1 100.0

Total 475 99.0 100.0


Total 480 100.0

18.Education to Employment


Percent

Valid

Strongly Disagree 3 .6 .6 .6

2 15 3.1 3.1 3.8

3 80 16.7 16.7 20.4

4 215 44.8 44.8 65.2

Strongly Agree 167 34.8 34.8 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

19.Growth/Development Motivates Retention


Percent

Valid

Strongly Disagree 3 .6 .6 .6

2 16 3.3 3.3 4.0

3 49 10.2 10.2 14.2

4 179 37.3 37.4 51.6

Strongly Agree 232 48.3 48.4 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0


20.FBS Confirmed Concentration


Percent

Valid

Strongly Disagree 56 11.7 19.6 19.6

2 47 9.8 16.5 36.1

3 80 16.7 28.1 64.2

4 62 12.9 21.8 86.0

Strongly Agree 40 8.3 14.0 100.0

Total 285 59.4 100.0


Total 480 100.0

21.FBS Contributed to Retention


Percent

Valid


2 51 10.6 17.8 40.2

3 84 17.5 29.4 69.6

4 49 10.2 17.1 86.7

Strongly Agree 38 7.9 13.3 100.0

Total 286 59.6 100.0


Total 480 100.0

22.Socializing Motivates Retention


Percent

Valid


2 45 9.4 9.4 16.0

3 109 22.7 22.7 38.8

4 176 36.7 36.7 75.4

Strongly Agree 118 24.6 24.6 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0


23.Academic Support Helps Keep me in School


Percent

Valid


2 58 12.1 12.1 18.3

3 145 30.2 30.2 48.5

4 156 32.5 32.5 81.0

Strongly Agree 91 19.0 19.0 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

24.Passion for Field of Work Motivates Retention


Percent

Valid


2 15 3.1 3.1 5.4

3 86 17.9 17.9 23.3

4 180 37.5 37.5 60.8

Strongly Agree 188 39.2 39.2 100.0

Total 480 100.0 100.0

25.Economy Affects Retention


Percent

Valid


2 81 16.9 16.9 27.0

3 105 21.9 22.0 49.0

4 125 26.0 26.2 75.1

Strongly Agree 119 24.8 24.9 100.0

Total 478 99.6 100.0

Missing System 2 .4

Total 480 100.0


26.Job Market Motivates Retention


Percent

Valid


2 53 11.0 11.1 16.5

3 107 22.3 22.3 38.8

4 148 30.8 30.9 69.7

Strongly Agree 145 30.2 30.3 100.0

Total 479 99.8 100.0

Missing System 1 .2

Total 480 100.0

27.Parents Expectations Influenced College


Percent

Valid


2 28 5.8 5.9 17.0

3 84 17.5 17.6 34.7

4 130 27.1 27.3 62.0

Strongly Agree 181 37.7 38.0 100.0

Total 476 99.2 100.0

Missing System 4 .8

Total 480 100.0

28.Gender


Percent

Valid

Male 268 55.8 56.1 56.1

Female 210 43.8 43.9 100.0

Total 478 99.6 100.0

Missing System 2 .4

Total 480 100.0


29.YOB


Percent

Valid

1964 1 .2 .2 .2

1969 1 .2 .2 .5

1970 1 .2 .2 .7

1971 3 .6 .7 1.4

1972 1 .2 .2 1.7

1975 1 .2 .2 1.9

1976 2 .4 .5 2.4

1977 3 .6 .7 3.1

1978 5 1.0 1.2 4.3

1979 1 .2 .2 4.5

1980 6 1.3 1.4 5.9

1981 1 .2 .2 6.2

1982 3 .6 .7 6.9

1983 3 .6 .7 7.6

1984 4 .8 1.0 8.6

1985 2 .4 .5 9.0

1986 4 .8 1.0 10.0

1987 3 .6 .7 10.7

1988 2 .4 .5 11.2

1989 5 1.0 1.2 12.4

1990 12 2.5 2.9 15.2

1991 16 3.3 3.8 19.0

1992 26 5.4 6.2 25.2

1993 57 11.9 13.5 38.7

1994 87 18.1 20.7 59.4

1995 102 21.3 24.2 83.6

1996 63 13.1 15.0 98.6

1997 5 1.0 1.2 99.8

1998 1 .2 .2 100.0

Total 421 87.7 100.0


Total 480 100.0


30.Class Level


Percent

Valid

Sophomore 97 20.2 20.4 20.4

Junior 167 34.8 35.2 55.6

Senior 207 43.1 43.6 99.2

Graduate Student 4 .8 .8 100.0

Total 475 99.0 100.0


Total 480 100.0

31.Race


Percent

Valid

Caucasian 377 78.5 79.9 79.9

African American 17 3.5 3.6 83.5

Hispanic 40 8.3 8.5 91.9

Asian 8 1.7 1.7 93.6

Native American 5 1.0 1.1 94.7

Pacific Islander 4 .8 .8 95.6

Other 15 3.1 3.2 98.7

N/A 6 1.3 1.3 100.0

Total 472 98.3 100.0


Total 480 100.0


32.Contributor to Financing


Percent

Valid

parents 174 36.3 38.6 38.6

self/work 81 16.9 18.0 56.5

financial aid 159 33.1 35.3 91.8

other 37 7.7 8.2 100.0

Total 451 94.0 100.0


Total 480 100.0

33.HS GPA


Percent

Valid 1.50 1 .2 .2 .2

1.70 2 .4 .4 .7

1.80 1 .2 .2 .9

1.90 1 .2 .2 1.1

2.00 8 1.7 1.8 2.9

2.30 3 .6 .7 3.6

2.40 4 .8 .9 4.5

2.43 1 .2 .2 4.7

2.50 10 2.1 2.2 7.0

2.51 1 .2 .2 7.2

2.60 3 .6 .7 7.8

2.70 8 1.7 1.8 9.6

2.75 3 .6 .7 10.3

2.76 2 .4 .4 10.8

2.77 1 .2 .2 11.0

2.80 18 3.8 4.0 15.0

2.89 1 .2 .2 15.2

2.90 10 2.1 2.2 17.5

2.93 1 .2 .2 17.7

2.97 1 .2 .2 17.9


2.98 1 .2 .2 18.2

3.00 45 9.4 10.1 28.3

3.07 1 .2 .2 28.5

3.10 9 1.9 2.0 30.5

3.20 22 4.6 4.9 35.4

3.21 1 .2 .2 35.7

3.25 4 .8 .9 36.5

3.29 1 .2 .2 36.8

3.30 19 4.0 4.3 41.0

3.33 3 .6 .7 41.7

3.34 1 .2 .2 41.9

3.35 1 .2 .2 42.2

3.38 1 .2 .2 42.4

3.40 23 4.8 5.2 47.5

3.50 46 9.6 10.3 57.8

3.52 1 .2 .2 58.1

3.54 2 .4 .4 58.5

3.58 1 .2 .2 58.7

3.60 18 3.8 4.0 62.8

3.62 1 .2 .2 63.0

3.64 1 .2 .2 63.2

3.65 1 .2 .2 63.5

3.66 1 .2 .2 63.7

3.67 1 .2 .2 63.9

3.69 1 .2 .2 64.1

3.70 17 3.5 3.8 67.9

3.73 1 .2 .2 68.2

3.74 2 .4 .4 68.6

3.75 10 2.1 2.2 70.9

3.78 1 .2 .2 71.1

3.80 45 9.4 10.1 81.2

3.82 1 .2 .2 81.4

3.83 2 .4 .4 81.8

3.84 1 .2 .2 82.1

3.85 2 .4 .4 82.5

3.87 2 .4 .4 83.0


3.89 1 .2 .2 83.2

3.90 16 3.3 3.6 86.8

3.93 1 .2 .2 87.0

3.94 2 .4 .4 87.4

3.95 2 .4 .4 87.9

3.96 2 .4 .4 88.3

3.97 2 .4 .4 88.8

3.98 1 .2 .2 89.0

4.00 34 7.1 7.6 96.6

4.02 1 .2 .2 96.9

4.03 1 .2 .2 97.1

4.06 1 .2 .2 97.3

4.10 6 1.3 1.3 98.7

4.12 2 .4 .4 99.1

4.20 3 .6 .7 99.8

4.25 1 .2 .2 100.0

Total 446 92.9 100.0


Total 480 100.0


34.Current GPA


Percent

Valid 1.75 1 .2 .2 .2

2.00 2 .4 .5 .7

2.10 3 .6 .7 1.4

2.20 3 .6 .7 2.1

2.30 2 .4 .5 2.5

2.39 1 .2 .2 2.8

2.40 3 .6 .7 3.4

2.46 1 .2 .2 3.7

2.50 16 3.3 3.7 7.4

2.53 1 .2 .2 7.6

2.60 5 1.0 1.1 8.7

2.61 1 .2 .2 9.0

2.67 1 .2 .2 9.2

2.70 7 1.5 1.6 10.8

2.80 19 4.0 4.4 15.2

2.81 1 .2 .2 15.4

2.85 1 .2 .2 15.6

2.88 1 .2 .2 15.9

2.89 1 .2 .2 16.1

2.90 18 3.8 4.1 20.2

2.91 1 .2 .2 20.5

2.95 2 .4 .5 20.9

2.96 1 .2 .2 21.1

2.97 1 .2 .2 21.4

2.98 2 .4 .5 21.8

3.00 39 8.1 9.0 30.8

3.02 2 .4 .5 31.3

3.03 1 .2 .2 31.5

3.04 1 .2 .2 31.7

3.06 1 .2 .2 32.0

3.07 2 .4 .5 32.4

3.08 1 .2 .2 32.6


3.10 11 2.3 2.5 35.2

