1. UMass Boston Retention, Persistence, and Graduation Rates UMass Boston Advising Collaborative March 28, 2013 Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies Kevin B. Murphy

2. There have been significant changes in enrollment since fall 2002. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies MeasuresFall 2002Fall 2012 Percent Change Total Enrollment12,71915,87425% Percent Graduate Students21%24%13% Mean Age of Undergraduates2725-7% Median Age of Undergraduates2322-4% New Students1,9583,09558% New Freshmen5761,267120% New Transfers1,3821,82832% Percentage of Freshmen29%41%39% International Freshmen23223870% International Transfers64 0% Percent of Freshmen Identifying as White NH45%37%-18%

3. Notes on Retention and Graduation Rates A school’s retention rate is the percentage of fall entering, first- time, full-time freshmen that returns to that same school for the second fall semester. A school’s six-year graduation rate is the percentage of the first- time full-time freshman cohort who receive bachelor’s degrees from that school within six years of that first enrollment. Persistence is continuing enrollment after returning for the second year. Everyone remains in the cohort except for those who enter the military, go on a religious mission, or die. Not included –Transfers –Part-time freshmen –Spring entering full-time freshmen Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

4. Retention Rates, Fall 2002 to Fall 2011 Cohorts Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

5. Persistence to the third year has not seen as much improvement. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

6. Retention Rates by Gender, 2002 to 2011 Cohorts Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

7. Retention Rates by Race/Ethnicity, 2007 to 2011 Cohorts Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

8. There are significant differences in retention between immigrant and international students and U.S. born students. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

9. Immigrants and International students have recently become a larger proportion of the freshman cohort. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies

10. We are about to report the six-year graduation rate for the fall 2006 cohort. Several things stood out and we have seen them in previous cohorts. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies Men trail women significantly, and the effect crosses all racial/ethnic groups. Neither Verbal nor Math SAT scores are significantly related to graduating at UMass Boston High school GPA is positively and significantly related to graduating Participation in the Student Support Services program is positively and significantly related to graduating In multivariate analyses, being Hispanic is negatively related to graduating Among U.S. residents, immigrants were significantly more likely to graduate than native citizens Students entering the College of Management or the College of Nursing and Health Sciences were more likely to graduate than students entering the other colleges

11. There were some differences by group, but only gender, immigrant status, and (in some models) being Hispanic were significant. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies Group Number Entered Number Graduated Graduation Rate Women48420943.2% Men 362112 30.9% Asian P/I1576340.1% Black NH1174235.9% Hispanic972929.9% International341647.1% Unknown/Refused512243.1% White NH38814737.9% Immigrants1296449.6% U.S. Born68124035.2% Total84631937.7%

12. The differences by gender were large and were seen in all racial/ethnic groups. Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies GroupWomenMenDifferenceSignificance Asian P/I45.1%34.7%10.5%No Black NH*41.2%21.9%19.3%P<.05 Hispanic33.3%22.6%10.8%No International63.6%39.1%24.5%No Unknown/Refused50.0%36.0%14.0%No White NH43.7%30.9%12.8%P<.01 Total42.8%30.9%11.8%P<.001

13. Conclusion Office of Institutional Research and Policy Studies The issues of retention, persistence, and graduation rates at UMass Boston are difficult and complicated by the fact that UMass Boston has no student housing. In discussing environmental factors that contribute to remaining in college, Alexander Astin found that: “Probably the most important and pervasive was the student's residence. Living in a campus residence was positively related to retention, and this positive effect occurred in all types of institutions and among all types of students regardless of sex, race, ability, or family background” (Journal of College Student Development, 40-5, p. 523).