Western Kentucky University announces retention rate increase

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Western Kentucky University announced a record-breaking retention rate for first-time, first-year students.

Overall, 90.9 percent of first-time, first-year students who were enrolled at WKU for the fall semester, returned to campus this spring.

This is a 4.6 increase in just over four years and a 2 percent increase from last year.

WKU’s assistant vice president for student success...says these numbers represent how hard everyone has been working.

“Faculty staff and students have all been working towards our strategic plan and really wanting to see increased persistence and retention of our students. And really this is kind of showing that for everyone that we’ve accomplished a lot over the past couple of years,” said Chris Jensen, Assistant Vice President for Student Success.

WKU’s president Dr. Tim Caboni says students leave higher education for a number of reasons, including financial difficulties and lack of support. He says the university has worked hard to address these concerns.

“We have dedicated significant resources to closing the achievement gap among our students,” President Caboni said. “Helping students who for so long have been underserved by higher education perform as well as their peers is something of which we should all be proud.”

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