The Effect of Freshmen Cohort Groups on Academic Performance and Retention

Abstract

The goals of increasing student retention and the development of effective learning structures have led the faculty of the College of Business and Economics to experiment with freshman learning communities. In the fall of 1998, a total of 92 business and accounting freshmen were placed in cohorts of approximately 10 students. The students in each cohort took the same English, math, and economics courses. Comparisons among the business cohorts and with a psychology cohort, a non-major cohort, and a control group suggest that this structure does not increase academic performance or retention.