The effect of study abroad on retention and graduation of college of business students

Purpose This study aims to understand the effects of study abroad experiences, specifically on undergraduate business students, who are an underrepresented body in study abroad research. This focus is purposeful and driven by accreditation pressures to improve retention and graduation rates while stressing the benefits of internationalization and experiential learning. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a cohort analysis for two-, three- and four-year retention and graduation rates from a college of business from 2003 to 2019. This study follows similar cohorts of students at the university, college and major levels and compares their performance over time. Findings The results show a positive impact of studying abroad on both retention and graduation rates. Accordingly, this study recommends that deans and administrators in colleges of business use study abroad as a tool for retention and graduation, in addition to the traditional benefits of studying abroad. Originality/value This study is unique in that business students are this study’s main focus. This study assesses study abroad benefits not only to their graduation rates but also to retention. Also, this study tracks these two performance metrics over a long period and makes comparisons between several groups of business students and different levels of the university. This study also makes comparisons to students not participating in study abroad.