Retention is measured as the percent of students who enroll at Metro State in the designated year and are also enrolled the next year. The charts below show retention for the College of Management programs.
The chart on undergraduate level retention shows 2016 retention levels are highest for the Accounting Bachelor of Science program (58%). With the exception of Bus Admin and Economics, retention for 2016 enrollees is lower than retention for 2013 enrollees. Most are relatively stable except for Econ and International Business, but they have few students, so small changes are more influential on the percentages.
The chart on graduate level retention shows 2016 retention levels for the MBA (42%, down from 64% in 2013) , MMIS (77%, which has been stable over time), and the DBA program (75%, up from 65% in 2014). Only the MMIS and DBA program meet the university target of 70%.
The analysis of the results is as follows: Given that our student population is centered around working adults, often with families, and relatively low income, our students opt in and out of courses based on the situation in their lives. Most of our programs are not strictly sequential, so students can enter or leave at any time. It is interesting to note that the programs that are primarily sequential in courses taken (Accounting, Finance, MMIS and DBA) have the higher retention rates. the BS in Mgmt and the BS in Bus Admin have very flexible course order, and they also have stable retention rates, but not nearly as high as the other four mentioned above.
The improvements made over the last four years include the following: A wait list cart was created. Deans view the number of students in waitlisted courses, which has allowed us to add additional sections of courses to improve retention. Also, based on data from Tutoring and Testing Services on tutoring wait lists for particular courses, additional part-time tutors and one full-time tutor was added to better handle demands in accounting, MIS and computer science and writing. This increases retention as it facilitates a higher success rate for students in those classes.
Undergraduate programs retention, 2013–16
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting | 51% | 53% | 51% | 58% |
| Business Administration | 29% | 34% | 33% | 32% |
| Economics | 23% | 20% | 13% | 36% |
| Finance | 48% | 52% | 47% | 44% |
| HRM | 41% | 53% | 36% | 37% |
| International Business | 67% | 79% | 23% | 45% |
| Management | 40% | 44% | 43% | 39% |
| MIS | 59% | 31% | 50% | 33% |
| Marketing | 34% | 38% | 36% | 30% |
Graduate programs retention, 2013–16
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MBA | 64% | 56% | 66% | 42% |
| MMIS | 79% | 75% | 75% | 77% |
| DBA | 65% | 75% |