Factors influencing honors college recruitment, persistence, and satisfaction at an upper-Midwest Land Grant University

Student success and the "completion agenda" are important issues in higher education today (Complete College America). For honors programs and colleges, understanding and advancing these issues requires data-driven approaches tailored to the unique honors student population and broader institutional contexts. Honors faculty and administrators hoping to succeed in their recruitment, retention, and graduation efforts need an accurate understanding of why students decide to enroll and persist as well as their satisfaction with honors experiences. The research presented in this article provides particular insight into the student experience at South Dakota State University (SDSU) but may also be instructive to a broader audience of honors professionals seeking to enhance their programs' impact and their students' success.