Recruitment and Retention of Community College Student Athletes at Delaware Technical Community Colleg

This research evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of current recruitment policies and retention practices at Delaware Technical Community College, Jack F. Owens Campus in Georgetown, Delaware. Delaware Tech is a statewide community college with four campus locations with over 15,000 students and 155 student-athletes representing 1% of the overall student body population. Sponsored sports are baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, golf, lacrosse, softball, and volleyball. National data highlights that student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than their student peers, but Delaware Tech data does not support that claim. The NCAA reported that the federal graduation rate for Division I student-athletes was 67% while the general student population was at 65% (Hosick, 2015). This paper analyzed the factors facing community college student-athletes with in depth interviews conducted to gather perceptions and feedback on experiences of student-athletes, staff, and high school athletic directors locally. Best practices and models from other higher education institutions were reviewed along with significant research conducted to understand the factors and implications that community college student-athletes face. Results indicated that while Delaware Tech has excelled in increasing graduation and retention rates for the overall student body, student-athletes have not fared as well. Recommendations are proposed to improve the likelihood of student-athletes in graduating through a strategic recruitment and enrollment plan and to increase retention through effective student focused strategies for statewide implementation at Delaware Technical Community College.