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The projected decline in college-aged individuals, known as the "enrollment cliff," presents a significant challenge for higher education institutions seeking to maintain enrollment stability. As traditional pipelines shrink, universities must identify new recruitment markets. One such population is homeschooled students, whose numbers have been increasing nationwide. This dissertation explores the academic success and retention of homeschool students at the University of Cincinnati within a Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) framework grounded in Resource Dependency Theory.
The study is structured in two phases. The first phase provides a descriptive analysis of homeschool students at the university, including demographic characteristics, academic performance, and retention trends. The second phase compares these students to their peers from public and private schools, focusing on key success metrics such as first-year grade point average (GPA), credit accumulation, and retention.
The findings show that homeschool students generally achieve first-year GPAs and accumulate credits at a level equal to or higher than their traditionally schooled peers. This trend is consistent both overall and when examining performance specifically at regional campuses. In addition to their academic success in terms of GPA and credit accumulation, homeschool students also exhibit higher retention rates compared to their traditionally schooled counterparts.
In both parts of the study, homeschool students demonstrate comparable or superior academic performance in their first year, whether considering overall outcomes or those specifically from regional campuses. These insights suggest that homeschool students represent a viable target market for SEM strategies aimed at mitigating enrollment shortfalls. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for university administrators, enrollment managers, and student affairs professionals to develop targeted recruitment and retention initiatives that recognize the unique attributes and needs of homeschool students.