While the demand for open and distance education is increasing, it also faces high dropout rates. The reasons and solutions for student dropouts need considerable attention. This study aims to uncover the reasons for student dropouts considering the perspective of students, field experts, instructors, administrators, and support staff. Data from…

Against the background of vast changes in doctoral education and the emergence of non-traditional doctoral programmes, this paper investigates the habitus of non-traditional PhD students at a South African university. Bourdieu's conceptual tool of habitus informed the study. In-depth and open-ended interviews were conducted with 10 non-traditional…

As most research into attrition and retention has focused on attrition during the first year of studies, we know little about the relationship between students' experience of subsequent years and their decisions to withdraw from university. This paper addresses this gap in research by examining the relationship between students' intention to…

This case study used a revision of Tinto's theory of student departure and self-efficacy as frameworks, to explore the experiences of seven students of color who transferred to a small, private, and predominately White residential institution in the rural Midwest. All of the participants in this study faced challenges socially integrating…

A model of attrition based on theory of approach/avoidance behavior was developed and tested with 262 university students, mostly in their first and second years. The study demonstrated that certain approach/avoidance behaviors affected certain types of academic and social integration more than others, and that integration may be more complex than…

Research has suggested that transfer students experience difficulty in many domains however limited research has examined the variables associated with transfer student success. The present study examined transfer student success using a sample of 163 first-year transfer students at a large mid-Atlantic university. The mean age of the participants…