Where do they go?

In 2016, UW Tacoma's Office of Institutional Research did a lengthy study of our direct-entry (from high school) student attrition in their lower division experience: Who Leaves and When. Everyone working with our students should read it, for it dispels a number of false narratives about the ~40% of DE students we lost in those vulnerable, lower division years. The surprising news was that we lose excellent students: no academic concerns, students with full ride scholarships, students who we thought were thriving. Seventy eight percent (78%) of these "leavers" were in good academic standing and 27% of them just slipped away during the first summer break.

What Institutional Research was not able to do in their study of who and when was to tell us where these students go. Many of us hoped these good students went to a campus that was a better fit: to UW Seattle, to Eastern or Western, even down the street to the University of Puget Sound. We hoped, but we didn't know. Turns out we could find out.

The National Student Clearinghouse tracks students from higher education institutions, with 90+ percent of schools participating and sending their data. You need to belong, and participate (shares well with others) to be able to tap in and track your "leavers" but it turns out that IR at UW Bothell did just that in 2015. Plus they were curious about how they were doing against us (their closest peer) and the high-achieving students at UW Seattle, so they tracked our students too.

They shared our results, aligning closely as an addendum to Who Leaves and When, So, here's a look at where they went. Slightly different years for the two studies, but same populations: leavers at UW Tacoma (2006-2012, 2007-2013).

The answer? 86% of them just drop out. Some go down the street to TCC, a few do go to UWS. Most just slip away in the summer. Next study? Why did they leave and what can we do to ensure that they are not just walking away with debt and disappointment. Who, when, where, what, why? More to come.