Education Commons^™

Impacts Of Nontraditional Admissions Criteria On The Admittance And Retention Of Academically At-Risk Student Populations, Kristen Marie Winter

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine impacts of non-cognitive measures in the college admissions process on the retention of academically at-risk student populations. Increasing access to higher education is of benefit to individual and society as a whole. Traditional college admissions practices use standardized testing and GPA, which have been criticized for not being the best sole predictor for college preparedness. The use of non-cognitive measures may increase diversity and equity within the college admissions process.

This study considers students admitted to college through an extended admissions process who have completed short essays addressing non-cognitive measures. These students …

Sense Of Belonging From A Distance: How Online Students Describe, Perceive, And Experience Belonging To The Institution, Marleigh Luster Perez

Dissertations and Theses

The availability and ease of access to online bachelor's degree programs has led to a dynamic shift in the world of higher education. While overall, there has been a decrease in student enrollments, distance student enrollment has been growing. According to a report by the Babson Survey Research Group, between the fall of 2012 and the fall of 2016 students pursuing higher education at all levels across degree-granting institutions fell by 3.8%. During the same four-year period, the percentage of those students choosing to take all or some of their courses at a distance increased from 25.9% to 29.7%. Among …