Education Commons^™

Single Mothers In College: The Effect Of Selected Variables, Rickey Booker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Single parent mothers who are currently in poverty may find it difficult to find routes out of poverty and/or even to enrolling in college. Little empirical research has been conducted on low-income single parent mothers who attempt to enroll, persist and graduate college. The current research has shown that single parents are at a high risk of dropping out of college because of many barriers including poverty related issues. This study examined women who had at least one child or dependent, were in poverty, and were first time beginners in college. The purpose for conducting this study was to identify …

Community College Student Persistence: A Focus On Occupational And Academic Clubs, Catherine Jean Songer

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Community colleges have increased demands for data to substantiate their institutional effectiveness in financially challenging times to stakeholders and accrediting agencies. Tied to performance funding, North Carolina community colleges are focusing attention on policies and programs that encourage student persistence. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement indicated a strong relationship between student engagement and student success. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate student persistence as measured by student intent to persist as it related to participation in community college-sponsored occupational and academic clubs, to investigate the student-perceived level of participation as it related to student intent …

Exploring The Impact Of Classified Staff Interactions On The Student Experience: A Multiple Case Study Approach, Mary Ann Schmitt

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative multiple case study explored front-line classified staff interactions with students as a possible strategy for increasing student success. The study was based on the premise that too few students stay at a community college long enough to achieve their academic goals. Therefore, college leaders must identify new strategies to increase student retention and success. A literature review revealed positive student experiences increase the likelihood of student persistence. Since classified staff members interact with students throughout the college, the author examined their interactions as one potential strategy to increase the likelihood of student success.

The study explored classified staff …

Pre-College Career Guidance And Persistence At A Small Private University In Tennessee, Raymond D. Carson

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This mixed methods study was designed to determine the type and quality of pre-college career guidance experiences of college freshmen and the impact of those experiences on student performance and retention. This study was limited to first time freshmen at a small private university in Tennessee. The population was 46% male and 54% female from 6 different ethnic groups. Students came from 5 different secondary school settings including Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) academies, home school environments, public high schools, other Christian schools, and individuals who had obtained a general education diploma (GED).

Qualitative data were collected through a phone survey to …

Examining The Motivating Factors That Influence Students With An Associate’S Degree To Complete A Bachelor’S Degree At A Private University, Rudolph D, Smith

Dissertations

The intent of this study was to shed light on the reasons and factors that influence the decision for community college graduates to complete a bachelor’s degree at a private, not-for-profit university. In addition, this study sought to identify and describe why students persist during degree completion programs, as well as the inhibitors and facilitators found throughout such programs.

This research was built on the qualitative research paradigm employing semi-structured interviews and focus groups to investigate how the elements of motivation theory influenced students to complete a bachelor’s degree program. The findings from the study validate that students are motivated …

A Study Of Persistence In The Northeast State Community College Health-Related Programs Of Study., Allana R. Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify factors that were positively associated with persistence to graduation by students who were admitted to Health-Related Programs leading to the degree associate of applied science at Northeast State Community College. The criterion variable in this study was persistence, which was categorized into two groups the persister group (program completers) and the nonpersister (program noncompleters) group. The predictor variables included gender, ethnic origin, first- (or nonfirst-) generation-student status, age, specific major program of study, number of remedial and/or developmental courses taken, grades in selected courses (human anatomy and physiology I and II, microbiology, …

An Ex Post Facto Study Of First-Year Student Orientation As An Indicator Of Student Success At A Community College, Amanda Ellis-O'Quinn

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this ex post facto study is to determine if a relationship exists between certain student success indicators and students completing an orientation course their first semester at a small, rural community college in comparison to those students who do not complete an orientation course their first semester. The study will compare three instructional methods used in teaching orientation; a two-day, ten-week, and distance learning format. This emphasis will identify the impact of the delivery format on success measures. The measures representing student success are retention from the fall to concurrent spring semester and grade point average (GPA). …

A Case Study Of First-Year Persistence Of Marshall University Freshmen, Beth Anne Pauley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

