Dad? The high school biology teacher? A childhood friend? Understanding who students believe influences their degree persistence will improve student retention and degree attainment. This study examined relationships between student perceptions of close social groups' (i.e., family, friends, and educators; FFEs) influence, motivational factors,…

Previous research on passion and burnout has shown that teachers, including college faculty, who show high levels of harmonious passion toward their work experience lower burnout than teachers who have high levels of obsessive passion. In the present study, we extended this line of research to college students. We found that students who were…

Sadly, data collected from universities across the nation continue to suggest that fully half of the "emerging adults" (Arnett, 2015) who make their way to college will not graduate. This vexing statistic is particularly troublesome because it reflects a tremendous cost--in dollars, in time, and in self-esteem. In this study, we report…

The relationship between domain-specific nonintellective variables and academic achievement among nontraditional students was explored to address uninvestigated factors and clarify distinctions between nontraditional and traditional student achievement. College students (nontraditional n = 72, traditional n = 67) completed an online survey…

Institutions play an important role in motivating students by understanding intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate students to remain in college. Postsecondary institutions should provide a range of programs to help these students face their challenges and weaknesses. Colleges and universities should escalate the process of creating bridge…

At public Ph.D. granting institutions in the United States, approximately 22% of first-year college students do not return for their sophomore year (ACT, 2011). It was hypothesized that higher levels of sense of belonging would be related to self-reported intention to persist as well as actual second-year retention. It was expected that higher…

Institutions play an important role in motivating students by understanding intrinsic and extrinsic factors that motivate students to remain in college. Postsecondary institutions should provide a range of programs to help these students face their challenges and weaknesses. Colleges and universities should escalate the process of creating bridge…

College retention and graduation rates are significantly lower for African American and Hispanic American students. Limited research has been conducted on the relationship between academic motivation and perceived social support. The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of social support as a predictor of academic motivation and…

Although there is a substantial literature on factors that encourage college students' success, Light's 2001 Harvard study, "Making the Most of College," represents the largest qualitative study in a highly quantitative gathering. There is little qualitative research on college-student success, especially that of transfer students. To discover how…