By Allyson Hinkle, Editor in Cheif
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s (UMHB) retention rate, as well as most retention rates nationally, has seen a fluctuation in number throughout the years. According to a graph found on the UMHB webpage entitled UMHB Student Achievement Website Data, the goal for retention of first-year students is around 76%. This means that the university hopes that the majority of their freshman class will decide to come back for another semester, and with the data try and pinpoint why those who decide not to come back are leaving.
Despite their hopes, UMHB’s retention rate estimates that around 69% of first year students return for a second year. This number is lower than the university’s goal, but higher than the statewide average of 68.17% of students returning for their second year of college.
Over the years this percentage has dropped then steadily worked its way back up, but not quite reaching the numbers seen decades ago. There are several factors that play into retention, both from the university’s standpoint and from the student’s themselves.
University’s Standpoint One of the main hits to university enrollment throughout the country has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediately following the pandemic there was a 17%-29% drop in the number of students enrolling in college after finishing their high school education, as stated in the study Assessing the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nontraditional Students’ Mental Health and Well-Being done in May of 2022 by University of Houston business professor Stephanie Babb.
Before the pandemic, UMHB’s enrollment showed that over 800 new students came to the university. Once COVID-19 hit the United States, this number dropped as in 2020 only an estimated 770 students enrolled at UMHB. Since the pandemic this number has fluctuated with enrollment numbers not quite returning to what was seen before 2020.
Although the pandemic did hold lasting effects on college enrollment, opinions on whether or not the global shutdown serves as the main factor on the decrease in retention are divided. While Burks recognizes the effect COVID had, Hardin-Simmons University (HSU) Vice President for Enrollment Management Travis Seekins holds a different view.
“I don’t blame the pandemic,” Seekins says. “I don’t think it helped, but I think it’s weak to blame it.”
Seekins, as a means to defend his stance on the pandemic, goes on to ask whether or not the public system may be part of the issue.
“Back in 2018-2019 there was a lot of conversation about why [SAT and ACT] test scores weren’t the greatest,” Seekins explains, “but when 2020 came, higher education moved away from requiring test scores. Even though the tests aren’t perfect, they are still a strong indicator of academic success.”
The lack of academic success, and overall academic readiness, is one of the main arguments that could be made for a university’s standpoint on why retention is down.
“I’m still a big believer in public education, [but] I think they’ve dropped the ball in the last several years,” Seekins explained. “They’re not holding students accountable. My high school senior has never written a paper over two pages long, rarely has homework and has never taken a comprehensive final. On the surface he’s got a 3.9 GPA, but it doesn’t mean he’s prepared for what’s going to happen when he goes to college.”
As a way to combat this issue, HSU now offers a class entitled Strategic Learning Initiative. From study skills to exposure of how different professors may format their classes, this program aims to help students who may have been under-prepared in their high school education.
Another factor that may be specifically affecting UMHB and HSU’s retention could be the decline of the Baptist denomination. Both schools officially proclaim to belong to the Baptist denomination in their respective mission statements on their websites, but over the past years the denomination itself has been suffering a decline. Due to this shift, many people may decide to drop out of either school, or any religious school in general, because the faith enforced at these institutions may not align with their own faith.
Student’s Standpoint
Despite the educator’s reasons for why students may potentially choose to not continue their higher education, the main reason for students seems to be unanimous: finances. Many of those who struggle to finance their education may simply drop out as a means to not be financially burdened later on in life.
Former UMHB students Victoria Miller and Emily Faechner fall into this category. Both Miller and Faechner attended the university for the 2021-2022 academic year before either transferring or dropping out of higher education entirely.
“Our job is to present what [college finances] look like, should [students] choose to come to UMHB,” Burks stated. “Over 90% of students that enroll mention receiving some type of funding from UMHB to offset the cost, and there’s other forms of aid that we pull from, whether it’s state or federal aid.”
Despite these resources being available, Miller expressed that she was not made aware of these options.
“I am a first generation college student and found that the university personnel, while helpful, did not understand the situation I was coming from,” Miller explained. “I was often told by university staff to ‘ask my parents for help’ … or ‘to apply for loans.’ Other options for financial aid were never brought to my attention nor made available to me.”
Faechner made similar claims stating, “I was having issues with the family member who was paying for [my] schooling and I couldn’t afford it. Even with all the scholarships, I would never be able to afford a semester on my own.”
With financial issues seeming to be the common factor of students abandoning their higher education, many think universities should try and find ways to cut down on costs to ensure their students stay. This is rebutted in a blog post entitled Here’s Why College is so Expensive: The Answer is Obvious from Jan. 24, 2023, where it showed that the cost for an undergraduate degree at private institutions have increased 129% since the 1980s, with public institutions tuition being raised by 213%.
The cause for this jump in price is credited in the post as the demand for going to college increasing significantly, with the Department of Education reporting that “US colleges saw more than five million more students in 2017 than in 2000” (University of the People).
If institutions cannot cut down on costs, Faechner believes that they can better advertise aid offered.
“I think that maybe they should advertise more [often] that students can work on campus and which places they can work,” Faechner proposed. “I knew that the most of it was the food places and library or mail room, but when I was leaving I learned you can work at a lot more places. I think they should get that word out more for the kids who really can’t afford jack.”
Conclusion
Despite all of the theories given for why retention rates are down recently, there is no universal reason as to why students choose to leave a university. Students may choose to leave for a number of reasons, some of which may not be a generalized “norm” that could be studied. The best that universities can do moving forward is continuing to aid current students, whether it be academically or financially, as they monitor changes in retention in hopes to ease the curve.
