Study Identifies Key Student Satisfaction Indicators that Influence Retention

Students who feel welcome, know what's happening on campus, and feel that they belong are more likely to return the following year, according to a study released today by Dr. Laurie Schreiner, Azusa Pacific University, and Noel-Levitz, a higher education consulting firm.

The study found that increased student satisfaction, particularly with the campus climate, can increase student persistence. According to the report, satisfaction indicators almost doubled the ability to predict retention beyond what demographic characteristics and institutional features could predict.

The study comes as colleges and universities face ongoing student retention challenges. According to the latest ACT degree completion data, fewer than 50 percent of entering college students nationally complete their degrees within five years.

“The good news is that knowing students' levels of satisfaction with their college experience adds significantly to our ability to predict whether they return the next year. While studies have been conducted at the institutional level which reflect the link between student satisfaction and graduation rates, there has been little research at the individual student level. With this research study, this link between student satisfaction and retention for individual students has now moved from being an intuitive link to being an empirical one,” said Dr. Schreiner.

The study, based on 27,816 students at 65 four-year public and private institutions from all areas of the United States, measured the extent to which student satisfaction predicted actual retention four-to-twelve months later, after accounting for students' demographic characteristics as well as features of the institution. Additional analysis was conducted by class level.

“An important element in the empirical link between student satisfaction and retention is the awareness that each class level has distinctive predictors for persistence. That is, the aspects of the college experience that are critical to student satisfaction and persistence differ each year that a student is in college,” Schreiner explained. “What predicts retention to the sophomore year is not the same as what predicts retention to the junior year and beyond. Satisfaction with the campus climate is a significant predictor throughout, but each class level has unique needs that contribute to students' decisions to stay or leave their institutions.”

Class level findings of the study:

Satisfaction with the campus climate is especially crucial for first-year student retention. First-year students are also most likely to persist when they are satisfied with their advisor's availability, are impressed with the course content in their major, believe that student fees are used wisely, and feel that the campus is a safe place.
For sophomore students, satisfaction areas that are most predictive of next-year persistence include campus climate, instructional effectiveness, advising, course content in their major, the variety of courses offered, feeling that faculty are fair and unbiased in their treatment of students, career services, and having a comfortable place to spend time in between classes.
For juniors, the odds of returning for the senior year are improved as satisfaction increases in areas such as advisors knowing graduation requirements, faculty availability outside of class, ability to experience intellectual growth on campus, and having a comfortable place to spend time in between classes.
By the senior year, retention is less connected to student satisfaction factors and more strongly linked to institutional characteristics and grade point average.

According to Jenny Li, director of institutional research at Dominican University of California, “Dominican University assesses student satisfaction to better understand students' perceptions of the college life experience we provide. This study deepens our understanding of key satisfaction indicators to help us further strategize at the institutional level. We want to focus on better educational quality and the college life experience, which in turn helps our student retention.”

Results of the study will be discussed at a September 30 Web conference, led by Dr. Schreiner. To register for the free conference or to review a copy of the report, visit www.noellevitz.com/retentionlink.

Posted 08/27/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.