A national survey found first-to-second-year retention rates at two-year public colleges has risen to an all-time high at 56 percent, according to a statement release by ACT.

Some experts are attributing the new high in retention rates at two-year colleges and the new low at four-year private colleges to the effects of the recession.

Despite the national increase in the retention rate, two-year colleges in the University of Wisconsin System have maintained a steady retention rate of 58 percent for the past several years, said Howard Cosgrove, University of Wisconsin Colleges spokesperson.

“We have not seen a change in Wisconsin,” Cosgrove said. “But UW colleges are above the national average for two-year campuses.”

Cosgrove said keeping retention rates high is an important goal of the UW Colleges as an institution and as part of the UW System.

Class sizes are small, which helps students to receive a lot of personal attention from their professors and other staff members, Cosgrove said.

“It is paying individual attention to students that helps to keep them along for the ride,” Cosgove said.

Retention rates at two-year colleges have been trending upward, with 53 percent of students returning to the same college in 2005 and 56 percent currently, according to the statement.

Private colleges, however, have seen an overall decrease in retention. In 2005, 75 percent of students remained at the same institution while only 72 percent choose to do so currently, the statement said.

ACT spokesperson Ed Colby said the increase in the retention rate at two-year colleges and the decrease in private colleges are both results of their economic context.

“What we’re suggesting is the economy is playing a role in what is happening with retention rates,” Colby said.

Younger students are sticking with their education because they realize their best chance of finding a job in today’s economy is if they have a degree, Colby said.

He added people who have been displaced from their jobs are going back to school in order to earn their degree.

Cosgrove said he believes the national trend in retention rates is an effect of the struggling economy as well

“People who are struggling with money, but want an education are looking into more affordable options,” Cosgrove said.