Carroll’s freshmen-to-sophomore per-
sistence quickly increased more than two
percentage points. Wiseman calculates
r
EtEntion praCtitionEr
that retaining 25 more freshmen repre-
sents revenue of at least $300,000 a year Sam Burgio
- plus powerful positive word of mouth.
Vice President , Jenzabar, Inc.
Carroll is now looking for 80 percent
freshmen-to-sophomore retention. Fu-
ture refinements will enable sophomore-
to-junior efforts.
retention solutions—
public University
Missouri University of Science and
Technology’s mantra is “Attract, Keep,
Graduate.” Retention starts with quality
academic programs and is passionately
championed by both Jay Goff, Vice Pro-
vost and Dean of Enrollment Manage-
ment and Harvest Collier, Vice Provost
of Undergraduate Studies. The two
leaders have removed silos and attracted 2004 attributable to increased retention, work.” With rigorous scientific and
a team of institution-wide advocates. Re- which now exceeds 87 percent. quantitative coursework required of
tention is an ongoing, multi-year process Retention planning and execution most students, retention tracking at the
that permeates mission, planning, strat- is data driven with continuous student course and discipline level is essential.
egy, tactics and results at this public tech- and faculty feedback. Goff says, “If we Faculty retention sponsors in physics
nological university of 6,800 students. use the data appropriately, we’ll know and chemistry provide student support
Enrollment has grown 47 percent since what services students want and what services early on so challenged students
2000 with much of that growth since works…and get rid of what doesn’t avoid academic failure.
Goff, Collier and colleagues aren’t
A Freshmen-to-Sophomore Retention Calculator for four-year schools
shifting their retention attention. Instead

they are raising the bar by aiming for a
One task a retention calculator can perform is calculating the revenue loss when
90 percent retention rate in 2010. At
freshmen do not return. The simplest calculations tally lost tuition and fees
monthly retention committee meetings
for students who depart. A more robust measure more accurately portrays reality.
faculty, staff and administrators evalu-
Here is one example.
ate data, set goals, assign responsibilities

and measure progress, posting meeting
1. Calculate net revenue per freshman. Total cost of attendance minus institu-
minutes on the university’s website. Goff
tional grants, divided by the number of freshmen enrolled
vehemently proclaims, “How dare you

admit students and not provide the ser-
2. Calculate the year’s sophomore revenue loss. Multiply net revenue per fresh-
vices to retain them!” and Missouri S &
man (item 1) by the number of freshmen who fail to return.
T’s retention achievements mirror that

commitment.
3. Calculate the original cost of recruiting those dropouts as freshmen.

retention solutions—
4a. Calculate the enrollment-lifetime revenue loss. Multiply the sophomore rev-
Community College
enue loss in step 2 by three to calculate the loss through graduation at a four-
At many community colleges (CCs),
year school.
designing and implementing a reten-

tion solution and program is a challenge.
4b. C alculate the actual cost to recruit replacement sophomores.
The primary reason CC students fail to
persist is the inability to balance work
5. Calculate total costs as the sum of items 2, 3, and 4a or 4b.
schedules with school demands. Gates
Foundation data tell us that 60 percent
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