3.11 1 .2 .2 35.4

3.12 1 .2 .2 35.6

3.14 1 .2 .2 35.9

3.20 21 4.4 4.8 40.7

3.22 2 .4 .5 41.1

3.23 1 .2 .2 41.4

3.25 1 .2 .2 41.6

3.28 2 .4 .5 42.1

3.30 12 2.5 2.8 44.8

3.34 1 .2 .2 45.1

3.36 1 .2 .2 45.3

3.37 1 .2 .2 45.5

3.38 1 .2 .2 45.7

3.40 25 5.2 5.7 51.5

3.41 1 .2 .2 51.7

3.42 1 .2 .2 52.0

3.44 1 .2 .2 52.2

3.45 1 .2 .2 52.4

3.47 1 .2 .2 52.6

3.48 1 .2 .2 52.9

3.50 31 6.5 7.1 60.0

3.51 1 .2 .2 60.2

3.52 2 .4 .5 60.7

3.53 4 .8 .9 61.6

3.57 1 .2 .2 61.8

3.59 3 .6 .7 62.5

3.60 30 6.3 6.9 69.4

3.61 1 .2 .2 69.7

3.62 2 .4 .5 70.1

3.64 2 .4 .5 70.6

3.65 1 .2 .2 70.8

3.66 1 .2 .2 71.0

3.68 2 .4 .5 71.5

3.69 1 .2 .2 71.7

3.70 14 2.9 3.2 74.9


3.71 3 .6 .7 75.6

3.72 1 .2 .2 75.9

3.73 2 .4 .5 76.3

3.75 6 1.3 1.4 77.7

3.76 2 .4 .5 78.2

3.78 3 .6 .7 78.9

3.79 1 .2 .2 79.1

3.80 28 5.8 6.4 85.5

3.81 4 .8 .9 86.4

3.85 7 1.5 1.6 88.0

3.86 3 .6 .7 88.7

3.88 1 .2 .2 89.0

3.90 5 1.0 1.1 90.1

3.91 1 .2 .2 90.3

3.92 4 .8 .9 91.3

3.93 5 1.0 1.1 92.4

3.96 1 .2 .2 92.6

3.98 1 .2 .2 92.9

4.00 31 6.5 7.1 100.0

Total 435 90.6 100.0


Total 480 100.0

35.Education Parents


Percent

Valid

Yes 304 63.3 64.1 64.1

No 162 33.8 34.2 98.3

Not Sure 8 1.7 1.7 100.0

Total 474 98.8 100.0


Total 480 100.0


36.Hours Worked Per Week


Percent

Valid

None 112 23.3 23.5 23.5

1-9 48 10.0 10.1 33.5

10-19 128 26.7 26.8 60.4

20-29 105 21.9 22.0 82.4

30-39 48 10.0 10.1 92.5

40+ 36 7.5 7.5 100.0

Total 477 99.4 100.0

Missing System 3 .6

Total 480 100.0

37.Economic Family Status


Percent

Valid

low 37 7.7 7.8 7.8

low/mid 173 36.0 36.3 44.0

mid/high 242 50.4 50.7 94.8

high 25 5.2 5.2 100.0

Total 477 99.4 100.0

Missing System 3 .6

Total 480 100.0


38.Why No Complete Degree


Percent

Valid

financial 147 30.6 32.4 32.4

academic 21 4.4 4.6 37.0

too much socializing 12 2.5 2.6 39.6

lacking family support 2 .4 .4 40.1

lacking social connections 1 .2 .2 40.3

personal reasons 58 12.1 12.8 53.1

Stress of Balancing school,

work, life

115 24.0 25.3 78.4

other 23 4.8 5.1 83.5

N/A 75 15.6 16.5 100.0

Total 454 94.6 100.0


Total 480 100.0

39.Learning Style


Percent

Valid

CS 122 25.4 26.1 26.1

AS 135 28.1 28.8 54.9

AR 140 29.2 29.9 84.8

CR 71 14.8 15.2 100.0

Total 468 97.5 100.0


Total 480 100.0


Appendix B: Questionnaire


Appendix B: QuestionnaireSpring 2016 CMU Business Student Retention Study – S/J/S No.This survey is part of a research study by marketing students under the direction of Deborah Parman, Assistant Professor of Business at CMU. While we would like you to answer all of the questions, you are not required to do so and may end your participation at any time. By completing this survey, you are giving your consent to participate in this marketing research project.

Please use the rating scale to the right while completing the questionnaire. Circle the number that most closely reflects your opinion.

How likely are you to: Very Unlikely Very Likely

1. Obtain your degree from CMU?1 2 3 4 5

2. Receive emotional support from family while attending CMU?1 2 3 4 5

3. Receive financial support from family while attending CMU?1 2 3 4 5

4. Get involved in campus activities?1 2 3 4 5

5. Join a student club or organization?1 2 3 4 5

6. Attend classes regularly?1 2 3 4 5

7. Take an active part in class discussions?1 2 3 4 5

8. Spend time socializing with friends?1 2 3 4 5

9. Meet with your academic advisor during the semester?1 2 3 4 5

10. Use the Tutorial Learning Center?1 2 3 4 5

11. Spend the suggested amount of study time for each hour of class time?1 2 3 4 5

How satisfied are you with: Not Satisfied Very Satisfied

12. Class sizes within the Department of Business?1 2 3 4 5

13. Tuition and student fees at CMU?1 2 3 4 5

14. The quality of education you are receiving at CMU?1 2 3 4 5

15. The CMU campus, classrooms, and facilities?1 2 3 4 5

16. The number of Business classes available?1 2 3 4 5

17. Access to financial aid?1 2 3 4 5

Please indicate if you agree or disagree with the following statements: Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree

18. I am confident that my education at CMU will lead to desired employment. 1 2 3 4 5


19. Personal growth and development motivates me to stay in school.1 2 3 4 5

20. Freshman Business Seminar helped confirm my Business concentration choice.(Do not answer if you did not take Freshman Business Seminar (BUGB 105) 1 2 3 4 5

