Submitted in fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / In South Africa, the transformation of public higher education has placed much emphasis on the accountability and performance of individual institutions. Various indicators are used to assess institutional performance, as is the case internationally. Examples of such indicators include teaching and learning, research outputs, graduate employability, financial sustainability and productivity and the use of resources. This case study which is predominantly qualitative, examined: i) Performance by a selected South African University of Technology, the Durban University of Technology (DUT), in specific performance indicators as determined by policy on student enrolment planning. Student enrolment planning is an important strategy adopted by government to address a number of distortions in the higher education system which had been developed over a number of years within the ideology of apartheid. ii) The measures taken by the institution to give effect to the policy. The case study utilised multiple methods of data collection within three units of analysis. The three units of analysis of the case are: Unit of analysis One: The practices used at the DUT for marketing, student recruitment, student selection and admission to achieve the input indicators of the student enrolment plan. Unit of analysis Two: implementation strategies for meeting the output (success) indicators of the plan. Unit of analysis Three: The problem of low student retention. The original contribution made by this research study is that it provides detailed insight into the implementation of policy of student enrolment planning, using the Durban University of Technology as an example. In so doing, the researcher has identified critical areas that impact on student enrolment planning in South Africa, as well as specific weaknesses in the implementation of the policy at the DUT. A part of the study’s findings is that the DUT is well–placed to meet the performance indicators of the enrolment plan. However, the addressing of weaknesses in the areas of student selection, marketing and recruitment could improve the DUT’s ability to exert more influence over its enrolments. The study determined that the problem of low student retention is a factor that threatens the DUT’s throughput and graduation rates. Broad and specific recommendations are made for implementation, including the adoption of the organisational framework of enrolment management supported by institutional research.

This study used a quasi-experimental design with 1,237 students to investigate the association between participation in a study-abroad program and persistence at a liberal arts university. The theoretical basis for the study was Tinto's Theory of Individual Departure. The independent variable of interest, also known as the treatment, was participation in the University of Dallas Rome Program during the sophomore year. The control group consisted of students who were qualified to participate in the Rome Program, but chose not to do so. The dependent variable was the number of fall and spring semesters enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Dallas post-treatment through spring 2003. Nine variables that measured background characteristics, academic integration, and social integration explained 3.8% of the variation in number of semesters enrolled post-treatment. Participation in the Rome Program explained an additional 4.2%. In all of the statistical measures examined in this study (incremental increase in R2, b weights, adjusted β weights, and structure coefficients), there was evidence of an important positive association between participation in the Rome Program and persistence. Based on the b weight in the regression equation, holding all other variables constant, students who participated in the Rome Program persisted on average .83 semesters longer post-treatment at the University of Dallas than those who did not go to Rome. Of the 1,007 students in this study who went to Rome, 96% were enrolled at the University of Dallas one semester after Rome participation and 91% were still enrolled after two semesters. This compared to 80% and 72%, respectively, for the 230 students in the control group. Of the 674 students in the study who went to Rome and had the opportunity to graduate within 4 years, 79% graduated within 4 years. This compared to 51% for the 123 students in the control group. Persistence during and after the sophomore year was not associated to the same extent with pre-entry background characteristics, academic integration, and social integration as was persistence from freshman to sophomore year.

The purposes of this study were (a) to analyze whether any significant differences exist in students' satisfaction among the 11 composite scales/satisfaction measures of the SSI (retention programs); (b) to determine whether significant differences exist in satisfaction among students of the institution based on their demographic characteristics of gender, age, ethnicity, class load, and employment; and (c) to record findings, draw conclusions, and make recommendations from the study. The research was conducted using a questionnaire, The Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), developed by Juillreat and Schreiner in 1994. The instrument measures, among other matters, students' perceptions and satisfaction. The population of the study comprised all students at the institution during the 1996-1997 school year. A total of 312 students was sampled, with 182 (58%) returns received. Statistical treatments used to analyze the collected data included frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation, multiple analysis of variances (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey's Post Hoc t-test for multiple comparison.

