'Retentioneering' higher education in the UK: attitudinal barriers to addressing student retention in universities

This article argues that universities' attitudes to student retention are essentially ambivalent. For example, increased retention can be seen as a sign of lower academic standards and thus, lower institutional status. The authors suggest that this need not be the case and that retention can be increased with no effect on standards. However 'retentioneering' an institution in this way is likely to require substantial changes in institutional structures and staff attitudes. This article suggests ways in which such attitudes can be understood and possibly changed.

[1]  J. Newton.  Barriers to effective quality management and leadership: Case study of two academic departments , 2002 .

[2]  Ormond Simpson.  The costs and benefits of student retention for students, institutions and governments , 2005 .

[3]  D. K. Allen,et al.  Re-engineering change in higher education , 1999, Inf. Res..

[4]  P. Beatty-Guenter.  Sorting, Supporting, Connecting, and Transforming: Retention Strategies at Community Colleges. , 1994 .

[5]  J. Bynner,et al.  The Wider Benefits of Higher Education , 2001 .

[6]  Liz Thomas,et al.  Improving the Retention of Students from Lower Socio-economic Groups , 2003 .

[7]  Tom Prebble,et al.  Being learner centred: one way to improve student retention? , 2006 .

[8]  S. Schwartz,et al.  Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition , 1987 .

[9]  Betsy O. Barefoot.  Higher education's revolving door: confronting the problem of student drop out in US colleges and universities , 2004 .

[10]  J. Tingle.  By accident or design , 1996 .

[11]  C. Dweck.  Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development. Essays in Social Psychology. , 1999 .

[12]  Martin Trow,et al.  Problems in the Transition from Elite to Mass Higher Education. , 1973 .

[13]  Louise Archer,et al.  Challenging Cultures? Student Conceptions of 'Belonging' and 'Isolation' at a Post-1992 University , 2003 .

[14]  Mantz Yorke,et al.  The Quality of the Student Experience: What can institutions learn from data relating to non-completion? , 2000 .

[15]  Predicting persistence at university from information obtained at intake , 1984 .

[16]  Claire Simpson,et al.  Learning and Earning: Measuring ‘Rates of Return’ Among Mature Graduates from Part‐time Distance Courses , 2001 .