21. Freshman Business Seminar was a contributing factor to my retention as a Business Student. (Do not answer if you did not take BUGB 105)

1 2 3 4 5

22. Being socially connected helps keep me in school.1 2 3 4 5

23. Academic support from the university helps keep me in school.1 2 3 4 5

24. A passion for my chosen field of work motivates me to stay in school.1 2 3 4 5

25. The current economy has affected my decision to stay in school.1 2 3 4 5

26. The state of the job market motivates me to stay in school.1 2 3 4 5

27. My parent’s expectations influenced my decision to attend college.1 2 3 4 5

28. Gender: ____ Male ____ Female

30. Class Level: ___Sophomore ___ Junior ___ Senior ___ Graduate Student

31. Race: __ Caucasian __ African American __ Hispanic __ Asian __ Native American __ Pacific Islander __ Other __ N/A

32. Primary contributor to college financing: (choose only one) __ parents __ self/work __ financial aid __ other

33. What was your high school GPA? _________

35. Do one or more of your parents have a college degree? __ Yes __ No __ Not sure

36. How many hours per week do you work? __None __ 1-9 hours __ 10-19 __ 20-29 __ 30-39 __ 40+

37. My family’s socioeconomic (income) status could best be described as: __ low __ low/mid __ mid/high __ high

38. If you had to speculate about why you might not complete your degree, which one of the following would most probably be the reason? __ financial __ academic __ too much socializing __ lack of family support __ lack of social connections

__ personal reasons __ stress of balancing school, work, and life __ other __ N/A

39. Indicate your learning style (from the learning style self-assessment) ___ CS ___AS ___AR ___CR

29. Year of Birth: ______________


Appendix C: Literature Review


Appendix C: Literature Review

Business Student Retention Research Project

Mav Retention

Cody Daniels, Alberto Delgado, Omar Delgado, Gina Jagoda, Matt Merola

February 18, 2016

Colorado Mesa University Department of Business

Marketing Research 350 Section 001

Mrs. Deb Parman


Abstract

Previous research emphasizes there are many factors that affect student retention at

higher education institutions. The goal of this research paper is to examine and identify these

factors that affect higher education, in hopes of better understanding and improving student

retention rates. The paper also discusses the most significant and reoccurring aspects on why

students drop out of their classes before completing their academic work. These results that are

specifically addressed in the paper are institutional values/practices, student departures,

individual characteristics, family background, external factors, effectiveness of academic

vs. social support, and learning styles that affect student retention.


Business Student Retention Research Project

What are some institutional values/practices that positively affect student retention in

higher education? I.e., what prevents students from leaving before the completion of their

course of study?

One of the greatest dangers a college or university could face is the loss or lack of

retention of their academic students. Today, these academic institutions are working and trying

to figure out values and practices that will positively affect student retention. The battle

most students face from time to time is the thought of why are they actually attending class or do

they even need a higher education. The colleges and universities are responsible and must do

what is necessary for them to implement a different set of approaches to ensure their students are

retained.

A study conducted by Lydia Voigt and Jim Hundrieser called Student Success, Retention,

and Graduation: Definitions, Theories, Practices, Patterns, and Trends, has provided a great

amount or research and findings on the subject that specific target areas are relevant to

improving the retention rates of students and stimulate the retention planning and development

of retention action plans. Some of these retention action plans include recruiting, admissions,

financial aid, orientation, academic advising, counseling, extracurricular activities, and many

more. In the beginning of a student’s college career, one important factor that will help the

student’s retention is the orientation programs that the college conducts. The first year of a

college student is critical. They are away from home for the first time and can feel lonely or

homesick. To help with their first year, orientation programs are in place to put a student in the

right direction and give them immediate success at the institution. The students will learn the life


of a college student and teach them the necessary steps of becoming successful throughout their

years at the university. These steps can be as simple as time management, life tools such as

personal and social skills and forming good habits like study skills. Studies have shown that one

of the multiple target areas for retention planning is counseling. These academic advisors can

positively affect a student by giving them the opportunity of building a positive relationship,

having a great resource for future references, and a trustworthy staff member. With students

taking advantage of meeting with their academic advisor "this strategy can be important in

assisting students to overcome problems that may interfere with their performance and

involvement in academic and non-academic programs" (Voigt & Hundrieser, 2008). Students

can use these academic advisors for help in their academic coursework as well as receiving the

right guidance to accomplish their goals and requirements to graduate.

In relation to these academic programs, non-academic programs are just as important to

institutions student retention. The significant and meaningful impact of extracurricular activities

that go on within a university has a positive impact on an overall student’s performance and

experience while attending college. Such extracurricular activities around a university includes

"campus clubs, organizations, intramural sports, campus events, and traditions all play a role in

engaging the student and providing intentional connection opportunities" (Voigt & Hundrieser,

2008). By having involvement in these types of activities it can provide the student with good

social interactions than can translate into their overall success in the classroom. This could be the

difference between a student’s struggling with their switch to school after leaving home, to

creating a strong group of lifelong friends and enjoying their college experience.

Extracurricular activities can have positive effects on students of all kinds’ of ranges

from the above average student to even the student that is on the brink of dropping out of school.


According to the academic article of The Positive Effects of Extra Curricular Activities on

Students by Erin Massoni, her research found that "It was revealed that students who participate

in extracurricular activities are three times more likely to have a GPA of a 3.0 or higher. This is

higher than students who did not participate regardless of previous background or achievement"

(Massoni, 2011). This study goes to show that students who are happy outside their academic

coursework are going to be more likely to perform well in their academic studies.

Patrick O'Keeffe's article titled A Sense of Belonging: Improving Student Retention is a

great resource of information on how to prevent students from leaving before the completion of

their course of study. In the article, Patrick O'Keeffe says that one of the most important things in

preventing students from leaving is developing a sense of belonging and creating a caring

environment to support student retention. "A student that feels cared for is critical with

the education environment, ensure students perform to the best of their abilities, in

preventing student attrition, a sense of connectedness', is a decisive factor

in students withdrawing from their course" (O'Keeffe, 2103). By developing the sense of

belonging for college students, it is critical to the success for the retention of students who are

figured to be at risk on not completing their studies. "It is the higher education institution, which

must seek to create a welcoming environment, where care, warmth and acceptance are promoted,

in order to achieve improved student retention" (O'Keeffe, 2013). That is, universities must make

sure students feel at home, cared for, and that they are wanted at the academic institutions.


Why do college students depart voluntarily from their institutions? What accounts for

student departures?

According to Voigt and Hundrieser (2008), institutions have to reflect on the overall

quality of student learning and intellectual involvement, how well integrated students are in

campus life, and how effectively a campus delivers what students expect and need. Therefore,

16.9 percent of public institutions and 6.7 percent of private institutions have reported decreases

in their graduation rates over the same time period (Voigt & Hundrieser, 2008). Even though

among these student groups, the federal loan borrowers are the least at risk of dropping out of

school, while first generation students are the most at risk (Turner & Thompson, College

Retention Initiatives Meeting the Needs of Millennial Freshman Students, 2014). This shows

how many variables there are which can impact college student’s departures.

Rather than institutions focusing on what they are doing wrong and why students are

departing, institutions should flip that and focus more on what they are doing right and what is

keeping those successful students (Voigt & Hundrieser, 2008). Therefore, the 2004 ACT Policy

Report study was made. This report is based on many years of ACT research on retention,

including three national studies on retention practices, six national studies on academic advising,

and 20 years of data collection and reporting of college retention and degree completion rates

through ACT’s Institutional Data Questionnaire (Turner & Thompson, 2014). Consequently, it

was shown that on average 58% of undergraduate students in the United States alone will

complete college within a six-year period (Turner & Thompson, 2014). However, on the other

hand, for 75% of the freshman students who do not return for the sophomore semester, more than

60% will not return to the same institution (Turner & Thompson, 2014).


Do individual characteristics (academic ability, race, or gender) play a role in the college


Over the last 40 years, North Americans have become more educated than

ever. Americans are now more likely to graduate from college and pursued a higher education.

This phenomenon could be attributed to the economy and higher skill level needed to perform

well payed jobs. Kevin Pollard takes a closer look at his article called "The Gender Gap in

College Enrollment and Graduation" he found out that more than half of the population over 25

years old are pursuing a higher education degree beyond high school according to the 2009

census (Pollard, 2012) but this phenomenon is seen among minorities that are still behind

on higher level education. People in these minorities often come from families that do not have

a history of pursuing higher education; this is often attributed to the income level in

such families. People in minorities tend to work in low wage paying jobs because of their skill

level and knowledge. At the same time they tend to follow the path of their parents and do not

have aspirations to obtain a college degree (Pollard, 2012).

Another big shift in the education field is that now more women are pursuing

a higher education than men. More women are joining the workforce and they are not just aiming

for a low paying job, but aiming for higher paying, stable jobs out in the market. Females

would usually hold "behind the desk" positions such as receptionist and corporate offices where

now women make up a good part of board of directors of many big companies. Women are

becoming more independent and seek to be more than just the house wife that was so common

half a century ago where their only job was to take care of their husband and kids; women are

over 10% more likely to enroll and graduate from college than men (Pollard, 2012). Crystal

Chwierut supports this research in her article called "Women graduating college, earning


degrees more than men, study shows". She conducted her study on CSU where she found that in

the fall of 2013 the total number of undergraduate women and men was almost 217,000 and

175,000, respectively (Chwierut, 2014). Her findings show a difference of 6 to 10 percent higher

graduation rate for females. Some other reasoning suggest that men are more attracted to get

money quickly or faster by going out into the workforce instead of spending money on school.

Women at the same time are more attracted to long term rewards of obtaining higher education

through school. Females hold a better retention rate than males in colleges and more women are

obtaining college degrees than men as well. It is not clear whether the ratio of women to male

has an effect to this but the gap keeps getting wider along the time. Gender does have an impact

on college retention rates (Chwierut, 2014).

Going deeper into the demographics of gender, Pollard talks about college athletes with

scholarships for playing sports, where the economic situation of the students would not really

be the reason for leaving school. It is also more likely for male athletes (receiving college

assistance) of different race to graduate from college. In the 2009, census it was found that white

males have a retention and graduation rate of 78% in contrast with African American male

athletes holding 59% of graduation rate (Pollard, 2012). These athletes were athletes holding a

sport scholarship, which means that economic status might not have being the factor causing

them not to graduate. The same effect happened to female athletes for different races; for white

female athletes the graduation rate over a period of time of six years was 90% and African

American female athlete graduates was 76%. By looking at these numbers we can notice that

more women that are athletes are graduating than male athletes, which at the same time is also

showing that economic statues might not being the cause of women graduating at a higher rate

than men.


