How can institutions improve first-year student persistence?

Key takeaways:

• Nearly one in four students who start college don't return for a second year, with most of the warning signs showing up in the first semester.
• The biggest risk isn't the students who are visibly failing, it's the much larger group who are quietly struggling and never ask for help.
• First-generation students navigate a hidden curriculum on top of the academic one, and are more likely to leave after a single early setback.
• 65% of students identified with a disability in high school don't disclose it to their college, so many lack the support that helped them get there.
• Support that is available to every student, rather than reliant on proactive student engagement, reaches far more of the students who need it most.

Starting college is a big step, and every student experiences it differently. Some arrive with a clear plan and a family who has been through it before. Others are working out financial aid, a complex new timetable, and a completely alien way of learning, all at once and largely on their own.

For institutions, those first few months of a student’s journey are vital. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center's 2026 Persistence and Retention Report found that nearly 86% of the 2.62 million students who started college in Fall 2024 returned for their Spring semester. By the following Fall, the number of students continuing onto their second year of college had fallen to just over 77%.

That means that close to a quarter of every new cohort doesn't make it to year two.

Below, we look at why first-year students leave, the specific challenges facing first-generation students and students with disabilities, and the practical steps that help more students persist.

What is the difference between persistence and retention?

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but they measure different things. Persistence tracks whether a student
stays enrolled in college anywhere. Retention tracks whether they stay at the institution where they started.

The gap between the two is telling. Of the students who began in fall 2024, more than 77% were still enrolled somewhere a year later, but only 69.1% had returned to the same institution. For any one college, every student in that gap is a student it worked hard to enroll and didn't keep.

This article focuses on persistence, because the things that keep a student learning are the same things that keep them on your campus.

Why do the majority of students drop out in their first year of college?

When students leave, the reason recorded is often money. Finances matter, but they're rarely the whole story. Research has found that 45% of dropout in the first two years comes down to what students learn about their own academic ability, not because they are actually failing.

In other words, many students leave because they've started to believe they don't belong. A first difficult quiz, a lecture they couldn't keep up with, or a week where everything piled up can quietly confirm a doubt they arrived with.

The first year also asks students to learn in a way they may never have practiced. Lectures are longer and faster. Reading loads grow. Nobody tells you what to write down. For a student already managing work, family, or a learning difference, the cognitive load of simply keeping up can crowd out the learning itself. That's how a cycle of disengagement begins.

And crucially, most students who are struggling won't say so. Research shows that 85% of students experiencing academic challenges won't seek help, even when they know support exists.

What early signals predict first-year college drop out?

Most early alert systems are designed to catch students who are visibly failing. Those who are missing classes, failing assessments, or falling behind on fees. That's a vital function, but it leaves a large group unseen.

EAB calls this group the "murky middle", students with a GPA between 2.0 and 3.0 who attend class, get a passing mark, and consequently never trigger a flag. But, research shows that 21% of students with a 2.5 to 3.0 GPA still drop out.

The signals worth watching in the first semester are often quieter than a failing grade:

What challenges do first-generation students face in their first year?

First-generation students make up almost 30% of the student population, and a far higher share at community colleges. They bring ambition, resilience, and often a strong sense of purpose. But what they often don't bring is a map.

What is the hidden curriculum, and why does it matter?

Every college runs on unwritten rules. What office hours are for. How to read a syllabus. That it's normal, even expected, to
email a professor. How financial aid deadlines work.

Students whose parents went to college tend to absorb these rules at home. First-generation students usually have to learn them in real time, during the same weeks they're adjusting to college-level coursework. The Pell Institute has found that first-generation students often arrive feeling underprepared and separate from their faculty and peers.

None of this reflects ability. It reflects access to information that other students simply had sooner.

Why are first-generation students more likely to leave after an early setback?

A disappointing grade in week four lands differently when you don't have anyone at home who can tell you it's normal. Research from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that first-generation students are more likely to drop out after a poor grade than continuing-generation peers facing exactly the same setback.

The researchers point to information gaps and smaller support networks as key drivers. Without a reference point, one bad result can feel like proof that college isn't for them. Encouragingly, the same research found that relatively simple changes to the first-year experience can improve retention.

What helps first-generation students persist?

The most effective support makes the hidden curriculum visible and makes help feel ordinary rather than remedial. That can include first-generation programs and peer mentoring, explicit guidance on academic expectations, and early, low-stakes contact with an advisor.

Just as important are tools that help students keep up in class from day one. When a student can capture a lecture fully, review what they missed, and test their own understanding, they build evidence that they can do this. That confidence is what carries them through the first setback.

Why do many students with disabilities go unsupported in their first year?

There is a large group of first-year students who had support in high school and lose it the moment they arrive at college. Data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study shows that only 35% of students identified with a disability in secondary school disclose it to their college. That leaves around 65% who don't, and only 24% go on to use disability-related supports at all.

These students aren't new to needing support. Many had an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) or 504 plan for years. What's new is the system around them.

Why don't students register with Disability and Accessibility Services in college?

In K-12, schools are responsible for identifying students and putting support in place. In college, that responsibility shifts to the student. They have to know Disability and Accessibility Services exist, find the office, gather documentation, and choose to disclose, often in their first few weeks on campus.

The reasons students don't take that step are very human. Some want a fresh start without a label. Some worry about how professors or peers will see them. Some assume college support works the same way it did in high school and will come to them. Others simply don't know where to begin.

What happens to students who don't disclose?

Their needs don't disappear. A student with ADHD, dyslexia, or a hearing impairment still faces long lectures, dense reading, and fast-moving discussion. Without accommodations, they're more likely to fall into the murky middle; working hard, falling behind quietly, and never triggering an alert.

There's an important finding here for every institution. Students with learning disabilities who used any support, including support available to all students, were significantly more likely to persist and complete than those who used none. Support doesn't have to come with a disclosure form to make a difference.

How can institutions reach students who haven't registered?

Disability Services can't accommodate students it doesn't know about. That's why the most effective approach pairs a welcoming, well-publicized route to registration with tools and strategies grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that are available to everyone from day one.

This is what it means to raise the floor. When note taking support, captioned recordings, and study tools are simply part of the first-year experience, students who would never self-identify get the help they need anyway. And students who do later register with Disability Services are already familiar with the tools they'll rely on.

What interventions actually improve first-year persistence?

The common thread across first-year students, first-generation students, and students with undisclosed disabilities is the same; the students who most need support are the least likely to ask for it. The strategies that work are the ones that don't depend on a student raising their hand.

How does Genio Notes help first-year students persist?

Genio Notes gives every student a reliable, organized record of each class.

For first-year students, that reduces the cognitive load of a brand-new learning environment. For first-generation students, it offers a way to keep up without having to ask. And for students who haven't registered with Disability Services, it provides the kind of support they relied on in high school, without a disclosure form standing in the way.

The evidence supports it. In an independent efficacy study with LXD Research covering more than 2,000 learners, students using Genio Notes reported fewer dropout considerations, falling from 7% to 5%. At Florida Atlantic University, 100% of learners using Genio Notes reported increased confidence, with 97% reporting improved enjoyment of learning, and 86% reduced stress, while at SUNY Canton, students who engaged with Genio Notes saw a 169% greater GPA increase than those who didn't.

Conclusions

The first year of a college asks a lot from learners, and the students who struggle most are often the last to say so.

The institutions making real progress on persistence aren't waiting for those students to come forward. They're putting support in their hands from day one, and giving every student the confidence that they belong.

If your institution is looking to improve first-year persistence, see how Genio Notes can help every student start strong.