Education Commons^™

Evaluation Of A Program Designed To Increase Retention In Counselor Education: Reaching Year Two, James D. Jensen, Aida Midgett, Diana M. Doumas

Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision

Student retention is a key issue in maintaining academic programs’ viability. This study evaluated a program designed to increase retention for first year Masters in Counseling students (N = 44). The program consisted of a series of activities developed to increase social integration with both students and faculty. Results of this study indicated that students in the cohort who participated in the program reported higher retention rates than students in the control cohort. Findings suggest that implementing a program designed to increase social integration may be a promising approach to retaining first year students in Counselor Education (CE) programs.

Conflict Management And Team Building As Competencies For Nurse Managers To Improve Retention, Jeanette Black

DNP Qualifying Manuscripts

Abstract

Aim(s): To critically review and summarize evidence related to coaching and training nurse managers in conflict management and team building skills and to determine the relationship of these skills to retention.

Background: Retention of nurse managers is a significant challenge to healthcare organizations.

Evaluation: The databases searched were CINAHL, PubMed, evidence-based journals, JANE, Cochrane, SCOPUS and Joanna Briggs. The keywords searched were conflict management, team building, nurse manager retention, retention, teamwork, healthy work environment, conflict management theory, organizational culture, coaching nurse managers, and nursing. Articles with the strongest evidence were critically appraised using the Johns Hopkins Research and …

The Relationship Between Social Integration In Learning Community And Retention Of Freshmen Minority Students, Christopher A. Phekni

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

This dissertation examined whether student social integration through participation in a learning community is associated with the retention of freshman minority students from the first semester to the second semester of their first year in college. A web-based Qualtrics survey questionnaire was administered through social media to the target population of freshmen aged at least 18 years old in learning communities across the United States. A correlational quantitative research design was utilized to address the research questions. The study examined whether retention between freshmen first and second semester relates to their social experiences in a learning community. In addition, this …

Ouachita Baptist Sets Retention Record, Enrollment Increases, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia begins the fall semester with a record freshman-to-sophomore retention rate of 83.4 percent and student enrollment of 1,660, an increase of 7.45 percent from a year ago.

Effect Of Undergraduate Research Programs On Retention Of Hispanic Students, Kiyoko N. Simmons

Organization, Information and Learning Sciences ETDs

The Hispanic population in the United States has been increasing, which is affecting the number of Hispanic student population in the higher education. In spite of the rapid increase of Hispanic student population, little empirical research has been conducted on the Hispanic student’s college success. This study investigated the effect of participating in holistic undergraduate research programs on retention outcome of Hispanic students at The University of New Mexico. UNM is a public Hispanic-Serving Institution where 47.3 percent of undergraduate students are Hispanic in 2016.

The Vincent Tinto’s theory of student departure and the five critical factors of retention developed …

Exploring The Relationship Between Students' Sense Of Community, Student Satisfaction, And Doctoral Program Retention, Adam Roberson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This is a study examining the interaction between certain doctoral student engagement indicators (peer, institution, curriculum, faculty, spirituality) and student satisfaction. The scope is to understand if student sense of community is a significant moderator to this interaction in order to address the issue of student attrition. It is important to understand these interactions and the influence of sense of community so that institutions of higher education better analyze student commitment. The outcomes of this study may be used as a means to design and implement engagement strategies that are effective in student retention and completion. Doctoral students were invited …

On Campus Social Support And Hope As Unique Predictors Of Perceived Ability To Persist In College, Deanna D'Amico, Veronica Fruiht

Psychology | Faculty Scholarship

The psychological construct of hope, characterized by goal-directed thinking rooted in personal agency and the ability to develop pathways to achieve goals, has long been demonstrated to predict academic success. A sample of 994 undergraduates participated in this study to better understand the role of hope and on-campus social support in predicting students’ perceived ability to persist and succeed in college. Results demonstrated that on-campus support, particularly from teachers and professors, significantly predicted academic outcomes and hope. In addition, we found evidence of a support gap in which students from underrepresented ethnic minorities were far more likely to report that …

Evaluating An Academic Bridge Program Using A Mixed Methods Approach, Leslie May Yingling

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As the demand for college degrees has increased, college enrollment has grown significantly, and economic forces have applied greater pressure on the higher education environment to produce more degrees and better post-graduation outcomes. Many public colleges and universities have felt these pressures distinctly because of their state funding environments and the specific expectations that exist within them. While college aspirations and attendance have broadly improved, achievement gaps persist along cultural, generational, and socioeconomic lines. In an effort to navigate and negotiate institutional goals, public expectations, economic needs, and educational ideals, institutions engage in diverse approaches to recruitment and retention. Academic …

