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Undergraduate Cohort Survival and Retention Rates: Exploring Student'

Academic Resiliency in a Higher Education Institution in the Philippines

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International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)
ISSN: 2643-900X
Vol. 6 Issue 9, September - 2022, Pages: 168-172

Undergraduate Cohort Survival and Retention Rates: Exploring

Student’ Academic Resiliency in a Higher Education Institution
in the Philippines
Michael Angelo A. Legarde1, Marilou DV. Nambatac2, Eunice T. Viray3
Palawan State University-College of Teacher Education, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract: Cohort and retention rates in higher education are internationally accepted as indicators of the efficiency and effectiveness
of institutional functioning. Hence, this study is an initial effort to better gauge the efficiency and effectiveness of Palawan State
University-College of Teacher Education through an analysis of its retention and cohort survival rates. To answer the queries raised
in this study, descriptive-comparative method was employed and enrolment records were culled for the six batches (2017 to 2022)
of Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) and Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) graduates. The findings reveal that the
average cohort rate for the BSEd batches is 62.91% whereas the cohort rate for BEEd is 54.09%. Furthermore, the retention rates
for both BSEd and BEEd were lowest at the first-year level, going from the first semester into the second semester and moving into
the first semester of the second year due to the strict implementation of retention policy at PSU-CTE. Therefore, in order to retain
more students into their later years and reduce the number of students who need to complete more than four years of study in order
to graduate, the college administration may explore ways to further improve and strengthen the care and services that the university
provides its students, notably to the BEED students. Another study may be conducted using the findings of this one as a starting
point to delve deeper and discover explanatory factors for the existing scenario, specifically the discrepancy in retention and cohort
rates between BEED and BSED students.
Keywords—cohort rate; retention rate, academic resiliency; undergraduate survival
bachelor’s degree-seeking undergraduates from the previous
semester who are again enrolled in the current semester.
1. INTRODUCTION
Likewise, for all other institutions, this is the percentage of the
Education plays a vital role in the economic development first-time degree-seeking students from the previous semester
of a country as it increases the capacity and ability of people who either re-enrolled or successfully completed their program
to be more productive economically. Most students go to by the current semester.
college with the hope of giving themselves the foundation that
Cohort rate, on the other hand, is the measure of rate at
they need to be successful in life or the skill that they need to
which a group of students enrolled in a particular course
find a good job in the future. Every year, a number of students
together as a batch during a particular time stayed together
attend college, but many of them often fail or drop out within
until they completed and graduated in the course. Cohort rate
less than three years. Dropping out is one of the most
is akin to survival rate of first year students up to graduation.
significant issues confronting our educational system because
High retention and cohort survival rates are indicators of
it deprives students of their fundamental human right to an
efficiency since both government resources and individual
education. It is an impediment that is bugging the educational
investments are wasted when students start college but drop
system not only in the Philippines but also many countries
out before graduate or take a longer time to finish what should
around the globe.
have been taken in four years only.
In the Philippines, DepEd reported in 2014 that only 14 out
High retention rate is one of the indicators not only of of every 23 students who enroll in college would usually be
students’ satisfaction in a college but most importantly, the able to graduate. This statistic reveals the challenge that an
success of an educational institution. Graduation and retention educational institution faces in keeping its retention rates as
rates in higher education are internationally accepted as high as possible. Given the many compelling factors that keep
indicators of efficiency and effectiveness of institutional students in and out of schools, it is to the educational
functioning (Fowler, 2003). institution’s utmost interest to keep track, maintain and even
increase its retention of students. Unfortunately, the
Retention rate refers to students’ continued study until
coronavirus crisis has severely impacted education systems
successful completion (Zerna, Cruz, & Nuqui, 2014). It
around the world as millions of children and students are now
measures the rate at which students persist in their educational
out of school due to shuttered institutions. As a result of school
program at an institution, and usually expressed as percentage.
closures, many institutions are now offering online and remote
For higher educational institutions offering four-year learning to their students. Unfortunately, not everyone has the
curricular programs, this is the percentage of first-time ability to opt for these modalities, which then highlights the
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International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)
ISSN: 2643-900X
Vol. 6 Issue 9, September - 2022, Pages: 168-172
digital education divide in many developing countries like the scroll down window on the left of the MS Word Formatting
Philippines. toolbar.
