Student Retention

The rate of freshman attrition tends to be larger than any other year. Each student withdraw before degree attainment results in lost revenue for the university. Contributing factors to students leaving an institution varies. Kampf and Teske (2013) suggests that student retention cannot be accredited to any one cause but rather a combination of factors. The retention of a student in higher education is typically attributed to student’s experience and perception of the institution. They propose that all campus departments have an obligation to assess their part in improving student retention. Equally, Tinto (1993) developed a theory predicting a strong association between academic and social integration in retention. Campus Recreation programming can have a positive influence on the student’s fulfilment with their institution of choice and their academic and social integration (Kampf & Teske, 2013).
Studies looking at the relationship between recreation centers and retention discovered that recreational sports facilities and programming have an impact on preserving students enrollment. Henchy (2011) revealed that 31 percent of studied students specified that campus recreation programs and centers had impacted them to remain at their institution. Lindsay and Sessoms (2006) found 37.3 percent of students indicated an importance in recreational programming availability influencing in their retention at the university. Similarly, Belch, Gebel, and Maas (2001) indicated that student who utilized campus recreation programs during their freshman year were retained at a greater rate than their nonuser peers. Additionally, they completed more credit hours and achieved higher grade point