MSUM Fall to Spring Retention & Transfer Retention Goals and Strategies
Retention rates for Minnesota State University Moorhead students reached an all-time high of 91.8% this spring, with continued gains in retention for several traditionally underrepresented student groups.
This progress is due to the dedicated efforts of our university community supporting our students’ success and puts the institution in a promising position to meet our fall-to-fall retention goals. Thank you for the role each of you plays in this important initiative.
MSUM’s 91.8% retention rate for first-time undergraduate students from Fall 2023 to Spring 2024 is up from 89.3% last year and 86.8% the year prior. This is MSUM’s highest ever fall-to-spring retention rate, and it exceeds the university goal of achieving 90% fall-to-spring retention by 2024.
Progress also continues to be made in retaining traditionally underrepresented students:
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- International students were retained at a rate of 92.3%, the highest rate seen for this population in 13 years.
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- First Generation students were retained at a rate of 87.6%, an increase from 86.3% last year and 83.5% the year before.
- Pell eligible students were retained at a rate of 88.9%, an increase from 86.3% last year and 88.6% the year before.
One group of students that did not see an increase in retention was our domestic students of color, who were retained at a rate of 84.7%. In alignment with the Minnesota State Equity 2030 initiative, MSUM remains committed to reducing equity gaps for our diverse students. Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan outlines priority initiatives and provides direction for our retention efforts.
New Transfer Student Retention Goals and Strategies
MSUM retained 84.5% of the transfer, full-time student cohort who started in Fall 2023. To support ongoing retention of our critical transfer population, the MSUM Strategic Enrollment Management – Retention Subcommittee is pleased to announce a new set of transfer-specific retention goals.
Transfer students face a different set of challenges throughout their academic career, requiring us to adapt traditional retention strategies. Therefore, the Retention Subcommittee has identified a set of transfer-specific retention strategies to support campus efforts aimed at retaining this important group of students, such as purposeful departmental onboarding and integrating career readiness opportunities at key points.
Details regarding both the transfer retention goals and transfer-specific retention strategies are available on the MSUM Enrollment Retention Efforts webpage.