School closures related to the current COVID-19 pandemic CTE Cohort Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
clearly imply that students from diverse backgrounds who are The following tables show the cohort rates for batches
more at risk of increased vulnerability are less likely to receive 2017 to 2022 of the two programs, BSEd and BEEd, of the
the support they need, and the gap between students that College of Teacher Education.
experience additional barriers and that do not might widen.
Furthermore, the pandemic is likely to introduce significant Table 1.1. Cohort Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
new challenges for still more youth, prompting a need to Bachelor of Secondary Education, PSU-CTE
continue capturing data that can help educators identify and
connect with students who disengage from school or otherwise Group BATCH
fall off track during this time. Category 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
At present, there is not much studies done yet about Number of 179 165 153 - - 116
students’ cohort and retention rates. In fact, the College of Students
Teacher Education is the first college at Palawan State from the
University to examine the survival rates of its enrollees. Batch
Hence, this study was conducted to examine the current Number of 123 101 82 - - 79
retention and cohort survival rates at the PSU-College of Students
Teacher Education, both for curriculum review and policy who
making purposes. Finished
Number of 56 64 71 - - 37
Students
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS who did
To answer the research questions proposed in this research not Finish
study, the researchers employed descriptive-comparative Cohort 68.72 61.2 53.5 - - 68.1
design. Through this research design, the researchers were able Rate per % 1% 9% 0%
to determine the extent to which different variables are related Batch
to each other in the population of interest. Moreover, Average 62.91%
documentary analysis was also utilized in this study. The Cohort
analysis focused on the enrolment records of the six (6) batches Rate
(2017 to 2022) of the College of Teacher Education graduates
under the two curricular programs, Bachelor of Secondary As depicted by Table 1.1, the lowest cohort rate for the
Education (BSEd) and Bachelor of Elementary Education BSEd program was obtained by Batch 2019. Out of 153
(BEEd). students who entered the CTE from this batch, only 82 or
53.59% finished their program. On the other hand, the highest
Furthermore, this study used both descriptive and
cohort rate was recorded by Batch 2022 wherein out of 116
inferential measures. To determine the retention and cohort
students from their batch who enrolled at CTE, 79 or 68.10%
survival rates of the students, descriptive measures were
of them graduated on time. Furthermore, for the batch 2017,
utilized.
the cohort rate was found to be 68.72% whereas for Batch
Moreover, Analysis of Variance was also employed to 2018, the cohort rate was 61.21%. It can also be noted in the
determine the differences of the retention and cohort rates of table that there is no data for the cohort rate for Batch 2020
the respondents when they grouped according to their profiles. and 2021 since there are no regular BSEd students during
All statistical computations were tested at 0.05 level of these durations. In addition, the data also reveals that the
significance using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences average cohort rate for the BSEd batches is 62.91%. This
(SPSS). implies that 6 out of every 10 first year BSEd enrollees are
able to graduate on time.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Table 1.2. Cohort Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
Bachelor of Elementary Education, PSU-CTE
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International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)
ISSN: 2643-900X
Vol. 6 Issue 9, September - 2022, Pages: 168-172
Number 122 115 124 70 62 70 20 83. 91. 97. 97. 98. 97. 98. 94.9
of 17 79 33 81 01 46 65 40 2%
Students % % % % % % %
from the 20 75. 86. 96. 97. 98. 98. 94. 92.2
Batch 18 35 06 26 08 18 00 89 6%
Number 59 61 54 35 29 58 % % % % % % %
of 20 80. 83. 94. 96. 97. 97. 95. 92.2
Students 19 56 45 68 92 16 46 68 8%
who % % % % % % %
Finished 20 - - - - - - - -
Number 63 54 70 35 33 12 20
of 20 - - - - - - - -
Students 21
who did 20 82. 84. 96. 97. 97. 97. 98. 93.3
not 22 74 29 23 48 16 05 19 1%
Finish % % % % % % %
Cohort 48.36 53.04 43.55 50.00 46.77 82.8
Rate per % % % % % 6% Table 2.1 shows the retention rates for the BSEd
Batch batches 2017 to 2022. It can be gleaned from the analysis that,
Average 54.09% on the average, the highest semestral rate was obtained by
Cohort BSEd batch 2017, having an average retention rate of 94.92%.
