Improving College Student Retention: New Developments in Theory, Research, and Practice

Higher education institutions have already begun to see decreasing enrollment numbers, even as higher education enrollment is predicted to drop precipitously starting in 2025. Much of the decrease in enrollment will be driven by demographic trends about which higher education institutions can do little, making the retention of students who do enroll that much more important. Overall retention rates have stagnated and differential retention rates by race and ethnicity have persisted. If higher education institutions, researchers, and policy makers are to improve retention rates, a critical examination of the current state and future directions of retention research is essential.

This edited volume begins that examination by addressing several questions: What are the needed directions in theory and research on college student persistence and how do we translate new theory and research into effective practices? Are we asking the right questions, looking in the right places, or trying to apply out-of-date theories to new populations? In short, how can the research community help institutions improve retention in this challenging time?

Robert D.Reason is Professor of Student Affairs and Higher Education at Iowa StateUniversity. From 2003 to 2011, he was on the faculty in the College ofEducation at Penn State University, where he also held an appointment as SeniorResearch Associate in Penn State’s Center for the Study of Higher Education.His research has been published in TheJournal of College Student Development, Researchin Higher Education, and The Reviewof Higher Education. He currently serves as Associate Dean forUndergraduate Academic Affairs in the College of Human Sciences at Iowa StateUniversity.

John M. Braxton is Professor Emeritus, Higher Education, Education Leadership, and Policy Program, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He is also Senior Associate Editor, Innovative Higher Education, a Resident Scholar, Tennessee Independent College and University Association, an Affiliate Scholar, USC Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice, and a co-Principal, Community College Practice-Research-Policy Exchange.

Laura W. Perna is an associate professor of higher education the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. Her current scholarship focuses on understanding the ways that public and institutional policies enable and restrict college access and success especially for students from underrepresented minority groups and from low socioeconomic backgrounds.