The low number of baccalaureates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is often viewed as problematic for the US's economic competitiveness, leading scholars to search for explanations for STEM retention. Our analyses of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study indicate that the notion of a so-called…

High student attrition rates at university have become one of the most challenging issues in higher education worldwide in the last five decades. Moroccan universities are no exception. At-risk students drop out of studies for a plethora of reasons, and the attrition rate is increasing despite the efforts made in education reforms carried out…

University educators have observed the concurrent problems of student attrition, higher than normal or desired failure rates and students struggling to complete assessable and non-assessable work, for instance, set readings. Recent public commentary has pointed to the widening participation agenda with its lowering of university entrance scores…

Student retention rate has been a major concern for tertiary institutions around the world since the establishment of formal education. Generally speaking, not every student completes his or her study program. Although students fail to graduate for different reasons, some of them choose to voluntarily withdraw from their study programs. This might…

In September 2016, following the release of 2015 student data by the Department of Education and Training (the department), media reports suggested that high attrition rates are symptomatic of poor admission standards; the lower a student's Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) the greater the risk of non-completion; and as a result of the…

This review of the literature summarizes recent exploration of nursing student attrition. Attrition places financial burdens on students who leave a program, results in lost revenue for the college, and compounds the existing nursing shortage. Some research investigated the student selection process, which seeks to decrease attrition by admitting…

Despite increasing enrollment percentages from earlier years, online courses continue to show receding student retention rates. To reduce attrition and ensure continual growth in online courses, it is important to continue to review current and updated literature to understand the changing behaviors of online learners and faculty in the 21st…

This paper presents a critical analysis of student discourse on attrition as it unfolds in interviews on early departure from higher education. A synthesis of relevant studies and modelling done in the field shows that essential aspects affecting attrition and retention can be effectively conceptualized and acted upon in terms of the interplay…

Educational data mining (EDM) is an emerging discipline that focuses on applying data mining tools and techniques to educationally related data. The discipline focuses on analyzing educational data to develop models for improving learning experiences and improving institutional effectiveness. A literature review on educational data mining topics…

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion on increasing retention rates in higher degree students. It presents evidence from the literature on the value of increasing counselling and mentoring care for higher degree research students. The creation of, and rationale for, a designated higher degree student counsellor-mentor role is described.…

Considerations of educational resilience are often linked to student participation, retention, and outcomes in distance higher education, in spite of adversity, equity issues, or "invisible fences" that students may face. This paper further develops the quadripartite model of educational resilience (Willems, 2010; Willems & Reupert,…

We examine the extent to which readily available data at a large public university can be used to a priori identify at-risk students who may benefit from targeted retention efforts. Although it is possible to identify such students, there remains an inevitable tradeoff in any resource allocation between not treating the students who are likely to…

Finland has performed, as one of the first Bologna countries, a national evaluation of the outcomes of the implementation of the Bologna process. The evaluation was organized by the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council and performed by an independent expert group during 2010. In general, the reform was conceived as a significant development…

In this article, we distinguish between 2 types of students who intend to transfer and graduate from another institution. During the fall of 2006, 507 first-semester students attending a state university completed a survey. Seventy-six percent of the students indicated that they planned on graduating from the University (intent-to-persist), 16%…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a network of charter schools designed to improve the educational opportunities available to low-income families. KIPP schools seek to boost their students' academic achievement and, ultimately, prepare them to enroll and succeed in college. This paper provides the most thorough analysis to date of the…