2 year schools v.s 4 year schools...

Although the retention rates seem to be on a downward spiral overall, two year public schools are the exception. As reported by ACT, Inc, two year public schools are at 54% up from 51%. Four year public schools are in second place at 71% while four year private schools are at number one with 73%. Although the four year schools, both public and private have a higher retention rate, their rates are a part of the steady decrease. Two year public schools have the lowest retention rate but they are also the only ones with a growing retention rate. People attending two year schools are beginning to return to the same school for their sophomore year. This may seem strange to some people.

The question is why are the two year schools seeing an increase in their retention rate but the four year schools are seeing a decrease? This may have something to do with the declining economy. People may be finding themselves in a situation where they can't pay for a four year school. The two year public schools are significantly cheaper than four year schools. In my opinion, you get the same education at a two year school as you would at a four year school. For the same education, you pay a much smaller amount for two years. My question is, why pay more? For the students and families of the students, cost has become more of an issue in the past few years. This may be the reason that more and more people are returning to community colleges for their second year of college. Some may wonder if we will continue to see a rise in retention rates in two year schools. According to ACT, there is no proven reason that retention rates in two year schools are rising and decreasing in four year schools. For now all we can do is wonder.

The race toward retention

The retention rate in a college is a very important number. It is the measure of the number of college freshman that return to that same college for their sophomore year. Every school in the U.S measures their retention rates annually. The schools analyze these rates and try to come up with ways to increase their rate. When looking into colleges, many students look up the retention rate of their prospective schools to find out if they think that school will be a good choice for them.

The American College Testing Program (ACT,Inc) also measures the retention rates annually, but unlike the colleges, they measure the rates world-wide. In a recent measure done by ACT,Inc, it showed that in 2007 and 2008 the average retention rates were at about 65%. This number factors in different reasons students may not return to college. The main factors include the students that simply drop out and students that transfer to other schools. Although most freshman college students probably have it in their minds that they will return for their sophomore year, the overall retention rates are on a steady roller coaster proving that many students do not return to school for one reason or another.