AN EVALUATION OF THE FACTORS PREDICTIVE OF ONLINE UNDERGRADUATES LIKELIHOOD OF RE-ENROLLING IN A FOR-PROFIT UNIVERSITY
Abstract
Student retention has been a concern for higher education institutions for over sixty years. The problem is particularly pronounced in for-profit schools, which provide educational opportunities for many nontraditional learners and marginalized students. These schools are characterized by market-driven curricula, more open enrollment practices, and greater flexibility that allows many learners to attend online. Notwithstanding, they have been criticized for unethical recruitment practices, high tuition, and a failure to provide students with a quality education. For-profits, like other higher education institutions, must recognize that student success requires a partnership between the student and the institution. Further investigation is therefore needed to understand the institutional and student variables that influence student retention and persisting behaviors in these educational environments. This non-experimental, correlational study evaluated the factors most predictive of students' likelihood to re-enroll the following semester. One hundred and thirty-two online undergraduates in a for-profit university in the southeastern United States participated by completing the CPV-V2, a validated instrument used extensively in many private and public institutions. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the study's key assumptions. Institutional commitment was the most predictive factor of students’ likelihood of re-enrolling the following semester. The findings have implications for the administration, faculty, and staff to create data-driven comprehensive retention strategies that strengthen students’ commitment to their academic goals and improve retention rates.