Research Review: Increase family engagement to increase retention
“It became very apparent to me that times were changing in higher education, and family members were now true partners in their students' journey, and we needed to align with the times. How do we shift the narrative so that our partnership with parents is just that … a partnership with parents and families and not something that's seen in a combative tone. We needed to move away from Facebook to something that's more tied to student success.”
Subir Sahu couldn’t have said it better. By working with families and giving them a way to access the information they need to help advise their student, institutions can improve student success. In fact, our latest research found that if a parent received updates from CampusESP on student progress, the student was more likely to remain enrolled. On average, student retention was 8.3% higher for students of parents receiving alerts from CampusESP.
I sat down with Jennifer Smith, Assistant Director for Parent Relations at Duquesne University, and Subir Sahu, PhD, Senior Vice President for Student Success at Drexel University to walk through how this research applied to their institutions.
Watch the webinar recording below, or read on for the highlights!
Parent engagement increases student retention
We’ve done this research a few times now, and we have consistently seen higher retention rates for the students with families receiving updates in CampusESP versus those whose family members are not.
In this most recent study, Drexel and Duquesne each had gains of about 3-4% over their student average; some institutions like Morgan State University and the University of West Georgia saw gains over 21%!
But Sahu expanded on how that snapshot number doesn’t tell the whole story: “For us at Drexel, that 89.5% institutional retention rate is where we're at now. A few years ago, we were in the low to mid 80% range. We really tried to create a culture of student success, which family engagement was central to. This partnership with CampusESP was about what we were trying to build culturally here at the institution, which again is about really centering everything we do around the student experience. And a critical portion of the student experience is the involvement of their family members. It was one of the missing pieces that we really needed to lean into.”
Gains are highest for certain populations
Our research also showed increased rates of student retention for particular populations. We started by looking at race and ethnicity demographics at two of our partners, Duquesne and Auburn University. In both cases the gains in retention for their Black and Hispanic students with family members receiving these updates were significantly higher than for their White students with family members receiving the same information.
One might assume there is more retention to gain for these populations, but digging deeper, Hispanic students already had the highest retention rate (over 89%) at Duquesne and the highest gains. So, what’s the retention secret sauce?
“It's about helping the parents with the transition,” said Smith. “In some cases, they don't know what they don't know. They're looking for those resources that maybe we think are basic, but they need that information.”
“The reality for families is not everyone is starting off from the same starting point,” added Sahu. “Part of this work is to create a strong foundation for all of our students, and that’s what you're seeing in this data — the mechanisms through which we can deliver solid information so that family members can engage with their students.”
Our research saw similar gains for two other key populations, Pell eligible families and first-generation families.
At Drexel, about 30% of the students are Pell-eligible.
“This tool provides the infrastructure so that families are operating with good information,” said Sahu. “It allows the student to call home and say ‘I just experienced X’ and the parent to start from a place where they can offer the support to their student, so they can find success or the resources that they need on campus when they inevitably run into those challenges.”
With the right info, parents can be impactful advisors
This stat from another study we did with families continually blows my mind: 61% of parents have their students’ college IDs and passwords.
Sahu explained, “Parents and family members are already involved. Whether we create the infrastructure, whether we have the portal, they're already getting engaged. We need to meet them where they are with the right set of factors and information, so together, we can make the best decisions as it relates to the student.”
So institutions need to create better, easier, safer ways for parents to access important information about their student. But what information do they really need? What information will move the needle?
There's certain data that, when shared from the student record to the parents, helps from a retention perspective.
It's not grades. It's not bills, although those might be useful to share with the parents. It really is financial aid details, holds, and student status changes that can be correlated to improving retention.
“When I was in college the last thing I would want is for somebody to engage with my parents. And I was once one of those administrators that said cut the cord with parents and it's about students going off on their own,” admitted Sahu. “But times change, and higher education has changed. Students desire for what they're looking for in their experience has also changed, and it's incumbent upon us as senior administrators to evolve with those times. All of this is about student success, and family members are a critical part of that journey.
I believe in the culture of what we’re trying to create. I believe in the partnership. I believe in CampusESP.”
