FIU RETENTION FACT SHEET

The following statements are based on retention data analysis over the last seven years and the result of telephone interviews with students in the 2000-2001 cohort who did not return to FIU for the Fall 2001.

FTICs (First Time in College or Non-transfer Freshmen)

First year retention shows steady improvements over the last three years, bringing the rate from 79% to 83.5%
Results of freshmen surveys indicate that thirty-five (35%) percent of Fall FTICs enter FIU planning to transfer.
FTIC second-year retention (re-enrolled for year 3) is 13%, with a significant percentage attributed to institutional transfer.
Approximately 50% of the FTICs eventually graduate (looking out 10 years), with 30% graduating in 5 years and another 12% graduating in 6 years.
FTICs entering in the summer (and continuing in the Fall Term) have a first-year retention rate within 1% of those who enter in the Fall. However, Spring entrants have a 13% lower retention rate.

Transfer Students

FIU’s retention and graduation of AA transfer students is at the bottom of the SUS and has been for the last 7 years. Non-AA degree transfers have even lower rates.
AA Transfer 1^st year retention is 80.7% for the 2001-02 cohort. Other types of transfers have a lower retention rate.

Upper Division (Tracked after College and School Acceptance)

When cohorts are tracked from the point of full acceptance into the major, transfer students have an average 26 percentage points lower retention and graduation rate than FTICs.

Part-Time versus Full-time

The full-time student five-year retention rate is 70% compared to the part-time rate of 30%.

Loss of High Ability Students

On average, twenty percent of those who leave have a 3.0 or higher. This rate is increasing annually. First year attrition in the 2000-2001 cohort shows 30% of those leaving have an FIU GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Based on a telephone survey of the 2000-2001 first year non-returning students, approximately 67% of the >3.0 dropouts transfer to other institutions with the largest number going to FSU and the second largest number going to MDCC. Those going to FSU say that they wanted to leave home while most of those going to MDCC stated that they intend to return to FIU after completing the AA degree.

Ethnic Breakout

Hispanics, non-resident aliens, and black students have the highest retention rates while Asian and white students have the lowest.

Table 1

Attrition by Race based on 1999-2000 FTIC Cohort

Race	Total Enrolled	Total Dropped	Attrition Rate	Rank by Attrition
White	568	174	31%	1
Asian - Pac Is.	139	42	30%	2
Black	426	112	26%	3
Non-Res alien	180	40	22%	4
Hispanic	1842	371	20%	5
Indian	3	0	0	6

SAT Scores

Highest retention is among students with an SAT of 1100-1190 while the highest attrition is among students with an SAT score of 1200–1400 (at 33%).

Low Grades and Attrition

Fifty-three percent of those who leave FIU have below a 2.0 GPA. This rate has been consistent over the last 8 years.

Other Demographics

Out-of-state students have the highest first-year attrition at approximately 35%.

International students have a higher retention rate than non-international students.

Men have a higher attrition rate than women in the FTIC population. For AA students, women have a slightly higher attrition rate.