Factors affecting student retention in the Hong Kong continuing education institution

Student retention studies have been examined for many years for reasons of students‟ educational experience and the determinants in affecting students‟ overall satisfaction, intention and retention. However, most of the published literatures are in English and undertaken in the western world context, particularly the United States and in Western Europe. As such, not much is known about the practices in Asia and in the Chinese context in particular. This study focuses on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of The People‟s Republic of China. The researcher reviews the major factors that most influence student satisfaction and retention. Another objective is to discover whether the institution's current “support strategies” have a positive impact on student satisfaction, intention and retention at the continuing education institution of OUHK. The findings of this research can be a useful starting point for educators who may want to understand why Chinese students choose to persist in a programme or decide to drop-out. The study can generally provide information on the key factors that most influence student satisfaction and their intention to stay at the institution.