Psychological capital (PsyCap) is uniquely positioned at the intersection between student and academic institution. College administrators should look to psychological capital, beyond just student performance, for retention efforts in the financial management of the institution. The psychological capital and retention of four cohorts of freshmen…

Social integration (i.e., feeling a sense of belonging, involvement, support, or connectedness) is an important factor in university student retention, especially among students of color from underrepresented groups. Despite theoretical models and correlational evidence pointing to the relevance of these social experiences, few studies have…

The prevailing theories of student persistence have been developed in Predominantly White Institutional (PWI) contexts. The extent to which these theories--in whole or in part--apply to Minority Serving Institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has not been studied in depth. This study tests a PWI-based theory of…

Ample literature on the retention of undergraduate students is available. However, information on the retention of postgraduate students in doctoral research is not abundant, especially when the population comprises working adult students studying on a part-time basis. This article aims to explore factors that influence retention in this group of…

Online student retention remains a problem for many colleges and universities. Retention models developed for residential students also explain the contribution to retention resulting from connecting online students with other students and the daily life of the university. Social media has been proposed as a way to engage online students to create…

Several variables have been examined in relation to student engagement at universities in the past decades. However, the number of studies conducted especially with larger groups of participants to examine certain variables such as gender, accommodation, transportation to campus, and reasons for university choice is limited. In addition, there is…

Black American males and low socioeconomic status students face a gauntlet of obstacles when pursuing their college degrees. These young men do not earn degrees at the same rate as their peers. As campus engagement, recreation, and leisure play pivotal roles in students' experiences, investigating their influence relative to social integration…

There is a wealth of literature on the integration of university students increasing retention and ultimate completion, yet much less is known about the connections or disconnections that exist for community college students. Therefore, I interviewed financially eligible Pell Grant community college students (n = 62) about their connections to…

The purpose of this article is to trace the development of the Tinto framework for student integration and to critically analyze the application of the framework with nontraditional student populations. Specifically, the terms "academic" and "social integration" have become synonymous with student retention and, by extension,…

Theoretically grounded in Tinto's model of retention and Braxton and colleagues' revisions , this study is designed to examine the applicability of the integration model to students of different racial backgrounds. Results from a sample of full-time undergraduate students at a research-extensive university suggest that (a) academic and social…

The study utilized data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) to examine factors that affect 4-year college students' likelihoods of completing a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) bachelor's degree within 6 years of entering college. Results highlight the lasting influence of high school…

Measurement shortcomings have hampered the understanding of institutional commitment (IC) in college students. Therefore, this study sought to (a) develop validated indices of IC and associated psychosocial attributes and (b) use these indices to test a nomological network of variables and their direct and indirect relationships to IC. Exploratory…

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…

Grateful people experience more psychological well-being, social connectedness, and feelings of personal accomplishment, along with less burnout. They also use more adaptive approach-oriented coping strategies. Thus, we hypothesized that trait gratitude and grateful coping strategies would be associated with various indicators/predictors of…

This study investigated qualitatively how undergraduate students experienced the Great Recession at a flagship university in the South Eastern of United States and how this experience relates to their retention. Results indicate that the Great Recession has significantly impacted students' engagement and commitments. We argue that student…