This study aimed to assess the impact of increased student interactions with academic advisors on several student success metrics. Conducted at a large, multicampus, community college with more than 34,000 students, it categorized students into three groups based on the frequency of completed advising appointments. Using fall 2022 to spring 2023…

Nursing students' success and satisfaction with the major require early, proactive practices. This study examined two such practices utilized with prenursing students: freshman seminar and Appreciative Advising (AA). This study explored whether AA integrated into freshman seminar would impact prenursing students' academic major satisfaction. An…

Studies of academic recovery courses (ARCs) focus almost exclusively on academic outcomes, such as postcourse grade point average (GPA) and academic standing. This study explores the role of noncognitive factors--specifically attribution perspective, shame resilience, and academic identity--for students engaged in ARCs. Pre- and postcourse data…

In 2016, State University (a pseudonym) implemented a proactive advising approach known as Monitoring Advising Analytics to Promote Success (MAAPS). The initiative was designed to improve academic achievement and retention measures for first-generation students and students from limited-income backgrounds. Using a qualitative methodological…

Stakeholders at institutions across the United States are continuously looking for ways to improve the academic success and retention of students. We used logistical regression in an examination of noncognitive, cognitive, and demographic factors as predictors of academic success and retention of Division I first-year student-athletes. The results…

Many academic support programs promote the academic success of first-year students, and research has shown the importance of effective academic advising to first-year student retention. Among the numerous approaches to academic advising, the strategy used by advisors at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) remains relatively…

Course withdrawals have significant cost and curricular implications for both students and institutions. Yet within the retention literature, little is known about the context or impact of course withdrawals. This study examines course withdrawals of first year students from a sample of nine universities. Data reveal that demographic and…

We examined first-semester adjustment among students in and out of an honors college because honors college participants receive relatively little attention in the advising literature. As expected, honors college students earned relatively high grades and were associated with high retention rates. Two noncognitive factors predicted these…

We explored the benefits of strengths-based academic advising approaches for first-year students (N = 1,228). We used propensity score matching techniques to create matched pairs of students who did and did not engage in strengths-based advising conversations with an advisor. First-year students who experienced strengths-based conversations had…

Increasing numbers of underprepared students are admitted to colleges and universities with aspirations of earning a degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline. Transitioning to college is difficult for all students, but can be especially challenging for the underprepared STEM student. Many of these students are…

For this quantitative study, we used a multiple logistic regression technique to investigate the relationship between the number of meetings with an academic advisor and retention of first-generation students, as represented by enrollment status and academic standing at a large, public research institution in the Southeast. Consistent with…

Many colleges and universities require prerequisites prior to enrollment in introductory composition courses; however, enforcement of prerequisites is not consistent across institutions. In this study, we examine the impact of an automated, mandatory prerequisite enforcement system on students and advisors at a public comprehensive university.…

Previous research on advising outreach, including intrusive or proactive advising, suggests required advising improves contact frequency, student retention, and academic achievement, especially for students on probation. We show results of a 4-year randomized trial of 501 students at an urban state university. One half the cohort received advising…

Higher education institutions struggle in determining the best ways to provide effective academic advising for students in online degree programs. In addition, the dropout rate among online students reaches to 50%. Research on student retention reveals that lack of interaction is a key factor in a student's decision to drop out. I used a…

Early college high schools (ECHSs) are partnerships between high schools and colleges or universities designed to enhance college readiness and completion, particularly among students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. We compared the self-reported motivational profiles of ECHS students to traditional first-year university…