Students stay enrolled when parents are engaged
CampusESP’s annual exploratory study looks at the connection between family engagement and student retention.
Our 2026 study analyzesd 20,566 first-time, first-year students who enrolled at nine colleges and universities in Fall 2024 and returned for the Fall 2025 term.
Across the board, results showed that students whose parents were connected through CampusESP had higher retention rates. The impact was even stronger for Black, Hispanic, and first-generation students.
Parent engagement boosts overall student retention
Across all nine universities in the study, students whose parents had access to their progress information through CampusESP experienced retention rates 6.9 percentage points higher than students without a connected parent.
When families have visibility into important updates — such as financial aid requirements, billing notices, or registration holds — they are better equipped to help their student stay on track.
By giving families insight into student progress, institutions create an additional support layer that helps students navigate challenges earlier and persist to the next academic year.
Retention gains are higher for Black and Hispanic students
At institutions that provided race and ethnicity indicators, the impact of parent engagement was even greater for Black and Hispanic students.
Students in these groups whose parents were connected through CampusESP experienced retention rates 10.3 percentage points higher than students without engaged parents.
These findings suggest that family engagement strategies may be particularly impactful in supporting student populations that often face higher barriers to persistence.
Parent engagement supports first-generation student success
The study also found strong results for first-generation students.
Across institutions that provided first-generation indicators, students whose parents were connected through CampusESP experienced retention gains of 7.2 percentage points compared to those without engaged parents.
First-generation students often rely heavily on their support systems while navigating the college experience. When families are informed and empowered, they can play a meaningful role in helping students stay organized, meet requirements, and continue toward graduation.
These results reinforce a consistent trend seen in previous CampusESP studies: when families are engaged and informed, they can become a powerful extension of the student success ecosystem.
