Introduction

Higher education institutions are always in constant search of ways to increase the success rate of students. Besides, universities and colleges have concerns on retaining students beyond their first year of study. According to Othman et al. (2013), student retention is a compelling issue in higher education due to the changing needs of students with diverse background and educational quality assurance. Students’ transition from high school to undergraduate is sometimes stressful, and that is why institutions report high drop-out rates of students before graduation (Thomas, Crosling & Heagney, 2009). Since retaining students is significant, institutions tend to employ measures to curb high rates of attrition. When considering the impact of education of the well-being of students, people should focus on areas such as access to college and retention rate. The significance of a college degree is that an individual will gain economic advantage and experience increased well-being compared to those who graduated with high school diplomas. Although there are changes in the current landscape of higher education, student retention is influenced by attitude and satisfaction, academic performance, social and family support and academic engagement.

Historical Overview of Student Retention

Regarding the background of student retention, the historical overview indicates that earliest institutions in the United States experienced a rare student degree completion. Similarly, higher education institutions focused on select population and survival of the institutions rather than student graduation. Events that led to the creation of more learning institutions in the 1800s and 1900s included monumental changes and the growth of cities and urban life. Between the 1930s and 1960s, access to higher education increased due to financial support and the creation of campus support services (Demetriou & Schmitz-Sciborski, 2011). Today, interactions students experience in campuses influences undergraduate retention. The purpose of student retention includes the need to increase the number of student graduating. With a college degree, a person can gain economic advantage and increased well-being. Also, learning institutions tend to preserve their reputation by increasing student retention rate.

Factors that Influence Student Retention

Attitude and Satisfaction

First, student retention in higher education is influenced by their attitude and satisfaction with the education system of the institution. Students with positive attitudes about the education system of the institution tend to remain in the institution since they believe they will succeed in the academic world. According to Martirosyan, Saxon, and Wanjohi (2014), “An individual’s intentions, and thus their behavior, may be predicted by attitude.” The attitude of students supports their intention to stay in a school thus increasing their retention. Additionally, Martirosyan, Saxon, and Wanjohi (2014) argued that the personal attributes of a student influence their satisfaction with college experience. Students will develop a high self-esteem if they believe there is a significant opportunity in their institution thus increasing satisfaction rate. In their article, Martirosyan, Saxon, and Wanjohi (2014) described the relationship between student satisfaction and academic performance in higher education. According to the author, student satisfaction is based on their reason to join the college and various aspects of the institution such as the teaching process, interactions with teachers, financial resources, educational equity programs and campus events. Martirosyan, Saxon, and Wanjohi (2014) researched by collecting data from a sample of 372 students. The findings from the statistical analysis showed a significant relationship between student satisfaction and academic performance.

A study by Othman et al. (2013) indicated that student’s perception of the institutional environment influences their satisfaction. Regarding the perception of students on ethical climate and the impact on retention, the research showed that ethical climate plays a significant role in student retention. Ethical climate encompasses an environment that is trustworthy and does not harm but it respect and benefits individuals. Students exhibiting better satisfaction with overall college experience report a higher GPAs compared to those with low satisfaction. Since satisfaction enhances academic performance, administrators should focus on improving student satisfaction.

In another study, the author indicated that students experiencing greater social connectedness showed significant correlation with greater educational satisfaction. On the same note, Othman et al. (2013) explained that academic integration does not provide sufficient explanation for the retention of minority students who have limited social integration. However, with opportunity structures, students from minority groups have significant opportunities to explore thus getting satisfied with the institution.

Academic Performance

Second, student retention is influenced by their academic performance. Academic performance plays a critical role in student retention with high school and college GPA acting as a predictor of their persistence. Students with high test scores are more likely to attain a bachelor’s degree. Similarly, Othman et al. (2013) asserted that regardless of the changes and challenges students experience in college, a good number of them realize their academic goals and may develop desires to pursue professional careers or college degrees. Next, the academic performance also entails student academic discipline. Students that portray good academic self-discipline tend to have better academic performance that increases their retention rate. Another academic performance indicator is course load and credit earned. An institution with a higher number of credit hours and students attend classes full-time has a higher retention rate compared to those that allow students to attend classes on a part-time basis.

