On Thursday, June 15th, the National Student Clearinghouse released their annual persistence and retention report.  Including race and ethnicity data for the first time, the report details large gaps in first-year persistence and retention data among groups.

The term “persistence” in a higher education setting refers to whether or not a student returns to any institution for their second term, regardless of where they began.  “Retention” refers to whether or not a student returns to the same institution they began.

While the report has limitations (it only accounts for certain race/ethnicity groups), it surely allows a new lens for scholars and practitioners to view persistence and retention.  While Vincent’s Tinto’s (1994) work on integration and Hurtado and Carter (1997) sense of belonging have served as foundational theories and guided practice for practitioners for the past 20+ years, should they be revisited to explore these various aspects of identity?  Further research is needed to determine what factors, both positive and negative, determine an individual’s decision to be return to higher education following their Fall semester. What causes Asian students to be retained at such a higher rate than Black students? What causes Black students to persist at other institutions at a rate higher than Hispanic students? Why is our retention of all full time students, regardless of race/ethnicity, under 73% nationwide?  These are just a few of the potential research questions that need to be explored in the immediate future.

This report highlights the large gap that continues to widen among minority groups in the United States.  I ask, why?  Why, knowing this information, do we as educators, practitioners and policymakers not fix the broken system?  While there are programs and services designed to help specific populations, is it enough? Are we, as educators, maintaining the status quo? We have to do better.

A snapshot report can be found here.