Rate This data was followed by Batch 2022, with an average
retention rate of 93.31%.
Moreover, a similar trend is also observed for the
BEED group. As depicted by Table 1.2, the analysis reveals Further analysis also reveals that, for all batches, the
that the cohort rates of BEEd students during the six batches retention rates were lowest at the first-year level, going from
is lowest for Batch 2019. The cohort rate of 43.55% implies the first semester into the second semester and moving into
that out of 124 BEEd enrollees, only 54 of them are able to the first semester of the second year. This analysis is not
finish their degree on time. Contrariwise, the highest cohort surprising since the College of Teacher Education implements
rate was recorded for BEEd Batch 2022. Furthermore, the a retention policy requiring students to maintain a general
data depicts that the average cohort rate for BEEd six batches weighted average of at least 2.25 in their first year. In
is 54.09%. This implies that out of 10 BEEd enrollees, 5 of addition, students who are retained in the second year usually
them are able to finish their program on time. remain in the course until their graduation. Further, the
retention rates from the second year and beyond are at least
94%.
CTE Retention Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
The following tables show the retention rates for Table 2.2. Retention Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
batches 2017 to 2022 of the two programs, BSEd and BEEd, Bachelor of Elementary Education, PSU-CTE
of the College of Teacher Education.
Semestral Retention Rate (in %)
Table 2.1. Retention Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022 Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye
Bachelor of Secondary Education, PSU-CTE ar ar ar ar ar ar ar
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Aver
Semestral Retention Rate (in %) Ba Se Se Se Se Se Se Se age
Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye Ye tc m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 Rete
ar ar ar ar ar ar ar h to to to to to to to ntio
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 Aver Se Yea Yea Yea Yea Yea Yea n
Ba Se Se Se Se Se Se Se age m2 r2 r2 r3 r3 r4 r4 Rate
tc m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 Rete Se Se Se Se Se Se
h to to to to to to to ntio m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 m2
Se Yea Yea Yea Yea Yea Yea n 20 70. 80. 94. 96. 98. 96. 98. 90.7
m2 r2 r2 r3 r3 r4 r4 Rate 17 49 23 20 92 41 77 33 6%
Se Se Se Se Se Se % % % % % % %
m1 m2 m1 m2 m1 m2

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International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)
ISSN: 2643-900X
Vol. 6 Issue 9, September - 2022, Pages: 168-172
20 79. 85. 94. 98. 94. 97. 92. 91.8
18 80 20 94 66 59 14 71 6% Differences p-value Interpretation
% % % % % % % According to Year
20 83. 86. 95. 97. 96. 98. 95. 93.3 Graduated
19 46 89 29 70 35 62 07 4% 0.0296** Significant
Cohort Rates
% % % % % % %
20 84. 88. 93. 95. 96. 97. 98. 93.4 Retention Rates 0.0315** Significant
20 16 45 19 78 24 35 69 1% Differences p-value Interpretation
% % % % % % % According to
20 75. 83. 94. 95. 96. 97. 97. 91.3 Program
21 79 33 29 36 03 62 19 7% Cohort Rates 0.0038** Significant
% % % % % % %
Retention Rates 0.0016** Significant
20 82. 84. 95. 96. 95. 98. 97. 92.9
22 83 16 66 15 68 79 46 6% Legend: ** Significant at 0.05 level of significance
% % % % % % %
4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Table 2.2 summarizes the semestral retention rates for
BEEd batches 2017 to 2022. On the average, semestral The evidence summarized in this paper suggests that
retention rates were higher for batches 2019 and 2020, having beyond the first-year level, the Bachelor of Secondary
average retention rates of 93.34% and 93.41%, respectively. Education and Bachelor of Education students usually
proceed to the third and fourth year levels and graduate in
Further analysis also reveals that the retention rates were
lower in the first year, going from the first semester into the their respective degree programs. Thinking along with this
second semester and moving into the first semester of the statement, this is an indicator of efficiency and effectiveness.
