This study explored the association of four independent variables (i.e., sex, class standing, GPA, and living status) with the academic integration, social integration, and institutional commitment (the dependent variables) of international students attending seven public regional universities in West Virginia. A researcher-developed, Likert-type…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the involvement and integration factors that contribute to the persistence of international students. Persistence and retention are central to improving higher education, and individual student persistence as well as the rates at which students persist have direct ramifications on the university…

Student persistence, which is student's progress towards graduation through achieving or meeting educational goals, is widely studied. The focus of a majority of the studies on student persistence is on students at the K-12 and undergraduate levels. Furthermore, while persistence of graduate student population was studied, such studies focused on…

In this current climate of financial uncertainty and multiple options, student retention is crucial to the well-being of an academic institution. This study explored the role of student integration in the college community of traditional undergraduate institutions by finding a connection between student affairs programs, student social…

Student persistence is a popular topic with numerous published literature. However, few research studies in the field of higher education administration have focused on the comparison between freshmen and undergraduate transfer students about their persistence. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the persistence factors between…

The purpose of this study was to explore factors that predict the persistence of international, non-immigrant students in higher education. A sample of international students from a four-year private university in Georgia served as the focused population for this study. Persistence research asserts that six factors predict persistence: academic…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence international students' sense of belonging. An in-depth review of existing research on sense of belonging helped me identify 18 factors closely connected to the sense of belonging of international students. I categorized these factors into four groups: (a) academic integration,…

Minority and dominant cultures present a power dynamic that could promote or impede academic achievement for Black immigrant students. Drawing upon bicultural socialization as a conceptual framework, this study explores the predictability of various factors on academic outcomes among foreign-born compared to US-born Black immigrant students. Using…

With the increase in International students coming to the U.S. to study, it is important to look at their experiences and find out more effective ways of improving their perceptions and learning experiences in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to investigate and discover the factors that affect GPA (i.e., academic performance) and persistence…

Among current retention models, Tinto's Interactionalist Model has reached near paradigmatic status. When his model has been applied to two-year college settings, the social integration results have been inconsistent. This has led Maxwell (2000) and Deil-Amen (2011) to suggest that a different construct of social integration exists in…

The persistence of college students, particularly through credential attainment, is of importance to many stakeholders in higher education, including policymakers, taxpayers, parents and students. This dissertation study used longitudinal data nationally representative of higher education institutions and students, the National Center for…

More than half of students in community colleges need remedial education. Colleges spend over a $1 billion each year to provide instruction to students who are academically behind or struggling to demonstrate necessary academic skills, yet only a quarter of students are completing these developmental courses. The reasons why so many students do…

The purpose of this study was to determine the antecedent conditions that contribute to post-secondary education (PSE) completion for students with disabilities, taking into account institutional experiences associated with social integration. A prospective longitudinal design was used to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Transition…

This dissertation investigated community college students' perceptions about educational counseling, its value, and its relationship with academic and social integration into the college environment. In an attempt to explore students' perceptions, a quantitative study was conducted at four California community colleges. The survey was distributed…

Postsecondary education marks a transitional time in the lives of young adults. During this time, traditional-aged college students confront a substantial number of developmental challenges that are extraordinarily diverse and complex (Evans, Forney, & Guido-DiBrito, 1998). Erikson's (1968) theory of psychosocial development posited that the major…