Dear Colleagues:

In earlier postings I have stressed our efforts to grow enrollment, improve retention and help our students successfully complete their degrees as critical to our mission. An important part of this conversation must include an honest effort to answer the question “Why do students leave the University of Memphis?”  We’ve been looking carefully at academic performance, along with a broad range of challenges and stressors students face.

A survey was recently administered to students who were enrolled at the University of Memphis during the Spring 2012 term but did not re-enroll for the Fall 2013 term.  This pilot study attempted to glean information about the students who leave the university.  Two hundred and fifteen students who either had cumulative GPAs above 2.0 or who were in good academic standing at the end of the term completed the survey. It’s critical to recognize that almost 87% of our students carry cumulative  GPA’s at 2.0 or above, indicating the ability to successfully complete college.  We’re currently graduating about half of these students.  

Fifty-two items in the survey determined whether the students possess certain characteristics or beliefs and whether or not these qualities influenced the students’ decision to leave.  Consistent with anecdotal evidence over the years, it was discovered that some of the most influential factors in a student’s decision to depart are related to monetary or work issues.  Here are some of the most frequent responses:

• I needed more money to be able to support myself (49%)
• The amount of student loan debt worries me (56%)
• I ran out of financial aid funds (46%)
• I didn’t want to take on more debt in order to go to school (41%)
• In the most recent term that I attended the UofM, I worked more than 20 hours per week (60%)
• I was satisfied with the quality of instruction at the UofM (52%)
• I paid for most of my college expenses (36%)
• I had conflicts with my job schedule (30%)
• Working and going to school was too stressful (28%) 

Surprisingly, many previously accepted reasons for students’ departures appear to have very little actual influence on our students’ decisions.  The majority of students who leave the UofM were not dissatisfied with the instruction.  Remarkably, only 9 percent of these “leaving” would not recommend the UofM to someone else.  Furthermore, the vast majority of departing students did not experience discrimination; only 2.6% of participants expressed that they experienced racial/ethnic discrimination or sexual discrimination at the UofM.

Retaining students already attending the University of Memphis represents our single greatest challenge. It is critical to recognize that the majority of students leave the University in good academic standing, and many do not attend another institution of higher education.  As has been reported previously, the numbers leaving after successfully completing 90+ hours are alarming.  Pilot studies indicate such losses are primarily the result of financial challenges and psychosocial issues.  In short, the University of Memphis is grappling with an enrollment problem that is more expansive than the recruitment of first-time freshman–it’s one characterized by profound retention challenges among sophomores, juniors and seniors.  The good news is that these are problems we can target in specific fashion and likely influence on a short time horizon. 

Why do students leave us? The simple answer is that they cannot afford to stay in school. It is not difficult to sort out why:

• U of M tuition has nearly doubled in the last ten years
• Students exhaust their loan capacity before they can graduate, often times taking courses that don’t count toward their eventual major
• And student debt is at an all time high.

The college graduating class of 2012 is, on average, deeper in the hole with student loan debt than any class before. An independent, nonprofit organization based in Oakland, Calif., the Institute for College Access & Success, recently released its eighth annual report on average student loan debt in the U.S., which found that college graduates who borrowed for bachelor’s degrees granted in 2012 had an average student loan debt of $29,400 — the highest average student loan debt on record. ICAS reported that 57% of the 2012 graduates at The University of Memphis left with educational debt.

“The graduates of 2012 left school and entered repayment at a time of high unemployment,” said Debbie Cochrane, research director at the institute. “In many ways, these graduates were hit from both sides.” They went to college during a recession when their family’s ability to pay for college was likely reduced. Now they are graduating from college and may be experiencing substantial challenges getting a job to repay the loans.”

The University’s decision not to raise tuition next year is one important step towards addressing our students’ financial burden. The driving force behind our efforts to restructure and reexamine the organization of the University can be summed up in one word, students.   We are determined not to shift the rising cost of education to our students, and to find every way possible to tie our success to their success.

With your help it is a goal we can reach.  You will be hearing more about our proposed Degree Pathway Initiative in the coming weeks.

Go Tigers!

 M. David Rudd, Provost