The gap has narrowed between the enrolling students from different races but not the

graduation gap. The rate for African American students enrolling in college has increased

significantly but along the way a lot of them are also dropping out almost at the same rate the

increased enrollment. Casselman makes a note of this in his article called "Race Gap Narrows in

College Enrollment, But Not in Graduation" he shows the data where the graduation gap

between white students and African Americans has not narrowed even though more people of

color in enrolling on college. Casselman also remarks that it is not race that impacts the retention

of students, but their income and economic status (Casselman, 2014). Casselman suggests that

universities should focus on socioeconomic diversity rather than on cultural diversity which by

seeing the data and research been done does make more sense.

Do family background characteristics (family socioeconomic status, parental education


process?

When we look at the factors and characteristics related to student retention and departure,

it is evident that this problem has occurred throughout history in the United States. Student and

undergraduate retention has been a common study for the United States for over almost a

century. The origins date back to the sixteen hundreds when degree completion was rare but this

was due to the fact that universities were mainly focused on the survival of the institution rather

than student graduation. (Demetriou, n.d.) It wasn’t until the Nineteen Thirty’s that student

retention studies occurred. This study examined the social engagements, demographics

characteristics, and retention from students whom were enrolled in sixty different institutions. It

was a groundbreaking study that would lead to more in the Fifty’s and Sixty’s.


After WWII, the GI bill was introduced, spiking college student enrollment dramatically.

It wasn’t until over two million veterans were enrolled that institutions started to monitor student

enrollment in the United States. After political unrest in the Sixty’s, The Higher Education Act

was introduced enabling students to receive financial support to help student succeed in their

academics at universities and colleges around the nation. The retention percentage has always

stayed relatively close to fifty percent the last century, but reasons for why were not known until

studies in the Seventy’s. A sociological model of student retention was recognized purposing

five variables that contribute to social integration and dropping out. They were normative

congruence, grade performance, intellectual development, academic potential and friendship

support. The study only went to prove that academic potential was the dominant factor and

wasn’t considering other factors (Demetriou, n.d.).

By the Eighty’s student enrollment was declining and the study for retention became a

priority for many institutions. They started to take certain things more seriously, like recruitment

and financial aid. Institutions would focus on their marketing strategies in a university wide

approach to boost enrollment as well. Different departments started to facilitate collaboration

across academic divisions to encourage institutional recruitment. This is where studies outside of

the class room were conducted to address further factors affecting student retention. Factors like

prior academic performance were measured with other factors like a student’s distance from

home and their satisfaction away from home. Other socioeconomic and background

characteristics were measured to help understand why men and women depart from higher

education and a new model was born based on three broad elements: Student environment and

experience during college, student demographics and experiences, and student characteristics

such as knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (Demetriou, n.d.).


By the Ninety’s, institutions became focused on becoming more diverse and giving

opportunity to those from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to increase student retention.

Propositions to become one interactive campus by influencing interaction between students and

faculty became a strategy for students to remain at the institution. Universities sought the need

for counselors and advising for students and stressed it was imperative for motivation and

stimulation towards graduation (Demetriou, n.d.).

There are many factors that directly relate to student retention. Academic preparation is a

factor in light that many students are not ready for collegiate level academia due to prior

experience or lack or education. Many students just come to college unprepared and uneducated

on what they want to do or study, losing motivation and retention. Academic Engagement relates

to preparation by lacking important knowledge because students weren’t present or engaged.

Learning centers, tutorials and other resources were created for individuals who have low

engagement and need that extra positive influence (Demetriou, n.d.).

Social engagement in college is what the whole experience is all about. To have strong

retention, a great campus culture is a necessity and directly correlates with student retention.

Many campuses want students to get involved not just academically but culturally and physically

too. Institutions want student to be engaged in campus activities and socially integrate with

others. The idea is to break down cultural barriers between individuals and connect to the

community and campus. Student organizations and intramural clubs were created in light of

creating a social environment for students and faculty. The relationships created with peers,

faculty, and mentors are essentially important in a college experience and is directly a factor

towards student retention (Demetriou, n.d.).


One large factor that is uncontrollable is the demographics of students before they come

to college. Every student is different and their characteristics all derive from the parent’s gender,

ethnicity, income, level of education, distance from hometown, and more. All of these factors are

going to affect a student in some way and they are not controllable. Ethnicity can affect a

student’s cultural barriers just as much as a student who is a first generation attendant to a

university and has no idea about the experience. Many students struggle due to lack of family

income which leads to the financial factors when trying to attend college. Paying tuition is

always going to be a factor in retaining students. College is very expensive and was the reason

for the introduction of grants and loans to help students finance themselves dependent or

independently through college. Finance is going to affect how a student lives pays for everything

and can be very stressful. Institutions have installed part-time work study programs to help these

students fund themselves throughout college otherwise students tend to overwork and live off

campus, leading to another negative factor towards student retention (Demetriou, n.d.).

Today we see factors that affect students both inside and outside of the class room with

formal and informal experiences. The idea for support for students has become the sound

strategy at all institutions in the United States. To boost undergrad retention, “all institutions of

higher education must offer easily accessible academic, personal and social support services.”

