Retaining students in higher education establishments can be challenging, but it is not impossible. If you are an academic leader or instructor looking to improve student retention and engagement strategies, this blog post is for you!
Here, we will present 10 effective strategies that professionals and academics have tried and tested. These practices help to maintain high levels of student satisfaction and engagement while also boosting overall student retention rates in universities across the country – these methods involve examination of classroom dynamics, incentives for course completion, targeted communications with at-risk students, and other initiatives aimed towards helping all learners succeed.
Dive into this post to learn more about each strategy so you can tailor them as needed to ensure your institution retains its value proposition.
Definition of Student Retention
Student retention is “the percentage of students who are still attending their courses once enrolled.”
“Retention in higher education is defined as the process of retaining students enrolled in college, community colleges, or other institutions of higher learning.”
It's a vital aspect of higher education since it influences graduation rates, which shows how well a school is doing for its students. The number of students who re-enroll from one year to the next is how institutions calculate the student retention rate.
Student retention refers to all the activities the school undertakes to impact this rate, preventing students from leaving school before completing their degree.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, public 4-year higher education institutions have a retention rate of 76.3%. This implies that about one in every four students left their school to study elsewhere – or leave their pursuit of the degree altogether.
Many students throughout the country drop out before completing their degree. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research, approximately 25% of students who enrolled in 4-year public colleges in the fall of 2020 did not return for a second year.
Considering the high rate of students leaving their degrees, it becomes crucial for higher ed institutes to find the reason and how this low retention impacts their institutes. If the solution for this issue is not explored, all higher ed lead generation strategies go to waste!
Why Is Retention of Students Important for Universities?
Student retention influences higher education institutions, particularly in terms of income through enrollment. It ensures a steady flow of annual cash into the institution through tuition and fee payments. The admissions funnel is a crucial aspect of higher education institutions, as it determines the flow of students from initial inquiry to enrollment.
Aside from the financial rewards, student retention is a promising indicator of stability and success, which helps not just the staff but also the students who are currently enrolled or are considering joining.
As a result, educational institutions should pay attention to this crucial measure and seek to enhance their school's retention rate. Student retention techniques must be considered in more depth to improve a school’s student retention rate.
10 Strategies to Improve Students Retention in Higher Education
Here are 10 tried-and-tested strategies for increasing student retention and keeping college students interested and supported in your institute.
1. Predictive Analysis of Data
Finding proactive and inventive strategies to promote enrollment, minimize withdrawals, retain students, manage student stress, and improve teacher performance has been a problem for educational institutions.
Universities may minimize withdrawal rates and improve enrolment and student retention by enhancing data infrastructure and developing descriptive and predictive analytics.
For instance, Michigan State University used data analytics to identify roadblocks to graduation, establish novel academic counseling, and alert university administration on how to arrange better course loads and programs for improved student outcomes and, ultimately, higher graduation rates and improved student retention.
Another great example that higher ed institutions should take inspiration from comes to us from The University of Texas at Austin. This higher ed institute has built models predicting student outcomes using decades of graduation data. The university utilizes this data to identify new students who could be underprepared for the university, providing financial assistance and assigning them to academic support programs. As a result, universities increased their 4-year graduation rate from 51% to 66%.
You can also use the same approach to predict student outcomes, change the course load, and better prepare students for roadblocks to improve student retention.
2. Utilize Effective Content Marketing Techniques
Leveraging content marketing to attract and develop a connection with the students is the key to improving student retention. Even though higher education marketing trends are effective to deliver your message to the students, content marketing techniques for retaining students are different.
Here are some suggestions for content pieces that could help you achieve your student retention goals:
- Better study habits infographic (you can provide the students with a study plan to help them improve their academic performance)
- A video series about how to form good connections in college (help the student feel that they belong to the institute)
- Blog postings on the origins of school traditions or programs (help in involving students in extra-curricular activities)
When included in content marketing campaigns, all of these strategies can help the student feel they are a part of an institute. The sense of belonging can help the higher ed institute retain students.
Additionally, you can also ask the student to get involved in the school website or offer library resources to access reading material easily.
For instance, The University of Texas’s news website is full of the latest happenings in different fields, and the students manage it.
3. Collect Regular Feedback
Sending out student questionnaires regularly to obtain feedback from your student is one of the most effective approaches to evaluating the issue and pain points experienced by the students. This not only offers your professors and staff helpful information on the quality of their academic programs, but it also provides you with vital insights into what makes your school unique.
Student feedback may be used to improve your marketing messaging and methods. Of course, soliciting feedback is a great way to demonstrate to existing students that your school values their input.
Even if you can't solve every problem or offer them everything they want, their experience is valuable.
4. Enrollment Management and Programs to Increase Retention
Enrollment management ensures the continuation of policies and procedures that lead to student retention.
Attracting the right students, providing financial aid, easing the transition to college through orientation programs, using institutional research to gather and analyze student data, conducting research to identify student retention factors, assisting with job placement, and enlisting the support of alums are all examples of enrollment management activities.
For example, the College of the Atlantic focuses on providing merit-based financial aid to students so they can complete their degree programs.
5. Offer Students Continuous Networking, Social, and Mentorship Opportunities
Establishing trust between students and your institution is the first step in creating a helpful atmosphere for retaining students.
