Education Commons^™

Utilizing Academic Advising Services To Improve First-Year Student Retention Outcomes, Dan Crouse

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

Student retention is an issue that impacts most post-secondary institutions in Canada. For the majority of these institutions, the student retention issue is most acute in first-year students. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) seeks to address the Problem of Practice (PoP) of poor first-year student retention outcomes within a mid-sized post-secondary institution in Ontario (University X). Specifically, it explores the vital role that academic advisors play in retaining post-secondary students. With flat domestic enrollment numbers and challenges facing the international student market coupled with a restructured provincial government funding model, retaining students has become more important than ever before. Failure …

Frame-Bending Quality: Leading Through Discourses Towards Equity And Student Success, Christopher F. Mcgrath

The Dissertation in Practice at Western University

In 2018, the Government of Ontario introduced a post-secondary accountability framework that attributes up to 60% of colleges’ annual public funding to the achievement of ten government-directed performance outcomes. The new framework’s shift from the previous enrollment-based funding model intensifies neoliberal and post-structural policy discourses of quality and accountability, further relegating social inequities to the margins of post-secondary education. At the same time, burgeoning social movements have appealed to governments and post-secondary institutions to dismantle systemic barriers that impede students from equity-deserving communities from accessing and flourishing in college. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) explores how a large urban college …

The Impact Of The Online Learner Advising Model On Retention And Grade Point Average, Julie Delich

Doctorate in Education

As more students experience online learning environments, the academic community must invest more energy into improving retention of these learners. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of an advising model designed to support online learners, the Online learner advising model (OLAM). This study examined new student retention in the first 3 terms and GPA outcomes to measure the impact of the advising approach. OLAM was designed to address the specific needs of online learners through bringing together elements of proactive advising, shame resilience theory, and appreciative advising.

The sample was selected from Concordia University, St. Paul …

Assessing Faculty Perceptions Of A Guided Pathways Model, Lesley Lynn Zimmerman-Cooper

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Since the inception of the guided pathways model in 2015, most related research has focused on the interconnecting processes and practices that lead to student persistence and completion. While the processes and practices are the basis of the model, scholars acknowledge that the model's human capital and change management components are just as significant. An institution must have a majority of its faculty and staff engaged in and excited about shifting to guided pathways for the model to succeed and be sustainable. Buy-in across the institution, but especially from faculty, is essential to the model's overall effectiveness.This qualitative case study, …

What Does The Staff Say?: Front-Line Staff Perceptions Of Their Role In Student Success, Lee A. Helbert

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on exploring the perceptions of front-line staff in supporting student success at a mid-western community college. These staff are generally the employees who are not generally involved with teaching or administration, but work in offices like the business, financial aid, enrollment services, or are administrative assistants to the different departments. Nine participants participated in individual interviews and/or a focus group discussion. These front-line staff shared their stories that related to how they saw themselves contributing to student success, what they saw as the challenges and benefits of supporting students, and what professional opportunities were provided by the …

Belonging In College: Engagement And Retention At A Hispanic Serving Institution, Alana Joy Olschwang

CGU Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this study was to examine retention for first-year students who attended a large, public Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The study examined the extent that belonging influenced involvement and engagement, and the relationship to retention. This was in the context of COVID with the pandemic, social and political unrest, and an emergency remote format for teaching impacting student experiences. The conceptual framework was influenced by theories including validation, belonging, mattering, sociocultural engagement, natural growth, and community cultural wealth. The study included secondary data analysis from the Fall 2019 National Survey of Student Engagement and institutional data for grade …

Viewing The Whole Student: Creating Access By Incorporating A Holistic Review Method In Higher Education Admissions, Delaney Logan

West Chester University Master’s Theses

In this thesis, I will explore how higher education institutions can provide greater access to, and support for, students who do not meet traditional admissions requirements such as standardized test scores. This topic is important because traditional admissions requirements are inequitable for various groups of students, and they are also not accurate predictors of success in higher education for all students. My interest in this topic originates from my own personal experiences applying to and attending higher education, as well as my belief that higher education should be accessible to all who wish to pursue it. Therefore, barriers such as …

Restructuring Enrollment Management Policies At Hbcus: The Next 184 Year Initiative, Kathleen Rzucidlo

West Chester University Master’s Theses

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were created in the early 1800s during times of segregation and explicit racism. HBCUs continue to play a very key role in educating students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds but continue to focus on the development of Black students in the United States. Currently there are 101 HBCUs in 19 states and in Washington D.C. and the Caribbean. For my thematic concern, I will be tackling the concern of why being student success focused in enrollment management approaches are critical at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and how student success and support practices …