It may be time to reconsider investments in retention and the use of retention data in university rankings and comparisons, concludes a recent paper published as part of COU's discussion paper series. Retention statistics should not be connected to government key performance indicators as it would affect student access, the paper argues. The correlation between retention and access would encourage schools to build barriers to entry so that retention rates could be improved, which would negatively impact the Ontario government's objective of expanding student access. The paper states it may be time to invest in an Ontario retention evaluation system to track students over time, allowing provincial universities to better assess students who return, enter programs in colleges, and move across institutions.
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