Timing Matters: Spring Enrollment, Belonging, and Student Outcomes

Session Abstract: Most institutions admit first time in college (FTIC) students almost exclusively for the fall semester, even though there are additional seats available in the spring due to December graduation, transfers, and study abroad. More institutions are starting to purposively admit FTIC students for the spring semester. However, there is little research on these students and their outcomes. We use nationally representative data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study to examine this phenomenon with a focus on both the initial sense of belonging as well as the outcomes of retention, persistence, and attainment. Our analysis suggests that FTIC students who first enrolled in the spring semester were less likely to feel a sense of belonging and tended to have poorer outcomes that those who were first enrolled in the fall semester.

Keywords: student retention, first time in college students, four-year institutions, national data