second year. In addition, the lowest retention rate among Additionally, students who might not be academically
BEED batch 2017 was obtained from the first semester to the qualified for either of the two undergraduate degree programs
in education only remain in the program for one or two
second semester of the first year. The retention rate of 70.49%
semesters before leaving on their own or with advice to pursue
indicates that about 3 out of every 10 students fail to go further
in the BEEd program and either drop out or shift to other other degree options. Given that Palawan State University is
collegiate programs. The usual reason why they leave the a public institution of higher learning that employs an open
course is their failure to get the general weighted average admission policy, it is good to cull through a retention policy
required in the College’s retention policy. during the first year of enrolment rather than in the later years
to avoid wasting and compromising both government and
individual resources.
Significant Differences in the CTE Students’ Cohort and
Retention Rates
However, it can be also depicted in the analyses that the
Table 3 shows the significant differences in the cohort cohort survival rates, particularly for the Bachelor of
and retention rates when the students/graduates were grouped Elementary Education program, hover a low of 43.56% for
batch 2019 to a high of 82.86% for batch 2022. Though the
according to year graduated and programs. Based on the
analysis, it can be gleaned that there are significant average 4-batch cohort rates for BSEd (62.91%) may be
differences in the cohort and retention rates when the comparable to these figures, the average batch cohort rates for
graduates are grouped according to the year they graduated. BEEd program is quite low at 54.09%. Auxiliary to this, they
The p-values of 0.0296 and 0.0315, respectively, confirm that also obtained a lower retention rate of 92.28% than the
the differences in the cohort and semestral rates for batches retention rate of 93.19 for BSED graduates.
2017 to 2022 are statistically significant. On the other hand,
when the graduates were grouped according to their program, Elliot (2002) cited several determinants influencing
the p-values of 0.0038 and 0.0016 confirm that there is a students’ decision to drop-out such as but not limited to
significant difference in the cohort and retention rates of the economic factors, enrollment at another school, academic
BSEd and BEEd programs. It may be recalled in the previous difficulties, family responsibilities, personal problems,
dissatisfaction with residence living, academic
analysis that the BEEd graduates had a lower average cohort
rate of 54.09% as compared with the BSEd’s average cohort dissatisfaction, low GPA, and poor advising or teaching. It is
rate of 62.91%. Added to this, they also obtained a lower thus recommended that PSU-CTE or any future researches to
retention rate of 92.28% than the retention rate of 93.19 for focus on the factors influencing the students’ decision to stay
BSED graduates. or not in the course or college. Using the results of this study
as basis, another study may be undertaken to probe further and
find explanatory variables for the current situation,
Table 3. Cohort Rates for Batches 2017 to 2022
Bachelor of Secondary Education, PSU-CTE particularly the disparity in retention and cohort rates between
the BEED and BSED students. The College administration
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International Journal of Academic Management Science Research (IJAMSR)
ISSN: 2643-900X
Vol. 6 Issue 9, September - 2022, Pages: 168-172
may find ways and means on how best to further improve the https://www.facebook.com/borgenproject.
care and services that the College provides its students, https://borgenproject.org/education-in-the-philippines-2/
especially to the BEED students, so that more would be [13] Tria, J. Z. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic through the
retained going into the higher years and less would have spent lens of education in the Philippines: The new normal.
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5. REFERENCES
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