Before 2015, the University's retention rate ranged between 40% and 50%, due primarily to an over-reliance in past recruiting on significantly underprepared students, who often did not have a financial path to complete a college degree.
While the University has had smaller incoming classes over the past two years, additional strategies have been put in place to retain more of those students. Staff is in place to contact students that are struggling and work through strategies to get those students back on track. Beginning this fall, a program has been implemented to evaluate the financial viability of incoming freshmen and to chart a path through aid, family contributions, and work study to ensure that students have a good chance of remaining in school for the four years necessary to complete their degree. As a result of these efforts, retention rates for first-time, degree-seeking freshmen, have increased from the mid-40s to 60.2% in the fall of 2015 and to 59.2% in the fall of 2016.
Kentucky State University has historically had low six-year graduation rates. Some of the factors indicated above such as financial stability and preparation have contributed to this; however, the University must do a better job of keeping students enrolled and keeping students on track to graduate. In addition to improving retention rates for first time freshmen, the strategies put in place last year have begun to increase the number of students who return beyond their second year. The percentage of students returning for their third year increased markedly with the 2014 cohort. This is the first cohort where interventions were put in place to monitor and retain students. Significant numbers of students from the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 cohorts left the University before the infrastructure was in place to support them.