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Seidman, Alan (Ed.). College Student Retention: Formula for Student Success. Westport, CT: ACE/ Praeger Publishers, 2005.350 pp. Cloth: $49.95. ISBN 0-275-98193-2.
The massification of higher education in the United States, now standing at 14 million students and counting, has also magnified the issue of student retention and persistence in our nation's colleges and universities. Over one third of beginning postsecondary students leave without a degree after six years, and only half of those with a goal of a bachelor's degree reach their goal (Berkner, He, & Cataldi, 2002, p. 10).
Because students receive a public subsidy to attend these institutions and because higher education is a big government-sponsored industry, retention is at the heart of the college-cost dialogue on Capitol Hill and in state capitals. Even with the knowledge that higher education-especially open-door institutions-performs a public service, politicians are keenly aware of the inefficiency and expense of our system and are beginning to ask for greater accountability from college administrators.
College Student Retention, a new ACE/Praeger book edited by Alan Seidman, provides a perspective on issues important to the study of student retention. In doing so, he has assembled an excellent cadre of authors, including Vincent Tinto, John Bean, Alberto Cabrera, and John Braxton. The book covers important ground in many respects but also has its share of academic "filler." Because it is an academic publication, my guess is that most readers will enjoy the academic discussion. Others looking for more pragmatic, practical information won't find it here.
Some of the best chapters include those by Linda Hagedorn, Thomas Mortenson, Bean, and Tinto. Mortenson, editor of Postsecondary Opportunity and senior scholar at the Pell Institute, writes about the various measures and definitions of retention and persistence. In fact, the title of his chapter, "Measurements of Persistence," brings to light the dissonance in our addressing the issue as either "retention" or "persistence." Albeit similar concepts, they are not the same thing, but no one seems to mind. Retention typically focuses on passing from one period of time to another, as in semester-to-semester or year-to-year. Persistence is reserved for a student's ability to achieve the end goal, usually a certificate or degree. This issue is described in Chapter 4 by Linda Hagedorn, although she uses an National...