Also, students portraying positive academic self-concept have the confidence to handle difficult academic tasks thus increasing the chance that they will enroll in more difficult classes and have higher academic inspiration. Student’s perception of the university environment entail developmental and social needs, student’s comfort with the teaching process and the culture of the institution. The existence of an ethical climate in universities is vital to student retention.

A study by Martirosyan, Saxon, and Wanjohi (2014) indicated that the performance of students in higher education is influenced by environmental, socioeconomic and psychological factors. Measuring the academic performance of students allows educators to determine the effectiveness of their teaching methods, student’s level of knowledge and satisfaction with the education process. Prior to enrolling in college, students experience situations that influence whether or not they will succeed in college. Many students are unprepared before entering college; therefore, they find themselves unfamiliar with college level reading and writing requirements (Martirosyan, Saxon & Wanjohi, 2014). Also, situations that influence student’s motivation to succeed include differences and similarities with community support, teachers, and school system.

Friedman and Mandel (2009) illustrated the relationship between student’s performance and retention using goal setting theory. With this theory, students with goals have a higher chance to perform well compared to those with no goals. Moreover, student’s participation in goal setting process and setting challenging goals have a positive influence on their academic performance. Further research indicated that goal specificity, peer competition, relevance and goal feedbacks fosters the students’ performance. Competition among students is a significant element that influences performance and retention. According to Friedman and Mandel (2009), academic mentoring programs that help students with a poor academic performance by offering mentoring procedures and goal setting assistance improves the GPA of students and retention rate.

Student Engagement

Third, student engagement in academic has a positive influence on retention. This is because students can cope with stress and are more satisfied with the education system of the institution. According to Gunuc (2014), student engagement encompasses the extent to which students make a psychological, emotional, behavioral and cognitive investment in education and participate in extra-curricular activities to attain better learning outcomes. Besides, student engagement includes both the time a student spends on a task and the willingness to take part in other activities. Gunuc (2014) examined the degree to which student engagement explains their academic achievement. The author supported the idea of student engagement by explaining concepts such as class engagement and campus engagement. With campus engagement, Gunuc (2014) asserted that giving value to campus, participation in activities and sense of belonging are significant aspects of the student engagement. Class engagement entails emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses of students to activities in class and outside. A study performed by Gunuc (2014) indicated that class engagement including behavioral, cognitive and emotional engagements predicted the academic achievement of students.

In another study, Thomas, Crosling, and Heagney (2009) identified factors that play critical roles in retaining students, and they included student engagement, and teaching and learning approaches. Thomas, Crosling, and Heagney (2009) argued that since engagement is not the student’s sole responsibility, teachers have the role to ensure that they provide a setting that encourages students’ engagement and learning processes. Similarly, formative feedback is a significant tool since it provides students with an opportunity to interact with teachers and ask for assistance in situations when they have difficulty in understanding a concept (Thomas, Crosling and Heagney, 2009). Moreover, student participation in research may help to integrate and prepare them for graduate education.

A study by Demetriou and Schmitz-Sciborski (2011) showed that the connection of students to academics correlates with undergraduate retention. When students engage in positive faculty interactions, use academic resources including tutorials, library and learning centers, they tend to increase their retention rate. Moreover, when learning institutions link academic support services to learning in classrooms, students are more likely to participate in services and succeed in education. Universities with research programs that encourage student interaction support the integration of students into the school community. Additionally, Demetriou and Schmitz-Sciborski (2011) explained that earning credit hours and passing exams correlates with overall degree completion. Therefore, students who enroll continuously have a higher chance of graduating.

