College Student Services expenditures and rates of retention and graduation

There was an interesting article on the Inside Higher Ed website last month about the relationship between student services expenditures and graduation rates. An ongoing study by Cornell University graduate student and a Cornell professor has found that there is a positive relationship between the amount spent per student on student services and increasing graduation rates. The study found that increased spending on student services had even more impact at colleges with a high number of students with low SAT scores. Schools that increased spending by $500 per student per year could see a 1.7% increase in six-year graduation rates. Increased spending on student services also resulted in raising the graduation rates for first generation college students.

This may seem like common sense to many, but it comes at a time when colleges are decreasing spending on student services because of the current economic climate. The University of Toledo and South Carolina State University have both laid off significant percentages of their student services and student life staff.

The Inside Higher Ed article noted that a 1.7% increase may not be enough to convince colleges to spend the extra money. Instead, the article pointed out another study by the Delta Project stating that:

"As an industry, higher education still has not made the transition from cost accounting to cost accountability.... Despite numerous efforts to encourage voluntary adoption of common metrics, there has been little progress in translating cost data into information that can be used either to inform strategic decision making or to show the public how institutions spend their money."

Basically, most colleges don't necessarily make sure that they are spending money in ways that are guaranteed to have a positive impact on student learning and outcomes. Many colleges are getting new buildings and spending a lot of money on sports teams and coaches, but are they making sure that their most vulnerable students are getting the services they need to be successful?

Here is another news story from All Things Considered on NPR that talks about student retention and the need for counseling/student services.

As a high school counselor, I am naturally biased toward allocating more funding for student services. Students who feel connected to and supported by the adults they interact with at school tend to have better outcomes than those who don't have those same personal connections. Those connections come in the form of counseling, advisory groups, learning specialists, sports and other extracurricular activities, and of course teaching faculty and administrators. My favorite part about being a counselor is that I get to reach out to students and make sure that they feel supported. I get to form meaningful connections with students and advocate for their needs. I love that part of my job is just getting to know students and learning about their hopes and dreams so that I can figure out the best way to support them. I would imagine that student service providers in higher education feel the same way. Let's hope that public colleges and universities are able to increase student services, especially in schools with high numbers of first generation college students, despite the economic downturn.