Relation between Retention Rate and Graduation Rate among Online Universities

Econ and QA 1
Economics and Quantitative Analysis
By:
Student ID:
Course No:
Tutor:
Date:

Econ and QA 2
Purpose
This research purposes to examine the relation between the retention rate (RR) and the
graduation rate (GR) among online universities.
Background
Graduation rates and retention rates are significant indicators for determining whether an
academic institution is a good fit or not. The overall objective of students in enrolling in a
university is to stay in the institution and finally graduate with a degree (Talbert, 2012).
Whereas the admit rate shows the percentage of students that are enrolled into a college, the
retention rate shows the percentage of the students that stay in school and the graduation rate
informs us of the percentage that complete their undergraduate.
Statistics on graduation and retention rates have gained particular interest among potential
students, parents or guardians because of the employment industry that is becoming too
competitive and selective (Veenstra, 2009). The graduation rate for the sixth year
undergraduate programs was 150% in 2010 with that of the 4 year degree programs being at
60%. The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) report, the GR in 2011 was 45% whereas
the retention rate was31% (National Student ClearingHouse, 2017). This has increased the
demand for employees with higher academic qualifications, thus making academic
institutions to experience an influx in student enrolment. This issue of particular interest to
the economist because one has to determine the number of students that successfully graduate
from an institution before committing time and money to it.
Method

Econ and QA 3
College RR(%) GR(%)
Western International University 7 25
South University 51 25
University of Phoenix 4 28
American InterContinental
University 29 32
Franklin University 33 33
Devry University 47 33
Tiffin University 63 34
Post University 45 36
Peirce College 60 36
Everest University 62 36
Upper Iowa University 67 36
Dickinson State University 65 37
Western Governors University 78 37
Kaplan University 75 38
Salem International University 54 39
Ashford University 45 41
ITT Technical Institute 38 44
Berkeley College 51 45
Grand Canyon University 69 46
Nova Southeastern University 60 47
Westwood College 37 48
Everglades University 63 50
Liberty University 73 51
LeTourneau University 78 52
Rasmussen College 48 53
Keiser University 95 55
Herzing College 68 56
National University 100 57
Florida National College 100 61
Data from the Online Education Database on the RR and GR of 29 online colleges in the US
was used to assess the association between the RR and GR was used to examine the
association between the study variables. A visual relation between the variables was
demonstrated using a scatter diagram. A regression equation was also developed to help
interpret the meaning of the slope coefficient and goodness of fit. All the analysis was done

Econ and QA 4
using Ms Excel Data Analysis Toolpak. A hypothesis for the analysis of variance was used to
find out the significance of the model as indicated below:
H0: Regression model is not significant
Ha: Regression model is significant
Results
Descriptive Analysis
Mean
57.4137
9
41.7586
2
SD
23.2402
3
9.86572
4
Max 100 61
Min 4 25
The mean GR for all the 29 online universities in the US is 41.76%, whereas the RR is
57.41%. Based on the SD of the two variables, there is a greater dispersion from the mean in
GR than RR. South University, the University of Phoenix and Western International
University had the least GR of 25% and 4% respectively. The National University and
Florida National College had the maximum RR of 100%, with the latter also having the
maximum RR of 61%.
Scatter Diagram