(Demetriou, n.d.) This support system was built to navigate a student’s connection to the

institution as well as develop influence to the campus culture. Holding a high expectation on

students helps actively involve students to meet expectations and an opportunity where they are

more likely to succeed.


How do external factors, such as a weak economy or doubtful job outlook impact retention

rates at institutions of higher education?

In recent studies about the economy, researchers have found a direct correlation between

student retention rates in universities. The economy, in connection to going or staying is college,

researchers are using the number of jobs that require a Bachelor's degree and unemployment

rates to determine the different job opportunities that are available across the country. In

researching this subject, Robert Bozick’s, study showed that "High school graduates living in

areas with more job opportunities where unemployment is low, that do not require a Bachelor's

degree have higher odds of entering the workforce" (Bozick, 2009). This means when the

unemployment levels in an area of the country is low, the recent high school graduates or some

college students don't see the need to go to school and further their education in getting a

Bachelor's degree. The students instead, believe they can use just their high school degree to get

a job and go straight into the workforce. On the other hand, Bozick’s other hypothesis states,

"High school graduates living in areas with high rates of unemployment and less job

opportunities, are more likely to enroll in college than enter the workforce" (Bozick, 2009). With

the unemployment levels in the economy being high, it is harder for students to find jobs that

only require a high school degree or minimal degree of education. Therefore, students will be

more inclined to enroll and attend colleges and universities.

College and universities are recognizing that even when there is a weak economy, it is

not affecting the students who are a part of middle and high income families. The students who

are from this income class are not alarmed by the increase of prices for the different universities

and choose to attend school. These families are valuing the continuous education of their child in

receiving a Bachelor's degree. On the other hand, the parents of children who are from the low


income family class are encouraging their students to get a job and make money rather than

continue their education at this time. This could possibly mean that the low income families want

their children to work until the economy starts showing signs of getting stronger. According to a

higher education report called Losing Ground, "despite this decline in affordability, Americans,

particularly those from middle and high-income families, continue to attend college in record

numbers. Based upon the experience of past recessions, enrollments will grow even faster in a

weak economy" (Losing Ground, n.d.). This is happening due to students not being able to find

jobs, so they have decided to further their education and enroll in classes to allow them to be a

better qualified candidate for job positions. In a strong economy, there is a decrease in retention

rates because there are more available jobs in the workforce causing students to think getting a

better education is no longer needed. In conclusion, students have a greater chance to enter the

workforce from high school or leaving college as there is a low unemployment rate and variety

of jobs in a strong economy. In contrast, students will be more motivated to attend college to get

a Bachelor's degree when there is a high unemployment rate and very few jobs in a weak

economy.

Compare and contrast the effectiveness of academic vs. social support in boosting rates of

retention at institutions of higher education.

Throughout the years, studies have shown that social and academic support is one of the

most important factors in lowering the rate of student retention. Having relationships with both

your peers and the institutions faculty can serve as both academic and social support. Both

faculty and student groups can provide as an institutional service. Being a part of these groups

can improve both the student’s academic performance by gaining knowledge from their other


peers and advisors, but also can have a positive effect on the student’s enjoyment of his or her

college career. Being a participant in these activities will hopefully lower the retention rate of

those entering college (Montelongo, n.d.).

Social support includes relationships with other students, faculty or parents. Studies have

proven that relationships with the institution’s faculty can make the student feel more secure as

the staff member can provide guidance throughout their education and possibly their personal

lives. This relationship can also motivate and guide them beyond the college level. It is shown

that students with a relationship with their faculty have higher luck with finding a career they

will enjoy once they get their college degree. Building this type of relationship can be difficult

for some, whereas making friends with your peers can seem a little easier. The anxiety of

forming as student-faculty relationship can come from their cultures backgrounds or just the

student’s personality (O'Keeffe, 2013).

Social support can also include sports, clubs, and organizations within the college or

university, or just becoming friends with your peers. Participation in these activities or

relationships can have a large impact on the student’s academics and experience at school. 65%

of students involved in organizations within the college said that they had an excellent

experience unlike the student who was not as involved (Montelongo, n.d.). The feeling of

belongingness was one of the key factors in a student experience. Making a student feel like part

of a group and have a reason to participate is very important (O'Keeffe, 2013).

Participation in peer-to-peer activities can provide enjoyment to the student experience,

though this doesn’t always affect their academic performance. Academic support can help with

the success of the student’s educational work. Studies have shown that one of the reasons the

retention rate is high for students in their first year of college is that the transition from high


school to college is not smooth and can be difficult. Students may not have had the same

teaching style or even education level leaving high school; this makes the transition come as a

shock (Montelongo, n.d.). In an interview a student said that there was no structure in college,

the student had the responsibility of making sure everything was done correctly, time

management and showing up for class prepared (Cuseo, n.d.).

It is suggested that academic support during this transition is key to making the student

feel comfortable (O'Keeffe, 2013). The difference between the students’ grades in high school

and in college can have an impact on how the student feels about themselves and how/if they

will continue to perform. Academic support is provided by the college through tutoring services

and workshops. The level of participation in these services can determine whether or not the

student is going to improve on academic performance. If they do participate and gain the new

skills, it is shown that the increase in their grades will keep them motivated to continue working

hard in school and taking steps toward the degree and career they are seeking. There is an in

between stage for most students as they don’t use the services and decide to figure it out on their

own. This can result in students dropping out or struggling for a while but also having the ability

and experience of figuring out how to succeed on their own (Cuseo, n.d.).

