Women have most recently had better retention rates and graduation rates at the University of Alaska than men, says a report released by the university.

Statewide, first-time baccalaureate degree-seeking freshman women return to the UA system for their second year at least 2 percent more often than the men they begin school with, the report says.

In Fairbanks, between the 1999 and 2001 entering classes, males had the edge, but after a near-equal return rate of about 70 percent in 2001, the women have largely surpassed the men.

The report on retention and graduation rates in the UA system shows statistics on how many first-time students return for their second, third, fourth, and more years, and tracks how many of them graduate on time or within a six-year window.

This year's sophomore class had more than a 10 percent difference between men and women in returning students. Although the men's return rate increased from the 2004 class, women returning to the university jumped almost 9 percent.

"Our first year retention rate is in line with our peers," said Ian Olson, research director for UA.

A major factor in determining whether a student returns for their second year, Olson said, is their GPA. Students with a first-year GPA of 3.0 or higher have a 90 percent return rate, he said.

Olson also credited Residence Life and the EDGE program for first-year on-campus students with increasing the return rate overall.

"It's hot, it's exciting," Olson said of the increasing rate.

Part of the reason that so many drop out is that there is a lot of financial aid and student loans available for students, he said, some of whom are not really serious about going to college.

The graduation rate, however, drops dramatically. Of all UAF students, roughly 6 percent graduated in four years if they started in 1999. That overall number has jumped recently; just over 10 percent of 2002's freshmen graduated in four years.

A part of the low number of students graduating in four years could be that many students prefer to take longer than four years, Olson said. There are also some programs that are difficult to finish in just four years.

"Males tend to drop off after six years," Olson said.

Women, on the other hand, will usually continue for eight.

"That means females are more likely to persist," he said.

A suggested reason for men dropping out sooner than women is that it is easy to make money in Alaska without a degree, although there are no hard numbers to back that up.

"Students with any kind of skill are easily attracted into the job market," Olson said.

Alumni Association Director Joe Hayes agreed.

"Especially in Alaska, there are a lot of other opportunities," he said, like construction and fishing, occupations women are less likely to be drawn to.

"Having the degree is the opportunity for prosperity for women," he said.

The Alumni Association's membership is closely split between men and women. Of the nearly 3,000 members, there is a difference of less than 50 between the sexes. Of the UAF degree holders that are still living, just over 12,000 are male and just over 11,000 are female.

While it appears that over 70 percent of University of Alaska students do not graduate from the University of Alaska within six years, the retention rates have been improving for both genders since 1999 and the graduation rate, although it has slightly fluctuated since then, has improved more for women than for men.

The report does not track students who transfer out of UA, however, if a student goes on exchange and returns to UA, they will be picked up again.