Transcript Slide 1

The Global Community for Academic Advising
NACADA Executive Office
Kansas State University
2323 Anderson Ave, Suite 225
Manhattan, KS 66502-2912
Phone: (785) 532-5717
Fax: (785) 532-7732
e-mail: [email protected]
© 2010 National Academic Advising
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The Cost of Attrition:
an Economic
Formula
Dr. Rich Robbins, Bucknell University
Course instructor acknowledges contributions to this
presentation from Wes Habley of American College Testing
(ACT), Inc.
First-time Entrants to 4-year Institutions
• 37% will never earn a 4-year degree
• 44% will eventually complete a 4-year degree at
that institution
• 19% will eventually complete a 4-year degree at
another institution
(Tinto, 1986, 1993)
First-time Entrants to all forms
of Higher Education
• 40% will never earn a degree
• 45% will eventually earn 4-year degrees
• 15% will eventually earn 2-year degrees
(Tinto, 1986, 1993)
• The decision to drop out is a complex
process involving a series of events which
occur over time
• All aspects of campus life can have an impact
on student persistence behavior
• Carefully designed interventions can exert a
positive influence on persistence behavior
Cost of Attrition
For a single student taking 12 credit hours per semester in the first semester of
freshman year:
12 hours x $100.00* = $1,200.00
Loss of this single student over next 3 years
(6 semesters @ 12 credits per semester) = $7,200.00
Multiply by attrition rate for first-time freshmen of 20%**
(national average rate is 33%):
$7,200.00 x 1,000*** = $7,200,000 loss per year over next 4 to 6 years for this
specific cohort of students
*enter your institution’s tuition-per-credit hour rate here
**enter your institution’s freshman-to-sophomore attrition rate here
***enter your institution’s total loss of students based on attrition rate and population
Other Considerations
(monetary considerations for the institution)
Loss of revenue for local businesses
• most local Chambers of Commerce can provide data on the impact of
student spending in the community
Loss of other revenue generated by students on campus or
in community
• e.g., parking permits, parking tickets, campus or community volunteer
services, etc.
Loss of other revenue generated by students’ families and
friends on campus or in community
• e.g., visits, athletic events, homecoming, Parents’ Days, etc.
Other Considerations
(more conceptual, long-term, future effects)
• loss of future contributions from possible alumni who never
become alumni
• cost of bad public relations, such as word-of-mouth of dissatisfied
students, dissatisfied parents, dissatisfied merchants, etc.
• lowered internal morale due to decreased enrollment (fewer
students in classes; fewer students in major departments, etc.)
• for the unsuccessful student, lifetime personal, psychological, and
financial costs of not obtaining a degree
Other Considerations
(cost of recruitment of a replacement student)
• cost of travel expenses for recruiters
• costs of hotels, meals, etc. for recruiters
• cost of mailings to prospective students (e.g., paper, envelopes, stamps)
• cost of work hours to recruit a replacement
• cost of time away from other tasks
• other costs specific to your institution
• Multiply each of these costs for a single student
by your institution’s attrition rate, and add to loss
of tuition
• The total costs should be enough to get the
attention of the administration
• If you can then demonstrate the likelihood that
your program (or proposed program) does or will
increase retention, you can put a monetary value
on your efforts in this area