The University’s RETENTION rates over the past five years are summarized in this chart:
| Total Unduplicated Headcount | UG Degree Seeking | Graduate and Non-Degree | FTFT Cohort | FTFT Fall to Fall Retention | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2012 | 876 | 802 | 74 | 160 | 57% |
| Fall 2013 | 949 | 869 | 80 | 151 | 66% |
| Fall 2014 | 1137 | 1111 | 26 | 164 | 59% |
| Fall 2015 | 1187 | 1168 | 19 | 148 | 64% |
| Fall 2016 | 1611 | 1570 | 41 | 123 | 63% |
| Averages | 62% |
As enrollment numbers have continued to increase, efforts to increase student retention have also intensified. The current First Year Experience focuses on student engagement, an Early Alert academic warning system was put into place, and the a joint Academic- Student Development CARE Team approach to early intervention when student issues arise has been implemented. The President also convened a new Retention Committee to study issues students have noted on Exit Surveys. The committee discussed current retention efforts and started work on recommendations for improvement.
The University’s RETENTION BENCHMARK has been set based on information provided by Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, a higher education consulting firm used by the University as an enrollment consultant. Within the categories measured by Ruffalo Noel-Levitz, consistent with other sources such as ACT, the benchmark for Brescia University as a four-year private institution with “lower selectivity” is 69%, the median range for this category, as seen in this Ruffalo Noel-Levitz chart, found on p. 13 of the entire “2015 Student Retention Indicators Benchmark Report for Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions”