RETENTION OF FRESHMEN COHORT Prepared by Institutional Research November 2007

First-year retention rates have increased from 69% in 1995 to 80% in 2007.

UM ranks #24 out of the 31 SUG schools in first-year retention. 1.UNC Chapel Hill97% 2.U VA97% 3.U GA93% 4.UT Austin93% 5.GA Tech92% 6.Texas A&M92% 7.U Maryland92% 8.U Delaware90% 9.Clemson89% 10.FL State89% 11.NC State89% 12.VA Tech89% 13.U Florida88% 14.U SC Columbia86% 15.Auburn85% 16. U Alabama85% 17. U Oklahoma83% 18. LA State83% 19. Texas Tech83% 20. U AR Fayetteville83% 21. MS State82% 22. U TN Knoxville82% 23. West Virginia81% 24. U Mississippi80% 25. AZ State 79% 26. GA State79% 27. OK State79% 28. U Kentucky78% 29. U Houston77% 30. U AL Birmingham75% 31. U So MS73%

Five-Year Goal: Increase Retention to 85% by 2012  Goal is to increase retention by 1% per year for next five years  For the freshman class of 2,473: A 1% increase is 25 students Increase retention from 80% (1,944) to 81% (2,003)

STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS RETENTION OF FRESHMEN COHORT

Overall 80% of new freshmen returned in Nonresidents have a lower retention rate than residents (78% vs. 83%).

White males make up the greatest number of students who don’t return (210). White females represent the highest number (877) of retained students.

White females have the highest retention rate (83%). “Other” males have the lowest retention rate (64%) but there are only 56 of them. Next lowest is black males with a retention rate of 77%.

The retention rate does not appear to be related to school. The percent of non-retained students in each school closely resembles overall enrollment of freshmen by school.

Greek Status appears to be an important factor in retention. The percentage of Greek students who left (13%) is less than half than the percent of Independent students who left (28%).

LIBA 102 appears to have a positive effect on retention. The percent of students who left without taking LIBA 102 (27%) was nearly twice that of those who did take LIBA 102 (14%).

Of the 153 students who took EDLD 101, 35% did not return. This is significantly higher than the overall non-retention rate (20%).

The retention rate for students who took EDLD 105 is 85%, significantly higher than for those who did not take EDLD 105 (80%)

Not surprisingly, the retention rate for developmental students is lower than the overall retention rate. (Math N=283, English N=198, Reading N=230)

RETENTION BY ACT, GPA’S RETENTION OF FRESHMEN COHORT

More than half (55%) of the students who did not return had an ACT score less than 21. However, 44% of students who returned had an ACT score less than 21. Thus many lower-scoring students can be retained.

There is a direct relationship between high school GPA and retention, with the rates ranging from 50% for students with < 1.49 to 91% for students with 3.5 or higher HS GPA.

Of the freshmen who left, 18% had a UM GPA of ; 43% had a UM GPA of 2.0 or higher. Of the 492 freshmen who returned, 81% had a UM GPA > 2.00.

Nearly 60% of students who left were in Good Standing. Education had the lowest percent of students who left in good academic standing; Pharmacy had the most. Left in Good Academic Standing Lib Arts 63% Accountancy69% App Sciences40% Business55% Education35% Engineering53% Pharmacy89% Total59%

RETENTION BY PROGRAM RETENTION OF FRESHMEN COHORT

Programs with highest number of students who did not return Program Non-Retained Retention StudentsRate 1.Liberal Arts Undecided12079% 2.Business Undecided 6779% 3.BA Journalism 1980% 4.BA Biology 1885% 5.BA Psychology 1779% 6.BSES Exercise Science 1773% 7.BBA Marketing 1769% 8.Pre-Pharmacy 1580% 9.BSN Nursing 1481% 10.BAEd Elementary Education 1378% 11.BAccy Accountancy 1284% 12.BA Political Science 1183% 13.BSCJ Criminal Justice 1167%

Programs with highest number of students who did not return (continued) Program Non-Retained Retention StudentsRate 14.BS Forensic Chemistry1070% 15.BS Biomedical Science 986% 16.BSME Mechanical Engineering 974% 17.BA Art 868% 18.BSCE Civil Engineering 685% 19.BE Engineering 682% 20.BA History 679% 21.BA Theatre Arts 671% 22.BSEE Electrical Engineering 670% 23.BS Pharmaceutical Sciences 590% 24.BSGE Geological Engineeringt 581% 25.BSCS Computer Science 580%

Programs with lowest retention rate (includes only programs with at least 5 majors) Program # Majors Retention Rate 1.BA Southern Studies 540% 2.BPS Paralegal Studies 956% 3.BS Geology 560% 4.BSCJ Criminal Justice3367% 5.BA Art2568% 6.BBA Marketing5469% 7.BS Forensic Chemistry3370% 8.BSW Social Work 10 70% 9.BSEE Electrical Engineering2070% 10.BA Theatre Arts2171%

Programs with lowest retention rate (continued) (includes only programs with at least 5 majors) Program # Majors Retention Rate 11.BSES Exercise Science6473% 12.BSMS Mechanical Engineering3574% 13.BAEd English Education 875% 14.BAEd Elementary Education5878% 15.BBA Marketing Communications1479% 16.Liberal Arts Undecided 56479% 17.BA Psychology8079% 18.BA History2979%

Programs with highest retention rate (includes only programs with at least 5 majors) Program # Majors Retention Rate 1.BA Music 13100% 2.BS Biology 8100% 3.BA International Studies35 97% 4.BA Chemistry17 94% 5.BA Communicative Disorders16 94% 6.BA Biochemistry31 94% 7.BSChE Chemical Engineering22 91% 8.BA Mathematics10 90% 9.BS Pharmaceutical Sciences48 90% 10.BA English25 88%

Programs with highest retention rate (continued) (includes only programs with at least 5 majors) Program # Majors Retention Rate 11.BSFCS Family & Consumer Science3087% 12.BS Biomedical Science6386% 13.BBA Economics 786% 14.BA Biology 12385% 15.BSCE Civil Engineering4185% 16.BBA Banking and Finance1385% 17.BAccy Accountancy7684% 18.BA Political Science6683%