Taking Student Retention Seriously

Syracuse University’s Distinguished University Professor in the School of Education, Vincent Tinto, has conducted research and written widely about student retention issues and the role that faculty members can play. He gives five main conditions that support student retention: expectation, advice, support, involvement, and learning. That is, students are more likely to persist and graduate in settings that:

a. expect students to succeed

b. provide students with clear and consistent information about institutional requirements and give students effective advising about programs of study and career goals

c. provide academic, social, and personal support

d. involve students as valued members of the institution

e. foster learning

Fostering learning is ranked as the most important condition for student retention. The implications for what happens in the classroom and the importance of the faculty role are therefore evident.

What Faculty Members Can Do

• Set high standards in class. At the same time, provide the academic support that students need to succeed.
• Provide robust opportunities for students to be actively involved in the content.
• Teach explicitly the academic strategies that students need in order to learn the material and be successful in your course.
• Integrate learning and study strategies (note-taking, graphic organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition, and test prediction and preparation) into your course.

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Source: --Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University