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Abstract
The high rate of student dropout between the first and second year of college is a major concern for the majority of US colleges and universities. But dropout (or stop out) from higher education affects students in different ways, depending upon a number of factors. Although for the last 30 years, educational researchers have studied the dropout phenomenon, research to date has tended to focus upon student characteristics or the impact of external environments. Little research exists that explores the role of the college or university environment—especially the classroom itself—on student persistence. And while college and university educators have employed a variety of programs to improve retention—for example, first‐year seminars, learning communities, and Supplemental Institution—retention rates remain disappointingly static. A final frontier yet to be explored in retention research is the basic structure of higher education, especially the way instruction is designed and delivered.
Notes
* Policy Center on the First Year of College, Brevard College, 400 N. Broad St., Duplex 1, Brevard NC 28712, USA. Email: barefoot@brevard.edu
Defining ‘retention’. Although there are many variations, in US higher education ‘retention’ is most commonly used to describe students' remaining at a single college or university (or in an academic program) from the first to the second year. Some writers use the terms ‘retention’ and ‘persistence’ interchangeably. However, in recent years, others have drawn a slight distinction—using persistence to indicate retention for more than one year, whether at the college of entry or at another institution.