Student retention is a critical issue for higher education institutions. This study investigates the motivation of marketing student retention in the United States. The study was conducted by exploring the underlying personal values that drive student retention through the means-end chain (MEC) laddering approach. A total of 55 usable student comments were gathered from two mid-sized (1 public, 1 private) institutions and analyzed using MEC. The findings show that marketing student retention was influenced by hedonism, power, achievement, and self-direction and, to a lesser extent, by the other-regarding value of benevolence. In addition, the hierarchical value map shows the importance of the industry category-building marketing courses to emphasize the industry and marketing environment. It must be recognized, however, that the strength of the industry category depends on how universities maintain their brand image and that image's congruency with students' personal values. Finally, the study results revealed that marketing course factors (e.g., course content and course excitement) and job security are fundamental attributes that enhance student retention.