Theoretical models designed to predict whether students will persist or not have been valuable tools for retention efforts relative to the creation of services in academic and student affairs. Some of the early models attempted to explain and measure factors in the "college dropout process." For example, in his seminal work, Tinto…

This quantitative study evaluated and investigated the theoretical underpinnings of the Kember's (1995) student progress model that examines the direct or indirect effects of student persistence in online education by identifying the relationships between variables. The primary method of data collection in this study was a survey by exploring the…

Recently, it has been suggested that constructs from different disciplines should be incorporated into Tinto's (1993) sociological model of the determinants of departure from college (Ackerman & Schibrowsky, 2007). We tested the hypothesis that variables derived from Rusbult's (1983) social-psychological investment theory contribute, above and…

This study explored the predictors of success among 1,536 students of color from 12 Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) member institutions. Student success was measured by examining students' intent to graduate along with the degree to which they were thriving intellectually, socially, and psychologically. The study utilized…

Utilizing data from the multi-institutional "Student Experience in the Research University" survey, we examined self-identified working-class students' experiences in higher education. The results suggest that working-class students experience a lower sense of belonging, perceive a less welcoming campus climate, and pursue fewer social…

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…

The researcher investigated three types of factors, academic, commitment, and social on college sophomore's decisions to persist at predominately White institutions. The academic factors (academic integration, academic rigor), commitment (goal commitment and institutional commitment) and social factors (social integration and racial climate) were…

Faculty are the academic heart of colleges and universities. They guide learning and facilitate student academic and social integration in the campus community. As described by Tinto, student integration is an important component to success in college. Out-of-class and in-class faculty-student interaction supports student integration and may lead…

Service-learning continues to gain in popularity across the higher education landscape and can be found in most educational institutions. Although more often found in student affairs programming, it is also viewed as a viable pedagogy. Most studies show that service-learning impacts students in various ways: academically, socially and…

This article examines the relationship between online social networking (OSN) and perceptions of academic and social integration for first-year residential students at a rural regional comprehensive university. Students spent an average of 2.5 hours on OSN websites per day, primarily interacting with campus peers, friends and family. There was…

Many studies have examined the reasons for students' satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their higher educational experience. However, no single paper reviews the major attributes of an educational program that are most commonly found to be significant predictors of student satisfaction. This paper reviews the major attributes that most influence…

The academic and social integration of first-generation college students into institutions of higher education continues to be a topic of concern for university administrators, faculty, and staff. Students enter college with different background traits and experiences as well as have different college experiences that can either permit or prohibit…

Associations among background, commitment levels, institutional involvement, and student persistence were studied for 260 out of 323 early college dropouts. The model of attrition developed by V. Tinto (1975) was applied. Student persistence was found to vary by motivational type and student's psychosocial orientation to college. (SLD)

This study tested the convergent and discriminant validity between two theories of college persistence: the Student Attrition Model and the Student Integration Model. The study examined conceptual similarities for each theory to explain departure decisions and examined how both theoretical frameworks enhanced the understanding of the processes…

A study used Alexander Astin's (1993) Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) model to examine persistence at the United States Coast Guard Academy (Connecticut). Because the study was conducted in a controlled social environment, measures of social environmental influence were derived from multiple inputs, including adaptability polls wherein every…