Chaos, Bedbugs, and Delayed Starts: Stories of Student Retention During Extreme Organizational Upheaval

Abstract

Recent world events and the ever-changing nature of higher education mean that colleges and universities exist in a state of near-constant flux. This qualitative study explored the experiences of seven college seniors who persisted to graduation after beginning their college careers when their university was admitting lower-division students for the first time in the institution’s history—a significant organizational shift. Themes identified in the data highlight students’ choice to attend a college making major structural changes, what it was like to be the “first freshmen” when the institution was not fully prepared for their arrival, and the factors that led to their decision to persist at the institution. Using a theoretical framework of mattering, the findings suggest that helping students feel that they matter to the institution and reminding students that their adjustment may not be immediate are important strategies for those seeking to promote student retention.