Why Do You Go To College? Shaping Student Beliefs And Success. A Dissertation Summary., Mitchell Colver

Publications

Students enter the realm of higher education with a wide variety of beliefs about the purposes of attending university, which often relate to or reveal their various motivations for pursuing a post-secondary education. Research demonstrates that some student motivations align more fully with intrinsic factors, such as the love of learning or quest for excellence, while other student motivations align with extrinsic factors, such as vocational preparedness and monetary incentives (Vallerand et al., 1989). Using a Bourdieusienne lens, this study sought to place these student motivations in the larger sociocultural context and argue for greater opportunities for democratic equity in …

The Relationship Between Financial Literacy, Financial Status, And Academic Success In College Students, Brian Douglas Brausch

Dissertations

As the cost of college continues to rise, an increasing number of students are relying on loans and credit cards to fund their postsecondary education. In an effort to curb student debt and increase retention and graduation rates, many universities have begun to offer financial literacy initiatives to stimulate financial knowledge and promote positive money management behaviors.

This study examines the relationship between a for-credit personal financial literacy course and student academic success and economic status. Students who took a personal finance course during their first or second year of college are compared to a random sampling of students who …

Assessing Readiness To Seek Formal Mental Health Services: Development And Initial Validation Of The Mental Health Belief Model Assessment (Mhbma), Jennifer A. Greene

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Only a small percentage of people with mental health issues utilize mental health services. This would seem contradictory given the increasing understanding of mental disorders, their high prevalence, and associated disability and distress. Research shows that individual level factors, such as perceptions of need, mental health knowledge, mental health attitudes, and mental health literacy, are related to individuals’ decisions to seek mental health services. The Health Belief Model (HBM) posits four types of health beliefs that affect an individual’s health behavior, in this case, the decision to seek mental health services. To date, researchers and clinicians have no assessment tool …

Ouachita Trustees Approve Director Of Nursing, Receive Positive Updates On Enrollment, Retention And Fundraising, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Members of Ouachita Baptist University’s Board of Trustees have affirmed a major step in Ouachita’s plans to establish a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, endorsing the appointment of Dr. Brenda Trigg as director of nursing.

2017-18 Student Success And Service-Learning Report, Lynn Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

Institutional data across multiple academic years were used to assess the impact of undergraduate service-learning class participation on three critical student success metrics: Inclusive excellence, Degree completion, and Quality of learning. Results indicate that traditionally underrepresented student groups participated in VCU service-learning classes at expected rates given their proportion in the overall student population. Thirty-seven percent of undergraduate service-learning students were from underrepresented minority groups and 30% were Pell grant recipients. The average three-year retention rate across four matriculating cohorts of first-time, full-time undergraduate students was 84% for service-learning students compared to 70% for non-service-learning students. Seventy-two percent of undergraduate …

Exploring Value Of Perceived Problem Resolution In Success Of Online Doctoral Students, Vanessa S. O'Neal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

How doctoral students view their institution's ability to resolve problems may be directly related to their overall satisfaction of the institution. Challenges such as barriers to communication could have a negative effect on the students' ability to be retained by the institution. Policies to address issues relating to retention; high default rates on student loans and student services are increasing and more constraining. While the literature indicates the formation of federal policies to monitor recruitment practices of for-profit online institutions, it is not known to what extent these policies have influenced the quality of postrecruitment services. Using the theoretical framework …

Feeling Like A Fraud: Helping Students Renegotiate Their Academic Identities, Elizabeth Ramsey, Deana Brown

Library Faculty Publications and Presentations

A sense of belonging is an integral aspect of success in a long-term, group-oriented endeavor such as the pursuit of a college education. When students feel their presence at college is fraudulent, their achievements unfounded, or that they will be further disenfranchised if their true self is discovered, it is less likely that they will connect to the people and services who can help them achieve their educational goals. This “imposter syndrome” or “imposter phenomenon” can be addressed and turned around through a concerted effort. While that effort involves a personal journey, like any journey it is often aided and …

The Effect Of Admissions Viewbooks On Students’ Expectancies And Engagement, Hayley C. Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study seeks to explore the impact that admissions viewbooks have on students’ expectancies of an institution as well as their academic and social engagement. Because few studies exist on admissions viewbooks, the literature review seeks to establish a base for the importance of viewbooks in students’ college choice and their development of expectancies of their chosen institution, as well as the subsequent impacts of violated expectations on engagement and retention. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study examines (1) the promises made by institutions in their viewbooks as found via textual analysis and (2) the impact of violated …

