Higher Education Commons^™

Partners In Graduate Student Retention: A Library-Led Outreach Collaboration, Ashley R. Lierman

Collaborative Librarianship

Past research has indicated that social connection with their community is an important factor in the retention of graduate students. To help address this need, a Rowan University librarian led an interdepartmental team of collaborators from across campus in developing a series of outreach events specifically for graduate students, which evolved over time to include more and richer programming and opportunities for socialization. This article describes the evidence basis for these events’ inception, the essential components of each iteration of the event and its programming, and the results of holding these events, including both their successes and their failures. Recommendations …

First-Year Engagement And Intention To Return In Higher Education: A National Study Of Undecided Major Students, Jacqueline Galler

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research suggests that a student’s persistence in higher education is influenced by their academic preparation, commitments, and involvement, (Tinto 2005). Predictors including student demographics, academic preparation and commitments have shown in previously studies to affect the rate at which students persist in higher education, (Pascarella & Terenzini 2005, Astin & Oseguera 2005, Terenzini & Reason 2005). Involvement at an institution contributes to a students’ engagement and intent to persist in higher education or at a specific institution. Researchers have found that students engage in the university, academically and socially, based on how their values align with the institution, feedback they …

Student-Athlete Retention: An Analysis Of Student-Athlete Retention At A Small, Private, Highly Residential Ncaa Division Ii Institution In The Southeast, Malcolm Kendrick Reed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retaining students in higher education is ever-changing, requiring continual evaluation and institutional commitment to ensure measures are implemented to meet the varying demands of today’s college students. Student-athletes make up a large percentage of the overall student population on many college campuses, thus, warranting further research to understand trends and factors that impact the retention of this key group of students. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contributed to the retention of student-athletes at a small, private, highly residential NCAA Division II institution in the Southeast.

The study focused on the experiences of student-athletes at …

Using Grounded Theory To Understand How Commuter Students Develop A Sense Of Belonging, Amy M. Barnhart

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This study is concerned with the fact that commuter students persist at a lower rate than their residential peers. As colleges and universities seek to increase educational attainment rates, understanding why commuter students struggle with retention is important. Research shows sense of belonging can positively affect intention to persist. As such, the guiding research question for this study was as follows: How do commuter students develop a sense of belonging in their university? This research was conducted at a large, public, primarily nonresidential, doctoral university in the Midwestern United States. This study utilized constructivist grounded theory methodology to understand how …

Magnetic Hallway Huddles: Attract And Retain High-Quality Professionals, David Wolff, Carissa Gober, Donna Zerr

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

This presentation was conducted for a national conference about mentoring. The authors discussed Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure and Schlossberg’s Model for Analyzing Human Adaptation to Transition as theoretical frameworks to explain the transition and retention of university professors. The focus on the study was the three authors who transitioned to the same university during the 2022-2023 academic year. Authors discussed their experiences of the transition and found themes related to the mentoring process that that acclimated them to the institution and influenced their retention.