OPINION
Vol. 127, No. 74 Monday, December 11, 2017
IT’S BEEN A TOUGH SEMESTER PAGE 8
SPORTS
RAMS BEST BEARS IN GREELEY PAGE 11
A&C
ALEC REVIEWS MUSIC SAYS FAREWELL PAGE 14
Retention, persistence rates rise
INFOGRAPHIC BY MEG METZGER-SEYMOUR COLLEGIAN
By Mason Force @masforce1
Though gradual increases in student retention and persistence are being seen throughout every college, retention rates at Colorado State University always leave room for improvement, and this year is no exception. Overall graduation rates at CSU have slowly increased for the last several years. According to a report released by the Office of Institutional Research, over 74 percent of the students that were freshmen in 2011 had graduated
within six years. The OIR’s report tracks retention rates, which are the rates at which students remain enrolled at the University, and persistence rates, which are the rates at which students remain enrolled in their current college each semester. Colleges such as Liberal Arts and Business have historically high rates of persistence. By comparison, however, in traditionally difficult colleges such as Engineering or Natural Sciences, persistence rates are consistently lower than 50 percent. This means a majority of freshmen
who begin in those colleges ultimately do not receive degrees from them. Low persistence or graduation in a specific college does not necessarily indicate drop-outs. Though a majority of students will leave an engineering or natural sciences major, most of them will still graduate with a degree in another program at CSU. According to Lisa Dysleski, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the College of Natural Science, it is common for freshmen to enroll and then leave CNS as their interests become more specific.
“For many students, they know they’re interested in science or math, or some other STEM field,” Dysleski said. “They’re familiar with (subjects like biology) from high school. Then, as they explore, we see them transferring to something a little more specific that matches their interests.” Dysleski also said the lack of admissions requirements for CNS and how psychology students in particular often transfer out of the college and into the College of Health and Human Sciences affect the persistence rate. Regardless of why students
leave, Dysleski accepts that transferring out is often the best option for students. “We’re always supportive of students changing their major if a different major is better,” Dysleski said. “If a science major is not right for you, we are not going to try to convince you to stay.” According David McLean, dean of the College of Engineering, the graduation and persistence rates seen in his college are typical of engineering programs at other universities. “Compared to our peers, we are in-line… that doesn’t mean see RETENTION on page 6 >>