Concerns continue to be raised in South African higher education circles that students are not performing academically as they can and should, resulting in low through-put and poor retention rates (Hersh & Merrow, 2005; Pandor, 2007; DoE, 2008; EDUCATOR’S VOICE; MacGregor, 2009) . This mixed methods case study, using the General Model of Instructional Communication (McCroskey, Valencic, & Richmond, 2004), is an investigation of the lecturers’ and their students’ perceptions of lecturers’ instructional communication (IC), with specific focus on lecturer immediacy, clarity and credibility. These perceptions were further analysed to establish the extent to which they reflect lecturers’ instructional competence. Triangulation of data sets was conducted after seven lecturers had been interviewed and observed (eCOVE software and video) and questionnaires were administered to 252 first year students, enrolled for a communications course. Data were stored and analysed through the Dictate Express software, WEFT QDAS (text) and the Statistical Programme for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (numeric). The use of multiple data sources and analytic methods helped to improve the reliability and validity of the study. Analysis of the perceptions revealed that although the lecturers were perceived to be verbally and nonverbally immediate, they were also perceived to be unclear in their presentation, although credible in the eyes of their students. These negative behaviours have the potential to affect students’ learning adversely, and so potentially reduce students’ academic success. The lecturers were also found to be inconsistently competent, pedagogically and professionally. Recommendations at practical and policy levels, aimed at ameliorating lecturers’ communication and instructional skills during instruction, have been made while further research could review existing instruments, interventions and assess student performance. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

Eligibility requirements, the pressure to remain eligible at all costs, and demanding time schedules are high stakes issues that affect the National Colligate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes. A gap in research existed on whether college student-athletes’ demographics and engagement predicts their academic success. The purpose of this quantitative research was to determine the extent to which engagement and demographic factors predict student-athletes’ academic success, as measured by a self-reported grade of B or higher in NCAA first-year student-athletes. This study was influenced by Astin’s student involvement theory and Kuh’s concept of engagement. The research question guiding this study addressed the extent to which academic and cocurricular engagement, race, sport played, and gender predict NCAA student-athletes’ academic success. Quantitative data were collected from the 2018 National Survey of Student Engagement. The sample analyzed included 1,985 student-athletes. Logistic regression analysis was used to find that males, wrestlers, football players, and Black or African American student-athletes were less likely to achieve academic success, whereas females, tennis players, and both White and Asian student-athletes were more likely to achieve academic success than their peers. Findings were significant at the .05 level, but the variance explained by the models was less than 10%, which implies limited practical significance. Time spent on cocurricular activities and time spent preparing for class did not predict academic success. The findings of this study may be used by the NCAA and higher education institutions to help understand student-athletes’ behaviors and the implications for supporting academic success.

No description available.

Eligibility requirements, the pressure to remain eligible at all costs, and demanding time schedules are high stakes issues that affect the National Colligate Athletic Association (NCAA) student-athletes. A gap in research existed on whether college student-athletes' demographics and engagement predicts their academic success. The purpose of this quantitative research was to determine the extent to which engagement and demographic factors predict student-athletes' academic success, as measured by a self-reported grade of B or higher in NCAA first-year student-athletes. This study was influenced by Astin's student involvement theory and Kuh's concept of engagement. The research question guiding this study addressed the extent to which academic and cocurricular engagement, race, sport played, and gender predict NCAA student-athletes' academic success. Quantitative data were collected from the 2018 National Survey of Student Engagement. The sample analyzed included 1,985 student-athletes. Logistic regression analysis was used to find that males, wrestlers, football players, and Black or African American student-athletes were less likely to achieve academic success, whereas females, tennis players, and both White and Asian student-athletes were more likely to achieve academic success than their peers. Findings were significant at the .05 level, but the variance explained by the models was less than 10%, which implies limited practical significance. Time spent on cocurricular activities and time spent preparing for class did not predict academic success. The findings of this study may be used by the NCAA and higher education institutions to help understand student-athletes' behaviors and the implications for supporting academic success.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship of pre-entrance factors and the success of students in an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree nursing program at a community college in East Tennessee. The criterion variable was success in the nursing program. Success was defined as academic success in all nursing courses and completion of the nursing program to graduation. The predictor variables of pre-entrance factors were gender, age, Health Education Systems, Incorporated (HESI) A2 scores, Pell Grant eligibility, pre-nursing GPA, and prior licensure. The data for this non-experimental secondary analysis were derived from the electronic database in the community college Banner system. The population of the study consisted of all students accepted into the A.A.S. Nursing Program at a selected community college for academic years beginning 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2015-16. The population of the study was approximately 300 students. Analyses of the data were completed using independent samples t-test and chi-square cross tabs. Findings revealed that the mean HESI A2 scores were higher in those students that successfully completed the Nursing program than those that did not complete the program. Findings revealed a statistical significance between gender and program completion with females more likely to successfully complete the nursing program than male students. The factors that had no significant relationship to successful completion were age, high school GPA, Pre-nursing GPA and holding prior licensure. Findings also revealed students who are Pell eligible were not significantly more likely to complete the nursing program than those students who were not Pell eligible.

