At Augustana College, retention rates for First-Year students from the fall to the spring semester have increased from 90% to 94% in the past year.

Kristin Douglas, the associate vice president for retention and student success, said that lots of work has been done to increase Augustana’s retention rate. 

“We are always mixing things up, making modifications to make sure that we’re identifying the needs that students have and doing our best to try to meet those needs,” Douglas said. 

Douglas said there have been improvements in First-Year registration, with a goal of getting students classes that connect to their interests and intended majors. 

In the 2024-25 school year, the professors of First Year Inquiry (FYI) 100 classes also became their students’ supervisors for student support. First-Year student Basil Alexander was a part of a First Year Honors (FYH), an advanced FYI course.

“I really liked the FYH 100, being able to be in a room and have the opportunity to ask questions without having to schedule anything. [The professor] telling us things that are commonly asked in the past, I think, is a good opportunity to refresh or build knowledge of things that you might need,” Alexander said. 

Douglas said that the rising retention is a mix of things, and it is impossible to know exactly what is causing the change. When determining what to improve, Douglas and the retention team review student retention data to identify trends among groups of students who are more likely to drop out than other groups. 

Douglas said that if First-Year students stay for the spring semester, they are more likely to return for the fall of their sophomore year, which increases the likelihood that they will complete their degree. 

Higher student retention also means more students will pay tuition, which helps fund student programs and other school expenses. 

Douglas says she hopes to see the retention rate continue to rise.

“We need to make sure that we’re being honest and setting expectations that we can actually meet,” Douglas said. “We need to make sure that when issues arise, that we as an institution are listening and are responding in ways that are supportive for students.”