Education Commons^™

Using Geographic Information Systems To Identify Student Retention Patterns, Cheryl Hanewicz

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Student retention continues to be a salient issue for administrators and scholars in higher education. For more than 50 years researchers in numerous disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and economic theory, have tried to discover the reasons why students decide to remain in school until graduation. However, retention rates have remained stagnant at about 50%. Serious consequences result when large numbers of students do not graduate (e.g., fiscal appropriations may be reduced). Additionally, an institution’s reputation is created, in part, on its graduation rate and the racial diversity of the student body.

Researchers have recommended finding innovative, interdisciplinary methods to address …