This study was designed to explore, identify, and examine how African-American males were able to persist in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. The findings were used to gain insight to how some African-American males persevere in engineering disciplines and others do not. In addition, the study was designed to better understand the institutional barriers that were perceived as having to overcome in order to persist as an engineering student and to pinpoint the factors that most influenced their decision to pursue engineering. It was also intended that this study would provide the groundwork for the development of a conceptual model that would have implications for recruiting, retaining, and graduating African-American males. Such a conceptual model would complement existing literature related to academic success and achievement in higher education. The primary sources of collecting data were focus groups, individual interviews, and biographical questionnaires. These research methods allowed African-American males to share their stories and experiences in their own words. A total of 42 African-American males participated in the study. The participants were divided into five sample-groups: (1) Ultimate-Persistent Group, African-American males who were former engineering students but who had already graduated with an engineering degree from Virginia Tech; (2) Exemplary-Persistent Group, African-American male engineering students who were categorized as juniors and/or seniors with a 2.5 QCA or higher; (3) Satisfactory-Persistent Group, African-American male engineering students who were categorized as juniors and/or seniors with a 2.0 - 2.5 QCA; (4) Unsatisfactory-Persistent Group, African-American male engineering students who were categorized as juniors and/or seniors with less than a 2.0 QCA; (5) Non-Persistent Group, African-American males (former engineering students) who left engineering but were classified as juniors and/or seniors based on the number of years enrolled in the university. Data were analyzed using the grounded theory method. The findings of the study clearly indicated that a number of factors influenced these African-American males' interest and skill development in math, science, and engineering. Such salient factors were family members, teachers, role models, science and math programs, and participants' genuine interests in such subject areas. In many ways, the factors that were identified as influencing these African-American males' decision to pursue engineering were also identified as being instrumental in helping them persist in engineering. More specifically, these factors were the following: commitment to engineering, familial support, integration in the social and academic environment, connection or link with academic resources, clear goals with a realistic plan of action, regular interaction with African-American and non-African-American peers, both politically and academically sound, and a sense of racial identity. When these factors were low and/or absent, the researcher discovered that these African-American males had more difficulty persisting and were more likely to transfer out of the College of Engineering. This was especially the case for the Unsatisfactory Persistent Group and Non-Persistent Group. Similar to Delores Scott's (1995) findings, those African-American males who did persist and/or graduate stated that they were determined to succeed in engineering so they could prove to those individuals, who doubted they could be successful in the College of Engineering, that they would get their engineering degrees. This underpinning of determination served as motivation for many of the sample groups, such as the Ultimate-Persistent Group, Exemplary-Persistent Group, and Satisfactory-Persistent Group. / Ph. D.

Earning a college degree yields many benefits. In addition to an increased income, college degree earners generally have greater job satisfaction, make healthier life choices, are better communicators, and have greater social mobility. Even with all of these benefits, however, some colleges are seeing graduation rates as low as 32%. One of the greatest contributing factors affecting the dropout rate of undergraduate college students is poor academic performance in their courses. In this study, we sought to identify several academic resources, study behaviors, academic self-confidence scores, and demographic information to assess what types of behaviors and resources may lead to higher academic performance. There were 148 undergraduate student participants, out of 696 possible students (21.3%), from three sections of Introductory Psychology courses at Utah State University. They participated in a multi-phase survey to assess study habits, and resources that they used when preparing for their psychology course exams. Statistical analyses identified several significant differences between men and women, and between first generation and non-first-generation students. Women studied almost twice as much, compared to men, in terms of hours spent, and course content covered. Academically, first-generation students struggled in almost every way, compared to non-first-generation students. After identifying how the study behavior and resource variables influenced each other, we also identified which variables were the most influential on the students’ final course grades. We found that a student’s GPA (grade point average) was the most important factor, followed by their self-confidence in their academic abilities, followed by their class attendance, followed by how many hours they work outside of school. All of those variables likely affect a student’s final grade, and it is important that college students are informed about which study resources and behaviors they should utilize, to be as successful as possible.

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Research in military veterans’ transition from military service to civilian college indicates that veterans can be successful in college. Considering veterans are generally older than the average traditional student population who attends college after high school, military veterans fit the characteristics of an adult student. Research indicates that the military veteran may be more disciplined and characteristically achieve their academic goals. However the literature is limited in the research of military veteran success in community colleges, and research is inconsistent with regards to the academic success of military veterans. The military veteran population in the present research consisted of 40 students with a comparison to 5,189 students in the general student population. Each of these students was pursuing an associate’s degree and were enrolled at 1 of 4 Middle Tennessee community colleges. The purpose of this comparative quantitative study was to compare the success factors (GPA, fall to fall retention, and graduation rates) of military veterans to the general student population at 4 participating Middle Tennessee community colleges. Data were compiled from historical student-level data consisting of a single cohort. Results of this study pointed to significant differences between the proportion of males and females with a higher proportion of males at the colleges and a lower proportion of females at the same colleges. There was also a significant difference in the use of financial aid-excluding the GI Bill between military veterans and the general student population. However there was not a significant difference between military veterans and the general student population in consideration of the other success factors such as Grade Point Average (GPA), graduation rates, persistence, and full-time attendance, along with the difference in the age of the military veteran students.

No description available.