The Influence of Housing in a Content-Based Residential College and Selected Demographic Characteristics on the Retention of Students Enrolled in a College of Business at a Research University (RU/VH) in the Southern Region of the United States
Abstract
“Statistics indicate that more than 40 percent of all college entrants leave higher education without earning a degree, 75 percent of these students drop out in the first two years of college, and institutions can expect that 56 percent of a typical entering class cohort will not graduate from that college ”(DeShields , Kara, , & Kaynak, P.129). Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of housing in the College of Business content-based residential college (CBRC) and selected demographics on the retention in the fifth semester of students in the College of Business.
The population of the study was students enrolled in programs in a College of Business. The instrument used was a computerized recording form designed to collect data from the Office of Undergraduate Admission and Student Aid.
When comparing students who lived in a CBRC with those who did not, a higher percentage in the CRBC were male and classified as out-of-state students. Additionally, Race was significantly related to whether or not the student was retained in the fifth semester of enrollment with African American students retained at a lower rate (64.4%) than all other racial groups (78%-82%). However, when African-American (AA) student retention was examined separately for the CBRC, no differences were found between AA students and other races.
Multiple discriminant analysis was used to determine if a model exists that correctly classifies students on retention in their fifth semester. The variables that entered the discriminant model were overall first year GPA, the number of times the student changed major, the number of earned hours in the second semester, and whether or not the student was a resident of the state.
The researcher recommends that research be conducted to determine the reasons that AA students who left the university did so. This research might take the form of a qualitative study in which AA students who were not retained are interviewed in efforts to determine the reason they chose to leave. The researcher further recommends that the results of these interviews be utilized to assess and revise policies where appropriate.