2019 – Avoid Surprises on Census Day—Track Retention Daily!

Presentation Summary

Retaining students to graduation is universally a focus of, and often a struggle faced by colleges and universities. In the 2016-7 academic year, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) experienced a dip in the official first-year fall freshmen retention rate. In response, the Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support (IRDS) began tracking retention on a daily basis throughout the registration period. A collaborative effort between the Institutional Research (IR) and Decision Support (DS) teams, IR conceptualized the report, and DS operationalized it. The report—available to administrators as well as deans and associate deans—provides users with the retention rate and information on the students that have not yet registered.