Do student learning styles affect retention rates?

Research across college level disciplines generally assesses student learning styles and

implements study skills programs to enhance learning strategies using particular styles (Rinaldi

& Gurung, 2008). However, students with learning preferences that match that of the instructor

tended to have higher grades (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008). Therefore, students can master easy

information in the "wrong" learning preference for them, but they can learn more efficiently and


rapidly when they use their own learning preference (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008), but students will

most likely see improvement when the learning and teaching styles do compare; therefore,

Instructors still believe matching teaching to learning style will lead to positive

outcomes (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008).

However, pedagogical research assessing the utility of style matching is imperative, as

using different teaching styles may not always work (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008). That is why

professors should adapt to their students learning style, which can be much easier to do. After a

professor has learned their teaching styles they can develop approaches, methods, and sequences

that are likely to make learning more active and engaging for students (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008).

Designing active learning assignments that promote the use of diverse learning styles may

enhance learning, student satisfaction, and retention of information (Rinaldi & Gurung, 2008).

Consequently, students performed better on and preferred assignments that matched their

particular learning styles, which concludes that learning styles can affect the retention rate.


References

Bozick, R. (2009). Job Opportunities, Economic Resources, and the Postsecondary Destinations

of American Youth. Demography, Volume 46. Issue 3. Retrieved February 9, 2016,

from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831342/

Casselman, B. (2014). Race Gap Narrows in College Enrollment, But Not in Graduation. Higher

Education. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/race-

gap-narrows-in-college-enrollment-but-not-in-graduation/

Chweriut, C. (2014). Women Graduating College, Earning Degrees More Than Men, Study

Shows. California State University Northridge. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from

http://sundial.csun.edu/2014/02/where-are-all-the-men/

Cueso, J. (n.d.). Academic-support Strategies for Promoting Student Retention & Achievement

During the First-year of College & Beyond. Qep.isua.edu. Retrieved February 14, 2016,

from http://qep.lsua.edu/docs/default-source/JoeCuseo/academic-support-retention-

13.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Demetriou, C., & Schmitz-Sciborski, A. (n.d.). Integration, Motivation, Strengths and Optimism:

Retention Theories Past, Present and Future. University of North Carolina at Chapel

Hill. Retrieved February 16, 2016, from

https://studentsuccess.unc.edu/files/2012/11/Demetriou-and-Schmitz-Sciborski.pdf

Losing Ground- Profiles of American College Students. (n.d.). Higher Education. Retrieved

February 09, 2016, from

http://www.highereducation.org/reports/losing_ground/ar2.shtml


Massoni, Erin. (2011, May 1). Positive Effects of Extra Curricular Activities on

Students. College of DuPage. Volume 9, Article 27. Retrieved February 10,

2016 from http://dc.cod.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1370&context=essai

Montelongo, R. (n.d.). Student Participation in College Student Organizations. Journal of the

Indiana University Student Personnel Association, 50-63. Retrieved February 13, 2016,

from https://education.indiana.edu/graduate/programs/hesa/iuspa/archive/2002/2002-

StudentParticipation.pdf.

O'Keeffe, Patrick. (2013). A Sense of Belonging: Improving Student Retention. College Student

Journal. Volume 47, Issue 4. Retrieved February 10, 2016 from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=8b02ff82-9cfc-489b-80f2-

d10d55192843@sessionmgr4003&hid=4210&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2N

vcGU9c2l0ZQ==&preview=false#AN=93813989&db=ofs

Pollard, K. (2012, October). The Gender Gap in College Enrollment and Graduation. Retrieved

February 16, 2016, from http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2011/gender-gap-in-

education.aspx

Rinaldi, C., & Gurung, R. (2008, October 26). Should Teaching

and Learning Styles Match. Teaching Forum. Retrieved February 14, 2016 from

http://www.uwosh.edu/programs/teachingforum/public_html/?

module=displaystory&story_id=648

Turner, Patrick and Thompson, Elizabeth. (2014). College Retention Initiatives Meeting the

Needs of Millennial Freshman Students. College Student Journal. Volume 48, Issue 1.

Retrieved February 10,


2016 from http://ezproxy.coloradomesa.edu:2067/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?

sid=2daa1fb9-d4db-4d89-938d-3041745699e3%40sessionmgr4002&vid=4&hid=4110

Voigt, Lydia and Hundrieser, Jim. (2008, November). Student Success, Retention, and

Graduation: Definitions, Theories, Practices, Patterns, and Trends. Noel-Levitz Retention

Codifications. Retrieved February 10, 2016 from

http://www.stetson.edu/law/conferences/highered/archive/media/Student%20Success,

%20Retention,%20and%20Graduation-%20Definitions,%20Theories,%20Practices,

%20Patterns,%20and%20Trends.pdf

http://www.stetson.edu/law/conferences/highered/archive/media/Student%20Success,%20Retention,%20and%20Graduation-%20Definitions,%20Theories,%20Practices,%20Patterns,%20and%20Trends.pdf



Documents

Business Student Retention Research Project