HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – James Madison University Recorded 91.9% retention rate among undergraduates, making the university among the top schools in the country.

According to JMU, the university saw a 1.7% increase in student retention over the 2022 cohort; This is the equivalent of an additional 83 students who decide to remain at JMU. The percentage refers to freshmen who remain at the institution until their second year. JMU said in a statement about the news that it believes retention rates are a standard metric for evaluating student success.

Rudy Molina, JMU’s vice chancellor for student academic success, praised the university’s student retention rate but emphasized the importance of building momentum and continuing to focus on connecting with new students in their first semester.

“What we’re trying to do is create a pipeline of families and students who are ready to succeed,” Molina said. “What we’re really excited about is how this translates into the community student success we’re already finding at JMU.”

Molina attributed some of the success to the connections JMU provides with community members in Harrisonburg and the rest of the Shenandoah Valley. These connections help bring local students to JMU, keep students enrolled at the university and support the Valley’s economy by ensuring graduates continue working in the area, he said.

Molina said the connections made with students when they first enter the classroom help students stay enrolled at JMU.

“Some of these strategies in our unit, one of which is our pulse survey campaign,” Molina said. “He reaches out to all incoming new students to see how they are doing – not once, not twice, but throughout the entire first year.”

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