College enrollment is rising but there has not been a corresponding increase in graduation rates. Nationwide, 30% of students who enter college do not return for their sophomore year. This case-study was conducted to determine what factors influenced the first-year persistence of the 2009 Marshall University freshmen cohort. This research used extant data from two MAP-Works surveys and Marshall University’s student academic management system. Data from a cohort of 467 students were analyzed using logistical regression to determine which factors, if any, were statistically significant predictors of persistence. Logistic regression analysis produced statistically significant relationships with 27 pre-entry characteristics, 12 …

Community College Student Motivation And Persistence To Goals, Kai Alina Savi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges in the United States serve a vital educational role in job training, preparation for transfer to a four-year institution, granting academic degrees and certificates as well as offering opportunities for personal growth and development. Persistence has traditionally been measured by degree completion or by transfer rates. However, students who enter community college with other goals may successfully meet their goal while not reaching traditional persistence milestones. To date, much of the research on persistence has either focused on traditional students at four-year institutions, or on demographic risk factors among community college students. Little has been done to evaluate …

Self-Directed Learning Characteristics Of First-Generation, First-Year College Students Participating In A Summer Bridge Program, Jeffrey Drummond Hall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to advance understanding of self-directed learning characteristics of first-year, first-generation college students participating in a summer bridge program. Understanding the experience of these students in higher education can lead to the development of programmatic and pedagogical strategies to better meet the needs of this at-risk student population.

This study was conducted at the University of South Florida (USF), a large, public research university in Tampa. Participants were recruited from the Freshman Summer Institute (FSI), a summer bridge program for first-generation students at USF.

Theoretical frameworks from higher education and adult education literature merged to …

Academic Advising And Retention Of First-Generation College Students At A Research University In The Southeast, Hadyn K. Swecker

All ETDs from UAB

Student retention is an area of concern both academically and financially for higher education institutions. With the state of the current economy, finances are a critical component to higher education institutions. Retention rates, in addition to graduation rates, are used for assessing the overall success of an institution and in some instances future funding. According to Schneider (2010), only 60% of undergraduate students matriculate from four-year institutions within six years of initial enrollment. One population, first-generation college students, are 1.3 times more likely than their non-first-generation peers to leave an institution during their first year of college (Ishitani, 2006). The …

The Factors That Are Related To Native American Community College Students' Intent To Persist, Garnet Laureen Williams

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

More than half of Native American higher education students choose community colleges as their institution of choice. However, when compared with other ethnic groups, Native American/Alaska Natives (NA/AN) students earn the second-lowest number of associate degrees and the lowest number of bachelor's degrees. Despite this substantive gap, few studies have explored the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist. With the projected population surge of NA/AN residents over the next 15 years, more research on the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist in college is warranted.

This ex post facto study …

The Role Of Program Climate And Socialization In The Retention Of Engineering Undergraduates, Heather Elizabeth Ureksoy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Increasing women's participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) can promote a healthy economy by ensuring a diverse and well-qualified STEM workforce, not only in the quantity of females in the workforce, but diversity in thinking and creativity. It will also send a positive message to young women about the breadth of educational opportunities and career choices they have available to them. However, women continue to participate in engineering education in a far lower rate than men. Attracting and retaining female students has become a challenging problem for the academic engineering community. In this study, a …

Persisting To Graduation: A Grounded Theory Exploration Of Nontraditional Undergraduate Women's Enrollment, Danielle Ferioli Sulick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While women maintain a numerical majority in undergraduate college enrollments and degrees earned, they also represent the numerical majority among students over 29 years old, students of color, students who are in the lowest income category, students who are single parents, and students who attend college part-time (Peter & Horn, 2005; Planty, et al., 2008). The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) has identified seven characteristics that place students at risk of not completing an undergraduate degree; (a) delayed enrollment between high school and college, (b) part-time enrollment, (c) financial independence, (d) students with dependents, (e) students who are single …

Examining The Relationship Between Financial Aid And Three Aspects Of Students' First-Year Experience: Grade Point Averages, Persistence, And Housing Decisions, Aaron M. Skira

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine the relationship between financial aid and three aspects of students' first-year experience: grade point averages, persistence, and housing decisions. Analyses from data obtained from one public four-year institution in the Midwest found few differences in grade point averages, persistence, and housing decisions between students who received financial aid and those who did not. However, when examining the dependent variables among students who received different types of financial aid, several significant differences were found. Students who received scholarships and work study had significantly higher grade point averages than those who did not; …