Education Commons^™

Retention And Persistence Of Low-Income, First-Generation Rural College Students From West Virginia, Rachel D. Nieman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A considerable body of research demonstrates that first-generation college students face greater obstacles to college retention, persistence and completion compared to their non-first-generation counterparts. However, the extant literature rarely explores rurality as a salient factor to understand these challenges. Even less visible in the literature are the experiences and voices of West Virginians. West Virginia is a predominantly rural state and ranks 49^th in the nation in terms of educational attainment, with only 19.6% of residents over the age of 25 having earned at least a bachelor’s degree. While rural areas may experience multifaceted struggles, the educational attainment of …

Latina/O Students In Community College: Institutional Actions And Persistence, Yvette V. Huerta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine the institutional actions related to Latina/o student success at a two-year institution in the southwest on the United States-Mexico border. Research has shown that institutional actions play a role in student persistence and completion and thus contribute to student success outcomes. Determining the institutional actions that contribute to student success will add to the limited higher education Latina/o research on institutional factors and provide information to community college leaders to improve student outcomes. The study examines three institutional actions and their relationship with three student persistence and achievement efforts.

Dual Degree Program Guidebook, Student Affairs And Enrollment Management

Student Affairs Reports

This Guidebook is designed to encourage unprecedented cooperation between four-year institutions and community colleges. The advice goes far beyond articulation to creating a culture of cooperation and inclusion.

From the time of widespread establishment of community colleges until now, clearing a pathway from the two-year college to baccalaureate graduation was assumed to be the sole responsibility of the community college. The university or liberal arts college served more as gatekeeper than facilitator. As a result, community college students, often the first in their families to pursue post-secondary education, were expected to navigate two complex bureaucracies with help only from the …

An Exploration Of The Influence Of Dimensions Of Organizational Behavior On The Relationship Between The Allocation Of Financial Resources And Persistence And Graduation Rates, Bryant Morgan

Doctoral Dissertations

This study was prompted by the limited body of research describing the relationship between the allocation of financial resources and student outcomes in higher education, and by the instance of contradictory and inconclusive results found in that research. With consideration that yet unidentified dynamics might account for the diversity of results, this study explored the influence of dimensions of organizational behavior on the allocation of financial resources at three colleges with differing rates of persistence and graduation rates, but that were otherwise similar in terms of other defining institutional characteristics. Q Methodology ascertained perceptions of senior leadership at the three …

Compass Placement Assessment And Student Attrition At A Community College, Leslie Morris Samuel Griffiths Ii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Considerable research has been conducted regarding the usefulness of placement testing in community colleges. Many stuides show that using the COMPASS exam may lead to students' unsuccessful course completion. To better identify the factors that may result in reduced attrition, the relationship between attrition and placement testing was studied. Using Tinto's student retention model and employing qualitative methodology, this study explored the perceptions of students and faculty regarding whether COMPASS placement assessment predicted future student success in first year courses at a community college that reports higher rates of attrition when compared to other area community colleges. After completing interviews …

Understanding The Experiences Of Provisionally Admitted Black Male College Students In The State Of Georgia, Nikki Jackson, Herbert Fiester, Jamie L. Workman

Georgia Journal of College Student Affairs

This article is the result of research conducted with provisionally admitted Black make students enrolled at four different public institutions in Georgia. The researcher sought to answer the following research question: What are the common perceptions of provisionally admitted Black male students that influence their academic success at state colleges and state universities with the University System of Georgia?

The researcher utilized a phenomenological approach and multiple methods of data collection. This resulted in rich data that has been categorized into themes. The article concludes with implications for student affairs administrators and faculty, as well as for future research on …

How University Department Heads Have Encountered And Overcome Adaptive Challenges In Student Persistence: An Application Of Critical Incident Technique, Kevin L. Flora

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

In the United States, the average attrition rate from freshmen to sophomore year for a 4-year university is 21.7%. After freshmen year, the dropout rate raises to 41% before graduation (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2014). As an administrative appointment, the department head is in a unique position to work with the university and college-level executives to lead faculty in better student persistence efforts. However scholarly inquiry on the relation of student persistence and department heads is lacking. Gmelch (2004) says “academic leaders may be the least studied and most misunderstood management position in the world” (p. 74).

The purpose …