Retention, persistence, and academic achievement for first-generation students have become increasingly prevalent with increasing access to higher education. Beyond access, the most discernible challenge relates to their identity as a first-generation college student and the lack of mentorship from their parents in navigating the college…

This study explores and characterizes learners' participation patterns in MOOC forums, as well as the factors that correlate with learners' participation. Educational data mining and learning analytics methods were used to retrieve and analyze the learners' interpersonal interaction data, which had accumulated in the Coursera log files. The…

Community colleges are under pressure to educate a growing student population while economic resources in higher education are diminishing. One measure of success for colleges is the ability to retain students. Due to the varied nature of the community college population, measuring student retention is challenging. One facet of student retention…

Interest in the effect of positive and negative emotions in foreign language acquisition has soared recently because of the positive psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen & Mercer, 2016). No work so far has been carried out on the differential effect of positive and negative emotions on foreign language…

The purpose of this paper is to identify and explain the best practice of using "big data" reports to help distance learning administrators better understand their own programs and represent them to stakeholders. The authors examine five reports: (1) the number and percentage of graduates from the main campus who also take classes at the…

This study investigates the effects of music ensemble participation during the freshman fall semester on the ongoing retention of college students. Retention of college students is a concern across the nation. The research question for the study was, "Is there a correlation between participation in music ensembles during college students'…

In an age of assessment and accountability, academic libraries feel much pressure to prove their value according to new university measurements of student success. This study describes a methodology for how libraries may examine student interactions with services to assess whether library usage impacts student grade point averages (GPAs) and…

Students identified as at-risk of non-academic continuation have a propensity toward lower academic self-efficacy than their peers (Lent, 2005). Within engineering, self-efficacy and confidence are major markers of university continuation and success (Lourens, 2014 Raelin, et al., 2014). This study explored academic learning self-efficacy specific…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) is the process of evaluating learning, regardless of when or where the learning occurred, and, if the learning is at the college level, awarding college credit to the possessor of that learning. This article provides an overview of the PLA program at a large public U.S. institution and presents the findings of the…

As providers of higher education begin to harness the power of big data analytics, one very fitting application for these new techniques is that of predicting student attrition. The ability to pinpoint students who might soon decide to drop out, or who may be following a suboptimal path to success, allows those in charge not only to understand the…

We explored a theoretical model of relations between students' perceptions of emotional support, numeracy, and assessment for learning and their perceptions of relevance of schoolwork, motivation, persistence, and mastery experiences. We also investigated possible differences between students in lower- and upper secondary school. Participants were…

This study took an in depth look at student-teacher relationships as one institutional barrier affecting GED completion among adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of student-instructor relationships, specifically Instructor Connectedness and Instructor Anxiety, and its effects on adults seeking GED completion. Data from…

Students' perceptions during their first semester at university may be critical in the decision to continue or discontinue studies. In this study we consider students' perceptions of what factors enable successful transition to university. Using qualitative research, students' perceptions are obtained by in-depth interviews and focus groups that…

Adult students are enrolling in postsecondary educational programs in record numbers, but many are not completing their programs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the perceptions of adult students enrolled in a nontraditional undergraduate evening program at a selected liberal arts college to gain insights into the factors…

Developed as a concept in the science of choice, subtle interactions--or "nudges"--can influence people's actions without infringing on their freedom of choice. This article makes the case that not only can the wealth of digital data in higher education nudge students to better achievement and persistence but also that the knowledge embedded in…