As higher education continues to see a changing student population, there is clear evidence that food insecurity is a real concern on college campuses. The need to increase food availability and access on campuses is critical to the retention and educational experiences of students. Eight students participated in interviews about their experience…

Online education and in particular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are often regarded as a way to solve global educational challenges. In this article, we highlight the students' uptake of such a 'digital solution'. Presenting initial findings from a research project in Germany, we situate our investigation in the specific context of digital…

The purpose of this study was to discover some of the difficulties that first-year students have when they begin university. It was important to get the students to articulate those difficulties, in their own words, so that a better understanding could be attained. As expected, most of the difficulties centred on the institution itself. Students…

This work forms part of a larger project that proposes the reformulation of content structures and pedagogic practices at the School of Humanities of the University of Mar del Plata. The project has a twofold objective: To improve the retention rate of 1st year students by implementing actions related to the disciplinary and institutional areas…

This paper examines the appropriateness of models developed to understand why students do or do not complete their courses in higher education. It is suggested that emphasising integration above regulation has taken attention away from a possible anomic interpretation. A more contextualised, nuanced and psychosocial approach to understanding…

Throughput and retention are important issues in higher education in South Africa mainly due to the stronger emphasis on accountability from funding agencies like the Department of Education. This study, which is set in a distance education institution, was aimed at understanding why students cancel courses early on in the academic year. A…

Adults are a significant, growing part of today's postsecondary education demographic that may face special challenges that classify them as at-risk. Specifically, adult "at-risk" students may be recent immigrants to the United States, residents of a home where English is not the native language, members of a minority group, employees working…

This qualitative research project focused on the interviews of 27 low socio-economic students at a research university in the southwestern United States. The students had already withdrawn from the university or were in the process of withdrawing. The study seeks to provide increased understanding of how students negotiate the decision-making…

The indicators and predictors of dropout as documented in the literature are vast and encompass influences such as family, motivation, socio-economic status, and academic achievement, and could be accepted as universal reasons students choose to leave school and not return. This qualitative study investigated the reasons why students in one West…

The influence of student problems, which are often cited by students as reasons for withdrawal, is compared with the influence of constructs derived from Tinto's student attrition model. The findings suggest that data from post-hoc attrition studies should be used cautiously. (Author/MLW)

Five groups of undergraduate students (dropouts, low stopouts, low persisters, high stopouts, and high persisters) were compared in terms of their use of various campus facilities and their responses to a checklist of personal problems. The use of campus facilities is correlated with continuance in school. (Author/MLW)

Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…

This project was conducted to determine factors that contribute to the academic success or lack thereof of educationally disadvantaged vocational students and to develop a plan that will enhance success of persistent nonachieving students in the future. Educationally disadvantaged students at Mountain View Community College (Texas) were divided…

Withdrawing, continuing, and nonreturning undergraduates at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) were compared. Nonreturning students were nongraduating students who completed course requirements but did not return the following semester (25 spring nonreturning students and 47 fall nonreturning students). Data were also collected…

A questionnaire was developed and tested in 1980-81 to determine any differences between University of Saskatchewan students who were required to discontinue their studies and students who successfully completed their first year. A list of factors considered to contribute to student failure was developed, and the format involved a personalized…