Engagement Factors Impacting First-Year Persistence Of Hispanic And Non-Hispanic Students In Idaho Community Colleges, Kimberly May Scheffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although minority students are enrolling in community colleges at increasing rates, these students also leave at higher rates than their non-minority counterparts. The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand the relationship between selected antecedents of educational engagement and student persistence and to examine how persistence varied for first-year Hispanic and non-Hispanic students in Idaho community colleges. Drawing from Kahu's holistic approach, which conceptualizes students' engagement as arising from an interrelationship between institutional and student characteristics, this study surveyed 132 first-semester Idaho community college students. A MANOVA was used to identify the relationship between variables representing aspects of student …

Collegiate Recreation Participation And Student Retention, Progression, And Graduation, Gabriela Mccollum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collegiate recreation participation and students’ retention, progression, and graduation (RPG) rates. This study employed a quantitative, ex post facto research design along with descriptive analyses of two research questions. Archival data were gathered for an incoming first-year cohort of 3,516 students at a research-intensive university in the Southeast United States. The present study found that participants within the cohort who were classified as high participation in collegiate recreation were more likely to be retained from the first to the second year. Evidence of this finding was presented with statistical …

Listening To Our Graduate Students' Feedback: Graduate Student Exit And Alumni Surveys, Alison W. Hong-Novotney

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Student and alumni surveys have become some of the most widely-used methods of assessment of student learning in higher education. While the majority of literature on student surveys and assessment focuses on undergraduate students, this study looks specifically at why graduate student exit and alumni surveys can be valuable tools within a comprehensive assessment plan. Listening to the feedback of current and former graduate students, and then acting upon that feedback, is crucial for the engagement and success of this unique population of students who bring their particular strengths and needs to their educational experiences. This study examined how master’s …

An Exploratory Case Study: Persistence And Retention Of Students In An Alternative High School, Lametrica Andrews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) are at greater risk for dropping out of high school than other students, and are likely to experience fewer employment options and more societal marginalization. Alternative schools have been viewed as a last chance and best option for educating many students with EBD who have not actually been diagnosed. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore persistence and retention in the alternative school setting for students who may or may not have been diagnosed with EBD. Students in this study will be referred to as EBD. Although they have not been …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Students Who Withdrew From College Prior To Degree Attainment, Enedine B. Andre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally an estimated 41% of traditional students who begin seeking an undergraduate degree do not persist through degree attainment. Guided by Tinto's theory of student departure and the theory of social integration, the purpose of this study was to identify the reasons students withdrew from college prior to degree completion. A qualitative case-study design was implemented, and 13 former college enrollees were purposefully selected for individual semistructured interviews. The students graduated from one high school in the Southeastern United States. Data analysis was conducted using open coding procedures with iterative recategorization to identify key themes. Findings indicated that inadequate preparation, …

Students' Perceived Value Of The Community College Experience: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin A. Duncan

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceived value of their community college experience and its relationship to other factors often related to student persistence in college, namely satisfaction, academic quality, service quality, and engagement. The research was guided by three focused questions: How do students describe and define perceived value of community college; what components emerge from exploratory factor analysis of items designed to measure perceived value; and how, if at all, is a student’s perception of the value of a community college experience different from related measures such as satisfaction, engagement, or quality? Data were collected …

Interpretative Analysis Of Adult Learners’ Lived Experiences In A Uniquely Designed Higher Education Program, Latonya M. Branham

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The lived and collegiate experiences of adult learners, who are among the fastest growing student population in 21st century higher education, is the essence of this study. The study was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Fifteen baccalaureate level degree-seeking study participants consented to share their respective journeys. Twenty-one interviews were conducted for the study. Code-listed categories, themes and sub-themes emerged from two interview sessions, and member-checking sessions. Several themes were aligned to two research questions: In what ways, if any, are the distinctive needs and expectations of adult learners fulfilled through a baccalaureate level adult learner program; and, what does …

Missing In Action: A Critical Narrative Study Of The Absence Of Black Female Secondary Science Teachers, Nadia Despenza

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Despite the increasing research that lists cultural incongruence in the classroom among the top factors that speaks to the disproportionate numbers of Black females obtaining STEM degrees there is limited research on the actual number of Black female science teachers at the secondary level in education and the impact this plays on Black females in science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms (STEM). The consequence of all this is that we find ourselves with Black female science teachers “missing in action,” and only 5% of Black females receiving a STEM degree. I employ critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and Black feminist …