The Attrition Problem in Colleges and Universities

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INTRODUCTION

Intense competition has made student attrition a concern for colleges and universities.

Attrition is costly and generates considerable concerns for educational institutions (Tinto, 1993).

This is especially true for small schools that do not have huge endowments, and must depend upon tuition and fees to support programming. The loss of students has a detrimental impact upon budgeting as the costs involved in recruiting new students is definitely higher than the cost to retain existing students (Braunstein, Lesser, & Pescatrice, 2006).

Small colleges and universities are looking for ways to differentiate from the competition by offering creative programs that will meet the needs and wants of students. These schools then must recognize and furnish what is important to college students (Elliott & Shin, 2002). There are some corollary intangibles of this impact on student satisfaction pertaining to recruiting and fundraising, as well as retention that positively affect student outcomes at schools. The key is for schools to identify determinants that will provide higher levels of satisfaction in course programming, curriculum components, and interaction with professors. This includes the recognition that high levels of satisfaction indicates schools are part of the service industry, and that greater emphasis must be placed satisfying needs and wants to remain competitive (Letcher & Neves, 2010).

This study focused on determinants as a result of a questionnaire provided to undergraduate business school students at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The purpose was to find the promotional determinants which may result in higher levels of satisfaction which may help with retention by providi...

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... of business ownership (Levenburg, Lane, & Schwartz, 2006). The authors suggest that more academic majors should be considered as one way to expand and promote student dreams about business ownership. This includes creative curriculums that reach out to students from other academic disciplines to take courses as electives or possibly even minor in business programs (Levenburg et al., 2006). Neck and Greene (2011) have found that entrepreneurial education is important because it offers real world experiences. Students can gain invaluable practical and entrepreneurial skills which will be helpful even when working for large companies. Employers are interested in hiring students who possess these practical skills, and who are able to contribute immediately to the company mission. The idea is to promote out-of-the box thinking which fosters creativity and innovation.

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