Navigating a new learning environment and community in higher education may be challenging, especially for first-year undergraduate, graduate, or other professional program students. Engaging with students early on, even before their first-year orientation, is a terrific approach to getting students interested in enrolling at your school and ensuring they complete their degree program.
Allowing students to engage with mentors in their field of study, such as upper-year students, is another effective strategy to foster campus community. Additionally, providing monthly social mixers for each faculty and networking events oriented toward a particular subject, job, or area of interest is a terrific method for students to create contacts and uncover connections that may lead to future possibilities!
For example, New York University (NYU) offers a dedicated networking portal so students can keep up with the campus news and communicate with alum, staff, and fellow students. Other universities, such as Miami School of Law and Central Washington University (CWU), also offer similar networking channels to the students to improve student retention.
6. Retargeting the Students Through Ads, Social Media
Cost, financial assistance, and academic reputation are essential factors in first-year student enrollment decisions, which is the primary reason for low student retention. If a student leaves the institute because of these factors, it is time to retarget them. Because you already have data on students interested in your programs, retargeting is more successful than creating new leads.
Segmenting your website visitors as new and repeat visitors is a highly successful strategy for eliciting action from individuals who have viewed certain pages and keeping potential students engaged with your institution.
You may show an ad with a tailored message according to the prospect's activity by adding a short bit of code to different site pages. For instance, if a prospect left the website after checking out the pricing page, you can retarget by offering promotional and discounted prices.
For example, AGM University - South Florida retargeted the students to enroll in the Master’s program through this ad.
7. Send Newsletters to Current Students
Every current student should be automatically subscribed to your school's email newsletter to keep them informed and interested in what's happening around campus and the many programs you provide.
You can send notifications to current students regarding campus improvements, the career of alums, directives from the staff, and new academic programs.
Utilizing email marketing to maintain a continuous dialogue between your institution and the student is important for improving the student retention rate. Otherwise, they would develop tunnel vision and only see what is occurring in their department.
8. Engage Low and High-Risk University Students With Targeted Communication
Having additional opportunities to speak with at-risk kids significantly influences retention rates positively. For example, the University of Texas at Austin's Center for Community College Student Engagement discovered that more frequent and comprehensive advising enhances retention. For example, a $2 million per year investment in more academic advisers at Georgia State University resulted in a 20% increase in graduation rates.
In the same study, students who met with an adviser for more than 30 minutes had better engagement levels than students who met for 16-30 minutes. Therefore, it is also important to consider who is counseling the student and the conditions under which a student must meet an adviser.
Communicating with students can be easier than convincing them to open emails using the correct means, such as in-person meetings, phone, or text - engaging students on their most commonly used devices. With a robust, usable campus mobile solution, you can improve access to advising services and maintain constant touch with at-risk students.
9. Work on Brand Authority
Brand authority or presenting your organization in a positive manner helps the students feel proud of the institute and stay connected to it, which can ultimately improve retention. Your institute’s name should bring a sense of belonging to the student, whether they are currently enrolled or have passed their degree programs.
Your educational institution's branding should be present in all student life communications to provide a consistent message. And each communication should use the slogans and language you've created to describe your institution's value proposition.
For instance, if your institute promotes the idea of community, the student should read the slogan and feel like a community member.
Furthermore, you need to remind current students of the significance of their education every time they contact the student life staff in this way.
10. Offering Online Courses
According to Arizona State University research, merely offering online classes can enhance student retention. Online courses have been linked to higher retention, graduation rates, and cost savings of up to 50%. According to the same research, "at Houston Community College (HCC), for example, retention for first-time freshmen was 9 to 10 percentage points better among students who attended an online or hybrid course."
Online learning trends rose with the prevalence of COVID and the initial lockdown phase. During this time, higher education students realized that this could be the new approach to learning. Hence, an institute offering distance or online learning programs is more appreciated by the students as they can learn from their homes.
For example, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, like various other institutes, offer physical as well as remote classes that make it easier for students to learn and earn a degree along with their jobs.
An institute can retain a student easily if it offers similar assistance to on-campus and remote students. This can help the institute become famous as an effective alternative to traditional teaching programs and ascertain student retention.
FAQ
My College has a Low Retention Rate – Can it be Fixed?
The low retention rate in your school can be fixed by understanding the reason for low retention and effectively utilizing the strategies such as gathering regular feedback, offering online courses, retargeting the student, and helping the students to understand the academic career path beforehand.
Final Thought
As the higher education market becomes increasingly competitive, universities are looking for ways to set themselves apart and attract students. By focusing on student retention and employing some of these strategies, colleges can create a well-rounded and successful experience for their students.
Managing such evaluation and collecting data can be tiresome, and here is where you need the help of a higher education marketing agency!
Related: Learn more about our higher education marketing agency services
Think Orion has worked with numerous higher education Institutions to help them design marketing strategies that cannot only attract new students but also keep the ones they have enrolled. Please contact us if your university is interested in learning more about how we can help.
Rayed Chaudhry
I’m Rayed, co-founder and COO at Think Orion. I spend most of my time refining how data, experimentation, and creative strategy work together to make marketing systems more effective. Most of my work centers on optimizing funnels and building scalable processes for universities, exam prep companies, and certificate programs to help them grow with clarity, consistency, and measurable impact.
