Pre-enrollment Factors Affecting Retention at Rhodes College

Abstract

This paper seeks to use both the theoretical and empirical techniques of economics to build upon the literature of the factors responsible for retention at colleges and universities, and apply it specifically to an area that has not been examined in the literature so far, a small, highly-selective liberal arts college. Rhodes College is the target institution, with the data coming from its extensive databases on student characteristics and biographical and demographic information. Using both an institutional research theoretical model specific to college retention that is seen in much of the literature on the subject, a signaling model from economic literature is added to provide a framework under which incentives can be structured so that certain preenrollment characteristics show an increased propensity to stay at Rhodes College beyond a student’s freshman year. A probit model is then used to estimate the exact characteristics that identify the increased propensity for a retained outcome, including both academic and social factors. In light of the results, specific policy implications are discussed.