Customizing Data Requests to Boost Retention

This article is the third in a three-part series about how to make data requests to boost recruitment and retention. Part one introduced approaches to accessing and using data, including ways to foster communication with faculty about data and its potential for guiding action. It profiled the various data sources often already available to administrators and mentioned the opportunity to submit custom data requests to institutional research (IR). Part two focused on custom data requests for optimizing recruitment efforts. In this final part, I offer examples of custom data requests that provide information about current students and their persistence. I discuss implications of results and potential action items. These requests are intended to provide models for creating your own data requests and to stimulate your thinking on opportunities and pitfalls.