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Retention of College Students and Freshman-Year Music Ensemble Participation

This study investigates the effects of music ensemble participation during the freshman fall semester on the ongoing retention of college students. Retention of college students is a concern across the nation. The research question for the study was, “Is there a correlation between participation in music ensembles during college students' freshman fall semester and the retention of students for the sophomore, junior, senior, and (where applicable) fifth years?” The study compares the retention of students who enrolled in such ensembles at a midwestern university over a 4-year subsequent period with that of students who did not enroll. Data from Fall 2005 through Fall 2011 were collected and examined. Each freshman in each cohort (class) was assigned to one of two groups: those who enrolled in a music ensemble their first semester and those who did not. Enrollment data for each group for the following 4 years were analyzed to determine the incidence of retention for the sophomore, junior, senior, and fifth years (as applicable) for each cohort and for class standing across cohorts. The data show that those who enrolled in music ensembles returned for the subsequent 3 years at a significantly greater rate than those who did not, and that the difference in retention increased in each of these years.