Gunuc (2014) used models to illustrate student engagement. For instance, in the participation-identification model, the author used behavioral and emotional dimensions to determine reasons student drop-out of school. The basis of the model was that successful students identify themselves with their school. Conversely, unsuccessful students cannot make such a move. When students participate in school activities, they tend to increase their performance and achievements (Gunuc, 2014). The performance of students influences their desire to identify with the school. Also, Gunuc (2014), explained student engagement using the Flow Theory. According to the author, when teachers focus on using the Flow Theory during the class presentation, they increasing students’ learning experience.

Social and Family Support

Fourth, a higher level of social and family support correlates with student retention. Family support, faculty and staff support results in fewer feelings of loneliness among students thus increasing their retention. Students may share their academic experience through social supports such as learning communities and cohorts.  Othman et al. (2013) explored factors that influence the academic aspirations of students in higher education. The authors categorize the factors into social support and academic self-concept of students. According to Othman et al. (2013), social support encompasses social resources, behaviors and support appraisals. Students with higher levels of social support have a higher chance to succeed in an academic setting. Encouragements on forming social support networks that students receive from parents, school administrators and faculty increase their academic performance. Faculty as a channel of socialization can influence the academic performance of students and satisfaction with school experience (Othman et al., 2013).

According to Aljohani (2016), minority students including the Native Americans depend on social and family support for their successful school experience. These factors greatly impact their persistence since they are prevalent in tribal colleges. Research on the perspectives of Native Americans towards student retention indicated that students were satisfied with giving back to their tribal community since it inspired them to finish school (Aljohani, 2016). For students to experience successful academic achievement and persistence, educators must ensure that the learning process takes place in a social learning environment. Similarly, students, especially from the minority group, can develop the desire and determination to finish school and graduate, if they experience the learning process in a culturally authentic physical setting. This environment encourages social and family support.

Othman et al. (2013) presented the idea of perceived and actual support that students might receive. In this research, the author illustrated that a person could develop an illusion of support that could help him/her feel the impact of support even when an action was not supportive. The various ways social support can be presented includes the response one gets from his social network in a situation when there are crises or when the time you spend with your social network is not because of a problem. Therefore, although social support can be presented in various forms and there may exist differences between perceived and actual social support, family and social support play a critical role in a person’s life.

Conclusion

In conclusion, student retention is a sophisticated issue; therefore, learning institutions need to use various interventions in an attempt to decrease attrition. Many researchers have found it difficult to predict student retention because of the many factors that influence the success of students in college. However, in this paper, factors that influence student retention in higher education include attitude and satisfaction, academic performance, social and family support and academic engagement. The attitudes and satisfaction of students influence their commitment to the college. According to findings from various research, the major contributor to student retention is academic performance, and that is why institutions that focus on improving student academic performance tend to increase the retention rate. Other than the above factors, learning institutions need to obtain significant information from various research to comprehensively study student retention. Learning institutions should use retention practices such as internships, summer bridge programs, mentoring programs and learning communities in an attempt to decrease attrition.

References

Aljohani, O. (2016). A review of the contemporary international literature on student retention in higher education. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 4(1), 40-52.

Demetriou, C., & Schmitz-Sciborski, A. (2011). Integration, motivation, strengths and optimism: Retention theories past, present and future. In Proceedings of the 7th National Symposium on student retention (pp. 300-312). Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma.

Friedman, B. A., & Mandel, R. G. (2009). The prediction of college student academic performance and retention: Application of expectancy and goal setting theories. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 11(2), 227-246.

Gunuc, S. (2014). The relationships between student engagement and their academic achievement. International Journal on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 5(4), 216-231.

Martirosyan, N. M., Saxon, D. P., & Wanjohi, R. (2014). Student satisfaction and academic performance in Armenian higher education. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 4(2), 1-5.

Othman, N., Nordin, F., Nor, N. M., Endot, Z., Azmi, A., Ismail, I., & Yaakob, A. (2013). Factors influencing students’ academic aspirations in higher institution: a conceptual analysis. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90, 411-420.

Thomas, L., Crosling, G. M., & Heagney, M. (2009). Improving student retention in higher education. Australian Universities Review, 51(2), 9-18.

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