Unlike many earlier models of student persistence that viewed the process of student persistence through the lens of the institution, the model proposed here looks at persistence through the eyes of students. It draws on the research on student motivation, student perceptions, and the impact of student networks on student engagement to propose a…

Nationally, retaining students in adult basic education (ABE) is an ongoing challenge for numerous programs. The problem is the low retention rates among adult basic education learners in a non-profit ABE program in a large metropolitan city in Georgia. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how persistence affects student…

As the university student body becomes more diversified and students' lives less linear, student retention carries increased importance for universities, including the conversion of deferrers and the re-enrolment of leave-taking students. This paper is based on a broader research project which explored national patterns of deferral and leave of…

Vertical transfers, those who transferred from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution, often face multifaceted challenges and lower success rates upon arriving at the receiving 4-year institutions. This quantitative study focused on three forms of social capital related to post-transfer adjustment, retention, and success for vertical…

Self-efficacy has been linked to academic performance, motivation, and progression within engineering degree programs. Such associations are context specific, and an understanding of sources of self-efficacy is paramount to guiding policy and practice enhancements. We sought to understand the self-efficacy beliefs held by 1st year engineering…

Metacognition involves the monitoring, regulation, and evaluation of one's own cognitive processes and is known to enhance educational outcomes and retention in students (Bruin & Van Gog, 2012). This study assessed metacognitive practices among college students at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, by administering existing…

It is potentially beneficial for all college students to have perspectives on identity and future connections to develop and maintain academic motivation. However, researchers have yet to examine probationary students' identity-based motivation (IBM) and perceived instrumentality (PI), and how those motivational constructs relate to their academic…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and reshaped undergraduate students' social, learning, and workplace environments. Using an ecological systems framework, we draw on survey data from a sequential, mixed-methods study of undergraduate students at an urban, Minority-Serving Institution (n = 1,272) to examine the association between health, economic,…

Enrolment numbers in online higher education courses have continued to increase over the last decade. The challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have further accelerated the growth in online and blended course offerings. The development of institutional support services, however, does not reflect this growth. Many students are not…

Many initiatives attempt to smooth transitions between 2-year colleges and 4-year universities, but retention and graduation rates for transfer-students are still low, especially in STEM. The Transfer-student Research and Integration Program (TRIP) at the University of Central Florida was developed to meet the needs of a diverse transfer…

This study highlights opportunities for developing programs and initiatives to assist Black men in understanding leadership and seeing themselves as leaders, and for decreasing low college retention and persistence rates. The themes from this qualitative narrative inquiry highlight leader identity, capacity, and efficacy for undergraduate Black…

In this study, the attitudes of adult learners towards distance education were examined and the study motivation and satisfaction level of adult learners, which are two important factors affecting participation, continuation and even dropout, were examined. This study was conducted in a relational research design in quantitative research model and…

Retention of first-generation college students (FGCS) following their first year is key for continued financial success of the students and institutions of higher education. To determine how FGCS develop a sense of belonging at institutions of higher education in order to re-enroll in their second year of college was investigated. Ten individual…

College completion rate is a major challenge afflicting colleges and universities as well as students in the United States, particularly Hispanic students (Field, 2018). This qualitative case study investigated how Dominican students perceived their first year of college and how that perception impacted their retention in a community college in…

Our co-authored research 'Steminism: Analyzing Factors That Improve Retention for Women as STEM Majors' analyzed factors that contributed to the retention of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at Missouri University of Science & Technology (Missouri S&T). Women make up half of the US population, and…