Factors of academic services and life situation ecosystem influences graduate students retention in higher agricultural education: A pan India study

There are seventy one public agricultural universities in India. Private universities and colleges are also imparting higher agricultural education in India, however, all the students did not retain in the four year graduation programme in higher agricultural education and starting from aspiring to get admission to completion of graduation programme in agricultural higher education, students have to experience the Ecosystem of Academic Services and Life Situation of the Agricultural Universities and Colleges. The study was conducted under the ICAR Extramural Research Project on pan India basis. Sample size was six hundred. This study was conducted to find out the factors contributes in students’ retentions of these ecosystems. Major Academic Service factors contributed on student retention were incorporation of more practical exercises with class assignments, readily accessible tutoring to students supportive academic learning centre and exploratory & instructional practices. The major Life Situation factors were students’ classroom interactions with faculty, scope of academic experience and intellectual growth and satisfaction with the laboratory facilities. Through this study, some new variables are identified for further study viz. Mentoring and tutoring to the students, Knowledge Exposure & Career Scope and Intellectual Growth & Interaction with faculty. Hence agricultural university should nurture aforesaid factors for retention of the students.