Predicting Student Engagement and Retention through Participation in a Freshman Program: A Case Study at Benedictine College

Abstract

This is a research study of a pilot freshman program initiated in Fall 2008 at Benedictine College, a small, Catholic, liberal arts college in the Midwest. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study examines the program's relationship to student retention and perceived levels of student engagement as measured by the Level of Academic Challenge and Active and Collaborative Learning scales from the National Survey of Student Engagement. The data compares the 35% of the freshman class who participated in the program with the 65% of the freshman who did not. Faculty members teaching the pilot program courses were surveyed as well. The study found that students enrolled in the pilot program were more likely to be enrolled in the following Fall semester than students not enrolled in the pilot program. Participation in the pilot program yielded a retention rate of 81.8% compared to students not participating in the pilot program whose retention rate was 65.6%. The study did not find any differences between participation and non-participation in the pilot program and student engagement as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement benchmarks of Level of Academic Challenge or Active and Collaborative Learning.