Exploring the relationship between student college choice and student persistence

Research on recruitment and retention often occurs in separate silos rather than as two stages of the single process of enrollment. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of institutional marketing materials used in the recruitment of traditional age college students in the formation of institutional perceptions and the relationship between those perceptions and first-year student persistence. The College Board survey Admitted Student Questionnaire PLUS(TM) (ASQ+) was used as a pre-enrollment survey to measure student perceptions of a small independent college. A subsection of the ASQ+ was administered to the same population of students at week seven post enrollment. To determine if student perceptions of the college characteristics remained consistent or changed after matriculation, difference, or gap, scores were computed. These perception gap scores were then examined as predictors of persistence using logistic regression.; The findings from this study are marginally significant and indicate that some perception changes may influence persistence. The results provide support for the need for clarity in institutional marketing materials and inform the discussion of targeted materials in segmented markets. Analyses of this type lend further support to the linking of recruitment and retention as an opportunity to enhance student experiences and improve student persistence by admitting students who match well with the institution.