SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Andy Denton, vice president for enrollment management at Evangel University, has received his Ph.D. in higher education administration from St. Louis University.
Denton received his B.B.A. in management and marketing from Evangel and his M.B.A. from Missouri State University. He has served at Evangel from 1998 to 2002 as director of admissions and from 2007 to the present as vice president.
His dissertation topic relates directly to his current role: The Predictive Relationship of Pre-Enrollment Cognitive and Non-cognitive Variables to Student Academic Success and Persistence during the First to Second Academic Year and for First-Year Students Enrolled at a Christian Liberal Arts University.
“The reason I chose this topic was to help Evangel strengthen its enrollment efforts,” Denton said. “Each year in the United States, nearly one million new students enroll at a four-year post-secondary institution. However, one third of these students do not enroll for their second year of college.”
Real-world application
From his research, Denton concluded that the number one individual predictor of academic success for Evangel students is high school grade point average.
His research also concluded that the number one individual predictor of student persistence at Evangel is whether or not parents or siblings are alumni.
Denton said the findings were not necessarily surprising, but he did not anticipate whether or not someone had family members graduating from Evangel would be the number one individual indicator for persistence.
“The results of this study can assist enrollment professionals and administrators in higher education to develop data-driven methods that predict individual student academic success and persistence,” Denton said.
“The research can also provide a framework by which other professionals can emulate the study in other states, regions, or at individual institutions, allowing for a better understanding of their own persistence trends.”
For additional information, contact Dr. Denton at 417-865-2815, ext. 7346.
Evangel is a private, Christian university of arts, sciences and professions that offers more than 100 undergraduate academic programs and nine master’s programs. The fall 2011 enrollment has reached a record 2,168 students.