Testing the Model of Student Retention: A Case Study

A hospitality student retention model proposed by Mills, Grahm, Jeha, Kim and Clay indicates that 4 variables, faculty/staff, curriculum, advising, and facilities, lead to student satisfaction, which in turn leads to student retention. This study tested variables for reliability and the model for goodness of fit, using a 2 year longitudinal design with a case study sample of students in one hospitality program. Additional variables were subsequently added to the model and tested. Results indicate (a) a high degree of reliability for the variables in the model and (b) the variables predict student satisfaction but not student retention.