While loyalty has been the focus of past researchers, this study delved into the relationship between customers and organizations interchanged with commitment through socioeconomics and its impact on retention. The research problem focused on possible explanations of low retention rates at a historically black college and the students' commitment to the university, exploring the impact on retention. This issue provided the opportunity to explore four critical research questions: how does organizational commitment impact retention, how does customer commitment play a role between organizational commitment and retention, how does socioeconomics impact the relationships between customer commitment, organizational commitment, and retention, and how does perception and student classification impact the role between customer commitment and organizational commitment. The study determined the cause of the low retention at the university and also identified other means of interpreting socioeconomics. The study used a correlational designed survey. Two hundred students who were attending the university at that time were surveyed. The structural model analysis was performed using bootstrapping methodology. The current study helped identify a positive relationship between organizational commitment to the student and retention. Partial mediation existed between organizational commitment and retention (when customer commitment is mediating). However, for socioeconomics (SES), socioeconomics did moderate the relationship between organizational commitment and retention as well as organizational commitment and customer commitment. Finally, the study proved that there is a positive relationship between student classification and the perception of higher customer commitment. Future research should explore the constructs of social and academic integration and their influence on retention levels and attrition rates. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]