This vignette delves into the specifics of retention rate metrics, which are divided into:
-
Cohort Retention
- Focuses on tracking a specific group of students, known as a cohort, across their educational journey.
-
Term-to-Term Retention
- Examines the retention of students from one academic term to subsequent terms.
| Group of Students | Retention Includes | Retention Excludes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cohort Retention | Cohort, First-time Freshman and/or Transfer Students | Returned term indicated | Exclusions |
| Term to Term Come Back Rate | All degree seeking students | Returned term indicated | Exclusions |
| Term to Term Return Rate | All degree seeking students | Returned or completed a credential by the term indicated | Exclusions |
Cohort Retention
A cohort refers to a group of students who share common characteristics and are tracked for reporting purposes. In the context of University enrollment, cohorts play a significant role in understanding student demographics.
When new degree-seeking students join the University, they are assigned to a specific cohort. This assignment is based on data extracted from the census enrollment snapshot. The snapshot captures information about student demographics, enrollment status, and other relevant factors.
There are eight distinct cohorts students are categorized into based on enrollment status, degree pursuit and entry type:
- Full-time, Bachelors degree seeking, freshman
- Full-time, Bachelors degree seeking, transfer
- Part-time, Bachelors degree seeking, freshman
- Part-time, Bachelors degree seeking, transfer
- Full-time, Associates degree seeking, freshman
- Full-time, Associates degree seeking, transfer
- Part-time, Associates degree seeking, freshman
- Part-time, Associates degree seeking, transfer
Cohort retention metrics track the progress of student cohorts as they advance toward graduation.
The formula for calculating the cohort retention rate is as follows:
- Denominator: The total number of students in the cohort without an exclusion flag.
- Numerator: The number of students from the denominator who were enrolled as of the census date for the return term.
\[ \text{Retention Rate} = \frac{\text{Number of Retained Students}}{\text{Total Number of Non-Excluded Students}} \]
SELECT a.student_id,
a.cohort_start_term_id,
a.is_exclusion,
-- Second fall return rate
a.is_returned_next_fall,
a.is_graduated_year_1,
-- Third fall return rate
a.is_returned_fall_3,
a.is_degree_completer_2,
-- Fourth fall return rate
a.is_returned_fall_4,
a.is_degree_completer_3,
c.primary_major_desc,
c.primary_degree_id,
c.primary_degree_desc,
d.college_abbrv,
d.college_desc,
e.first_name,
e.last_name,
e.gender_code,
e.ipeds_race_ethnicity,
e.is_veteran,
e.is_international,
e.is_athlete,
e.is_first_generation
FROM export.student_term_cohort a
LEFT JOIN export.term b
ON b.term_id = a.cohort_start_term_id
LEFT JOIN export.student_term_level_version c
ON c.student_id = a.student_id
AND c.term_id = a.cohort_start_term_id
AND c.is_enrolled
AND c.is_primary_level
AND c.is_census_version
LEFT JOIN export.academic_programs d
ON d.program_id = c.primary_program_id
LEFT JOIN export.student e
ON e.student_id = a.student_id
WHERE b.season = 'Fall'
AND a.cohort_desc != 'Student Success'
AND substr(a.cohort_start_term_id, 1, 4)::int >= (SELECT substr(term_id, 1, 4)::int - 5
FROM export.term
WHERE is_current_term)Term to Term Retention
Term-to-term metrics include:
- Comeback rate fall to spring
- Comeback rate fall to fall
- Return rate fall to spring
- Return rate fall to fall
Comeback rate metrics track if the degree seeking students were enrolled (retained) as of census for the return term indicated; exclusions are removed from this metric. The denominator for this metric is the number of degree seeking students who do not have an exclusion flag. The denominator for the metric is the number of students from the numerator who were enrolled as of census for the return term indicated.
Return rate metrics track if the degree seeking students were enrolled (retained) as of census or completed a credential by the return term indicated; exclusions are removed from this metric. The denominator for this metric is the number of degree seeking students who do not have an exclusion flag. The numerator for the metric is the number of students from the denominator who were enrolled as of census or completed a credential by the return term indicated.
SELECT a.student_id,
a.term_id,
a.is_returned_next_spring,
a.is_returned_next_fall,
c.primary_major_desc,
c.primary_degree_id,
c.primary_degree_desc,
d.college_abbrv,
d.college_desc,
e.first_name,
e.last_name,
e.gender_code,
e.ipeds_race_ethnicity,
e.is_veteran,
e.is_international,
e.is_athlete,
e.is_first_generation,
COALESCE(f.is_exclusion, FALSE) AS is_exclusion,
COALESCE(f.cohort_start_term_id, 'None') AS cohort_start_term_id,
COALESCE(f.cohort_desc, 'None') AS cohort_type
FROM export.student_term_outcome a
LEFT JOIN export.term b
ON b.term_id = a.term_id
LEFT JOIN export.student_term_level_version c
ON c.student_id = a.student_id
AND c.term_id = a.term_id
AND c.is_enrolled
AND c.is_primary_level
AND c.is_census_version
LEFT JOIN export.academic_programs d
ON d.program_id = c.primary_program_id
LEFT JOIN export.student e
ON e.student_id = a.student_id
LEFT JOIN export.student_term_cohort f
ON f.student_id = a.student_id
AND f.cohort_desc IN ('First-Time Freshman', 'Transfer')
WHERE b.season = 'Fall'
AND substr(a.term_id, 1, 4)::int >= (SELECT substr(term_id, 1, 4)::int - 5
FROM export.term
WHERE is_current_term)