Retention at SVSU matches national trends

While retention rates continue to increase, minorities still graduate less frequently

by Hillary Darling
Vanguard Staff Writer

February 11, 2008 —

More students are choosing to remain in Cardinal Country. Almost 70 percent of 2006 freshmen returned to SVSU for their second year in the fall, the second highest retention rate in ten years. And almost 36 percent of full-time students who began their college careers in 2001 earned a degree by 2007.

When arranged by demographic, graduation rates - which measures the percentage of students who graduate within six years - for minorities ranges from six percent to 39 percent, averaging a 16 percent graduation rate for all minorities, a trend that Vice President of Student Services and Enrollment Management Robert Maurovich says spans the nation.

The Minority Trend

"I think two things stand out for us," he said. "Our retention and graduation rates has increased for our minority students, but it lags behind other students."

Black and multi-racial retention, which measures the percentage of students remaining at the University one year after they enrolled as freshmen, has increased; rates for American Indians and Hispanics have dropped. The retention rates for Hispanics plummeted from 96 to 70 percent, but the difference resulted from only six students not returning.

"Whenever you have a small population, the addition or loss of one or two people will affect the percentage more drastically than a larger population," said sociology professor Dawn Hinton. For example, if just one more American Indian student graduated, that statistic would jump from 25 to 50 percent.

Hinton, who is black, was surprised at the small percentage of black students enrolled at SVSU.

"SVSU is located within 15 minutes of the city of Saginaw," she said, "which has a population that is approximately 45 percent African American, and SVSU's African American population was only six percent. If we were truly committed to a culturally and racially diverse campus, it would take very little effort to travel 15 minutes to the city of Saginaw and recruit from that population."

Hinton noted scholar Joe Feagin's discussion of discrimination and its impact on the retention rates. He argues that seeing the average black student as representative of his or her race, and the tendency of viewing white as normal, creates discomfort for minority students.

"When white students, faculty and administrators see blacks as representatives of their race, they are expressing their inability to see black students as individuals," Hinton said. "Many assume that there is a unified 'black experience,' when in actuality, there is a great amount of social diversity that exists within the 'black experience.'"

Black students that began at SVSU as freshmen in 2001, had about a 20 percent graduation rate compared to the 39 percent of white students, a difference Hinton agrees is a national one.

"When we have a culture within the college that is, according to Feagin, 'white-normed,' discrimination is reinforced daily and subtly. In many cases, black students find themselves uncomfortable in an environment that was not designed for their inclusion."

Black enrollment for degree-seeking first-time students in the fall 2007 semester was 159, higher than any other minority group, but smaller than the group of 1,237 white freshmen. Retention rates for blacks from 2006 grew from 52 to 59 percent.

"There are a couple things to consider," Hinton says. "Nationwide, black and Hispanic students report the greatest isolation and social alienation in the campus subculture. This phenomenon could lead to an increase in the drop-out rates among these populations."

Retaining and Graduating

The current retention rate for all students falls just under three percentage points below the highest rate in the past ten years. Maurovich, who said SVSU's rates were in the ballpark for the graduation rates in the region, said that while the percentage is the second highest, more students had decided on another year at SVSU because of the large increase in the number of entering freshmen.

"Part of the problem is that students are not here six years from now for good reasons," said Maurovich, using students who transferred elsewhere or left for personal reasons as an example. "The graduation or retention rate implies that these students have not been successful, but in reality, they've moved on to other higher education."

The federal government recognizes the retention rate as the number of full-time new students who are still enrolled a year later, with exceptions only for death, disability or service in the armed forces, foreign aid service or official church missions.

The students surveyed that chose to leave SVSU generally said their experience in Cardinal Country was good, and that they would choose to do it all over again.

One of the University's goals was to raise the graduation rates by one and a half percent, and with the 33.59 to 35.85 percent change from last year, it succeeded.

Maurovich said SVSU looks at multiple factors to increase the rates, including increasing the connections students make with the institution with an array of support services and student-attentive staff.

In general, higher retention rates are often a result of higher admission standards.

"We have students from all walks of life," Maurovich said. "We'd like to remain a university of choice and opportunity."

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