Student Variables that Predict Retention: Recent Research and New Developments

Currently, Dr. Reason is an associate professor of education (Education Policy Studies) and senior research associate at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at PSU. This article reviews recent research related to the study of college student retention, specifically examining research related to individual student demographic characteristics. The increasing diversity of undergraduate college students requires a new, thorough examination of those student variables previously understood to predict retention. The retention literature focuses on research conducted after 1990 and emphasizes the changing demographics in high-er education. Research related to a relatively new vari-able—the merit-index—also is reviewed, revealing poten-tially promising, but currently mixed results. Higher education research related to retention can be traced back over 70 years (Braxton, 2000) with much of the research predating 1970