Prudence and Persistence: Personality in Student Retention

Student retention is a concern for many higher education institutions and there are many techniques that can be used to increase student retention. Previous research has used student personality data to customize interventions aimed at increasing student success and retention. In this study, prudence levels of incoming students was assessed, and a customized email intervention was designed and administered to students with students having low prudence levels. A variety of outcome measures were used to assess the usefulness of the intervention, including GPA, academic and behavioral citations, and use of campus resources. Results indicate that prudence levels are positively related to GPA and course completion rates. Similarly, the customized email intervention was positively related to GPA, course completion rates, and negatively related to university-issued behavioral citations. The results indicate that prudence levels and customized interventions may be effective for increasing student retention. The meaning and applications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for future research are outlined.