GCSU’s 6-year retention rate sits at 5th in Georgia

GCSU’s 6-year retention rate is less than 50 percent. The 6-year retention rate is calculated based on the number of students that complete their college career at GCSU in six years or less.

With retention rates, there are leading indicators and lagging indicators according to GCSU President Dorothy Leland. The leading indicators are the freshman and sophomore rates. These leading indicators represent rates data that is only a few years old where the lagging indicators, graduation rates are much older. However these statistics may only be representing the state of the university several years ago, rather than an immediate analysis, according to school officials.

“There is a big difference between Georgia College today and Georgia College eight years ago,” Leland said.

In terms of system graduation rates, GCSU is the leader in the state with the highest rate of 94 percent.

“If you look at system graduation rates, GCSU students are more likely to complete a degree in six years than students at any other institution in this state,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Sandra Jordan. “A sophisticated understanding of graduation trends suggests that GCSU has the most successful student retention – for all those students are completing their degrees and moving into a position to enhance Georgia’s economy.”

The freshman to sophomore retention rates are above 84 percent which exceed the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, which GCSU is a member.

In the previous five-year retention plan, the freshman to sophomore rates were only 69 percent.

“Move from 69 to 84 percent is spectacular,” Leland said.

Looking comparatively, the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges institutions have 74 percent for the freshman to sophomore rates and aspirational institutions have 86 percent.

This rate increase and the freshman residency requirement is not a coincidence.

“Freshman residency requirement significantly increased (the retention rate) as a result to help students connect and engage with the university,” Leland said.

Leland said that hopefully with the increases in freshman and sophomore rates, the lagging indicator, graduation rates will rise in the future.

However, with GCSU’s six-year retention rate being less than 50 percent, some factors are outside the realm of what the university can control. Leland said that some students transfer out of GCSU after losing the HOPE Scholarship. Some also transfer after changing majors and GCSU does not offer their new major.

With some students, the university realized from the start that they would be transferring to another school because GCSU does not have their major, engineering for example.

“GCSU offers ‘pre-professional’ degrees that are designed for transfer,” Jordan said. “This is a wonderful program for our students, but the way our state currently defines and tracts graduation rates for institutions, that program has a negative impact on our graduation rate.”

Consequences aren’t certain of what will happen if the 6-year retention rate doesn’t rise.

“I don’t know, but I would expect graduation rates to be a factor in funding and the evaluation of institutional presidents,” Leland said.

These retention rates need no cause for panic by students or faculty.

(There is) nothing to be alarmed about,” Leland said. “Last year’s retention rate reflects what our students were seven years ago. This institution has changed dramatically since then.”

Posted by Matt Rogers on Apr 30 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry