The 150–page study presents detailed data and commentary on student-retention issues from a survey of 38 different institutions, including 15 public and 23 private colleges and universities. Among the subjects discussed: spending on retention consulting services and information sources, staff dimensions of the retention effort, the role of faculty in retention, the role of student services such as tutoring, academic advising, facilities management and financial aid, among others. The report also looks at the kinds of retention software in use, the use of exit interviews, retention committees, predictive modeling for early alert warnings, and much more.

The report presents retention rate data for many different types of students including adult students, distance learning students, first year students, graduate students and other categories of student, as well as overall retention rates from first year to graduation.