Education Commons^™

Student Persistence And Success, Kerry Lynn Durnford

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Organizations of higher education are under increasing pressure to provide and validate student attrition data, particularly for funding sources and accreditation bodies. Simplistic attrition formulas comparing the number of students admitted to a program to the number of students graduating in the traditional program length problematizes both students and the organization. Approaches to student retention in higher education have evolved to focus on increasing student enrolment numbers, and subsequent funding often depends on this information. However, in taking this strategic, neoliberal approach, organizations fail to address the multifactorial nature of student attrition and the supports needed to maximize student success. …

College Adjustment, Belongingness, Academic Self-Efficacy, Persistence, And Academic Success Among First-Generation College Students, Heather R. Highhouse

Dissertations

Previous research has compared the impacts of college adjustment, belongingness, and academic self-efficacy on first-generation and continuing-generation college students. However, the impacts of these factors on academic success (GPA) and persistence of first-semester, first-generation college students have not been investigated. The primary purpose of this study was to examine college adjustment and belongingness for first-semester, first-generation college students, with a focus on race and gender. This study also examined the impact of academic self-efficacy (i.e., course self-efficacy and social self-efficacy), college adjustment, and belongingness for academic success (GPA) and persistence of these students. The roles of race and gender in …

Student Involvement And The Impact On Academic Success, Christopher Hyer

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Universities have been trying to increase graduation rates for decades. Using Astin’s student involvement theory (1984), which posits the more a student is involved at the university, the more likely the students will be retained and graduate from the university. Much of the research over the past 20 years has been limited to study the impact of one form of involvement has on retention and graduation, while this study combines different forms of involvement and how they impact retention and graduation rates. This study occurs with a first-year cohort entering fall 2012 at a public four-year university in the Pacific …

Bridging The Gap: Cultural Wealth And College Transitions For Upward Bound Students, Ashley J. Carpenter

Doctoral Dissertations

Often when assessing the success of minoritized students, deficit models place the weight of low achievement on students’ cultural identities, thus blaming them for their lack of success. However, many minoritized students combat this erasure by using their cultural capital, wealth, and identities to transition and persist through college. Using Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model, this study explored the ways that 20 first-generation, low-income, Black and Latinx Upward Bound alumni implemented their cultural wealth to transition and persist through the postsecondary pipeline, and investigated the role of an Upward Bound program preparing them for college. Through artifact/photographic elicited, semi-structured …

Latina/O College Students' Experiences At A Predominately White Research University, Maria Alicia Remaly

Doctoral Dissertations

Latina/o students’ access to higher education has increased over time; however, the graduation rates for this group (52%) remain lower than those for white students (63%) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). This low graduation rate presents a problem for the financial and social progress of the Latina/o population due to the key role that having a bachelor’s degree plays in the labor force. The purpose of this exploratory, qualitative study was to better understand the college experiences of Latina/o students in a predominantly white institution (PWI) in the state of Massachusetts. This study focused in key areas that are …

Persistence Of Veteran Students At Cumberland County College, Latoya Latisha Gibbons

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived persistence of Veteran students at Cumberland County College. This study implemented a quantitative approach by issuing a survey to the current cohort of Veteran students at Cumberland County College. A large number of barriers present themselves to students who study at two-year institutions of higher education, but the Veteran population is one that has not been extensively studied at this level. The experience of Veteran students presents some unique factors that may affect their education differently from other populations of students at two-year intuitions. Through content analysis of the data, …

Examining Stem Undergraduate Persistence And The Differential Relationships Across Sex, Race, And Ethnicity Through Two-Factor Theory, Leo D. Pedraza

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study investigated the persistence of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors through two-factor theory. Proxies for STEM persistence factors were used as hygiene and motivator factors, which were categories of two-factor theory originally conceptualized to understand workplace determinants that extrinsically and intrinsically motivate employees. A two-block entry model was used to test multinomial regression analysis with outcomes for persisting in STEM, degree incompletion, and changing to a non-STEM major. This study also examined differential relationships of motivator factors across sex, race, and ethnicity due to underrepresentation in STEM fields. Data for this study were extracted …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Student Persistence In A Bachelor Of Science In Forestry Program, Maxwell Holmes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Educational leaders in forestry have been challenged to increase and diversify the pipeline of ‘society ready’ foresters. To meet these challenges, leaders must shift their focus to student retention. By understanding the factors that influence student engagement and persistence, these leaders will be better positioned to support students in forestry programs, thus positively impacting retention. This qualitative case study investigated student persistence of second-year forestry students in an undergraduate forestry program. The study was guided by Social Cognitive Theory and Social Capital Theory and explored the malleable psychosocial mechanisms of self-efficacy, sense of belonging, emotion, and well-being proposed by Kahu …

Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more students evaluate their choice for higher education, the rate of transfer students continues to grow. The transfer population is often addressed broadly in research studies, and few examine differences among the population. This study was designed to analyze the differences in transfer shock and retention rates between students who transferred from a community college to a four-year institution (vertical) versus those who transferred from one four-year institution to another (lateral). Participants of this study consisted of 1,032 students who transferred to the University of Louisville during the fall 2014, 2015, and 2016 semesters. Results indicated, when controlling for …

Student Perceptions Of A Customer Service Model In A For-Profit Higher Education Institution, Leonard J. Grinstead

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the impact on students of customer service-oriented behaviors exhibited by faculty members and student advisors in a single geographic segment of a large institution of higher education in the for-profit sector headquartered in the midwestern United States. A single-case case study approach was used in order to explore students’ degree of satisfaction with customer service experiences and the extent to which these impacted their decisions to persist toward graduation from the university. A survey approach with a questionnaire distributed by email was used in order to gather data from students for …

A Public Health Perspective Of The Higher Education Experiences Of Women Studying Nursing: A Hermeneutic Inquiry Into Commencement And Progression, Lesley Jane Andrew

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

While student retention is a central goal across higher education, the projected shortage in the Australian health workforce has intensified its importance to undergraduate nursing.

Nursing degrees attract a higher proportion of mature-age women students than ever before. More are therefore beginning university at life stage characterised by marriage (or co-habitation) and traditional family structures. Nursing retention strategies require an understanding of the unique university experiences of these women, however, this is missing in the nursing literature. This study is the first to explore the experiences of these women students, doing so from the perspective of Bachelor of Science (Nursing) …