AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS NOT RETAINED

SALEM STATE’S 2016-17 COHORT 2 IN CONTEXT

RANDALL CLOKE
NATIONAL CONTEXT

“This report defines student transfer and

mobility as any change in a student’s
institution of enrollment irrespective
of the timing, direction, or location of the
move, and regardless of whether any
credits were transferred from one
institution to another” (Shapiro, et al,
2015)

From National Student Clearinghouse Research Center

SSU ENROLLMENT BY CLASS, SPRING 2017

SSU Enrollment

21% 16%

29%
34%

Freshmen Sophomore Junior Senior

CURRENT JUNIOR CLASS BY ADMIT TYPE, SPRING 2017

Makeup of Current Junior Class

0%

43%
57%

Transfer New Matric Re-Admit

LITERATURE REVIEW

 Tinto (2012)
 student’s choice to persist is a series of recommitments to personal goals that are mediated by factors both internal and
external
 Fischer (2007)
 students’ development of more informal friendships lessened the possibility for students to leave the institution
 Hunter, et. al (2010)
 “sophomore students’ satisfaction with their overall college experience was the strongest predictor of their intent to
reenroll and graduate” (p. 49)
 “peer satisfaction was the strongest contributor to overall student satisfaction” (p. 49)
 Schaller (2005)
 sophomore students typically experience one or more of four stages: random exploration, focused exploration, tentative
choices, and commitment
SCHALLER (2005): SOPHOMORE DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Random Exploration Focused Exploration Tentative Choices Commitment

•choosing a broad major •broader understanding of
due to uncertainty of
•uncertainty with major •greater sense of current choices in context
due to future career responsibility; goals and
career or professional of future needs and wants;
prospects plan to achieve them
interests accepting choices made

• Focused Exploration is the stage most sophomore students will experience

• Most students in this stage start to feel a sense of frustration and start to reflect
(relationships, self, academics)
RESEARCH QUESTION

 Do the peer connections and on-campus social experiences of current Salem State
sophomore students who have chosen not to return to the university reflect the
research that connects those experiences with the students’ choice to persist into
their junior year?
METHODOLOGY

 Using Mapworks’ search feature, student data was filtered so that only current sophomores
whose “Intent to leave” the institution is red as of Spring 2017.
 This filtered list includes students who self-identified on the Mapworks Spring 2017 survey that
they intended to leave the institution.
 Secondary analysis was conducted on four questions relating to students’ social experience on
campus and satisfaction with the institution.
 Cohort 2 overall vs. Students who intend to leave
 Mean averages to the questions were utilized for each of the past four surveys, and percent
change from semester to semester—along with first semester to fourth semester—was
calculated to assess change, whether growth, loss, or stagnation.
QUESTIONS ANALYZED

 Given the research, four questions on the Mapworks survey (including Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, and Spring
2017) were analyzed
 To what degree:
 Do you feel you belong here?

 Do you feel you fit in?

 Are you satisfied with your social life on campus?

 Would you choose this institution again if you could?

 Respondents could choose from a range between 1 (not at all), and 7 (extremely).
CURRENT SOPHOMORE CLASS OVERALL: 4 QUESTIONS

Sophomore Class Overall

6

5.5

4.5

4
Fall 2015 (n=631) Spring 2016 (n=402) Fall 2016 (n=465) Spring 2017 (n=509)
Do you belong here? Are you fitting in?
Are you satisified with your social life on campus? Would you choose this institution again?
CURRENT SOPHOMORES WHO DO NOT INTEND TO RETURN TO
THE UNIVERSITY: 4 QUESTIONS

Sophomores Who Intend to Leave Salem State

4.8

4.3

3.8

3.3

2.8
Fall 2015 (n=25) Spring 2016 (n=18) Fall 2016 (n=18) Spring 2017 (n=22)

Do you belong here? Are you fitting in?

Satisified with social life on campus? Would you choose this institution again?
DO YOU FEEL YOU BELONG HERE?

Sophomores who do not intend to return

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 4.68 2016 4.28 2016 4.33 2017 3.32 Overall
change
-29%
-9% +1% -23%

Sophomore class overall

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 5.44 2016 5.18 2016 5.35 2017 5.32 Overall
change
-2%
-5% +3% -1%
DO YOU FEEL YOU FIT IN?

Sophomores who do not intend to return

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 4.56 2016 4.41 2016 4.53 2017 3.48 Overall
change
-24%
-3% +3% -23%

Sophomore class overall

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 5.36 2016 5.23 2016 5.28 2017 5.22 Overall
change
-3%
-2% +1% -1%
DO YOU FEEL SATISFIED WITH YOUR SOCIAL LIFE ON CAMPUS?

Sophomores who do not intend to return

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 4.72 2016 4.28 2016 3.89 2017 3.32 Overall
change
-30%
-9% -9% -15%

Sophomore class overall

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 4.94 2016 4.80 2016 4.86 2017 4.82 Overall
change
-2%
-3% +1% -1%
WOULD YOU CHOOSE THIS INSTITUTION AGAIN?

Sophomores who do not intend to return

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 4.16 2016 4.11 2016 3.22 2017 3.00 Overall
change
-28%
-1% -22% -7%

Sophomore class overall

Fall Spring Fall Spring

2015 5.29 2016 5.04 2016 5.27 2017 5.15 Overall
change
-3%
-5% +5% -2%
LIMITATIONS

 Students are not forced to complete any Mapworks survey

 As such, not all students who leave the university during or after their sophomore year have their experiences
reflected in the data analyzed
 The specific nature of the research conducted limits the application to other student populations
IMPLICATIONS FOR SALEM STATE

 This research sheds greater light on the experiences of sophomore students who intend to not return to the
university
 It also allows for student affairs practitioners to recognize the unique experience of Salem State sophomore
students and how vital peer connections and feeling of fitting in on campus is vital to their choice to persist
 Campus staff and administration should include the unique experiences and needs of sophomore students into
initiatives aimed at retention, specifically events and programming that will positively affect students’ sense of
belonging to campus
 Given that incoming transfer students do not aid an institution’s graduation rate, providing resources specifically
to retaining matriculated sophomore students will benefit the institution’s graduation rate
QUESTIONS?
REFERENCES

 Fischer, M. J. (2007). Settling into Campus Life: Differences by Race/Ethnicity in College Involvement and Outcomes. The
Journal of Higher Education, 78(2), 125-156. doi:10.1353/jhe.2007.0009
 Hunter, M. S., Tobolosky, B. F., Gardner, J. N., Evenbeck, S. E., Pattengale, J.A., Schaller, M., & Schreiner, L.A. (2010). Factors
that contribute to sophomore success and satisfaction. In Helping sophomores succeed: Understanding and improving the
second-year experience (pp. 43-65). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
 Schaller, M.A. (2005). Wandering and wondering: Traversing the uneven terrain of the second college year. About
Campus, 10(3), 17-24. doi:10.1002/abc.131
 Shapiro, D., Dundar,A., Wakhungu, P. K., Yuan, X., & Harrell,A. (2015). Transfer and mobility: a national view of student
movement in postsecondary institutions, Fall 2008 cohort (9). Retrieved from National Student Clearinghouse Research
Center website: https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport9/
 Tinto,V. (2012). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.