The problem of this study was first year student retention at a private university. The purpose of the study was to identify high risk students (dropout prone) by use of the Stratil Counseling Inventory -_ College Form (SCI-C) in order to initiate early intervention counseling and advising. Intrusive counseling was started within the first six weeks of the 1984 fall semester to facilitate the students' transition to college. The population of the study was first-time full-time freshmen students in attendance at Freshmen Orientation the week prior to the beginning of the 1984 academic year. SCI-C instrument consisted of six scales designed to elicit attrition-related information about the firsttime, freshmen students. The scales identified students who were in need of assistance, and they provided a profile of their problem areas. This information, available within ten days after the beginning of classes enabled Student Development personnel to select the students out of the freshman class who needed help and to refer them to university resources for assistance. The conclusions drawn from the analysis of the SCI-C data were: (1) students who needed assistance to integrate into the academic and social envrionment of the university were identified by the SCI-C; (2) students at Hardin-Simmons University value adult/student relationship outside of the classroom; (3) attitudes of caring service creates a "staying environment;1* (4) although the SCI-C indicates students' interests in support services, not all students who request assistance, avail themselves of the opportunities provided for them; (5) a relationship seems to exist between the intervention strategies provided particular freshmen and their succesful performance in the classroom (CPA of 1.60 or greater) and their persistence at the university for their second year; (6) the SCI-C provides attrition-related counseling information about students rather than predicting college academic success; and (7) the SCI-C i s a valid instrument to use to facilitate student retention at Hardin-Simmons University,

This dissertation sought to determine the effects of a buddy system on a student's self-concept, academic achievement, attrition rate, and congruence levels. The buddy system treatment randomly paired two students for the purposes of sharing ideas, working on assignments, getting to know each other, and supporting one another. The study included three randomly selected sections of pre-college level, developmental writing classes from the Brookhaven College of the Dallas County Community College District. Three other classes served as the control group, and one instructor taught all six sections of the course. Three instruments were used as measures of change: the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS), designed by William H. Fitts, measured self-concept levels; the Personality and Educational Environment Scale (PEES), created by Roger Boshier, measured congruence levels; and a written paragraph measured achievement levels in English. Attrition percentages were based on the number of students enrolled during the second week of class who were not present during the sixteenth week of class. To test for significance, an analysis of covariance procedure was used on the TSCS, PEES, and written paragraph results, and a test for the difference between proportions for independent groups was used on the attrition percentages. The class sections were nested under either the experimental or the control group to identify significant differences between class sections. On the TSCS, a significance of .96 among sections and .48 between groups indicated no significant change had occurred in self-concept levels. For the PEES, a significance of .30 among sections and .75 between groups indicated no change had occurred in congruence levels. Finally, on the paragraph assessment, a significance of .87 among sections and .31 between groups showed no change had occurred in achievement levels. However, the test for significance of the difference between attrition percentages revealed that the buddy system treatment was an effective method of retention.

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Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1996. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Dawn Person. Dissertation Committee: Raechele L. Pope. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-171).

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-45).

Success rates remain a critical challenge in higher education. National and international data continue to suggest that the majority of students entering higher education withdraw before graduation. There is a strong indication in the literature that a student’s integration into the academic and social systems of higher education plays a critical role in student retention, persistence and success. In addition, research data demonstrates that student success is strongly influenced by the experiences students encounter in their first year of study. Established interventions have not helped to stem the tide of dropout rates. The primary aim of the study was therefore to investigate the academic and social integration of first-year students into the higher education system. The specific objectives were to explore the factors that contribute to academic and social integration, as well as the outcomes of academic and social integration in the first year of study. The study is grounded in Tinto’s theory of student integration, which holds at its centre, the constructs of academic and social integration. Tinto’s model proposes that academic and social integration are instrumental to students’ persistence in higher education. The methodology employed for the study is a systematic review, in an attempt to sum up the best available research in response to the research question. It involved identifying, selecting, appraising and synthesising all quality research relevant to the academic and social integration of first-year higher education students. Several themes emerged from the systematic review. The main factors found to be contributing to academic integration were: interaction with academic staff, classroom and curriculum centrality, preparatory education, self-efficacy, interaction with peers, academic engagement, motivation and issues related to first-generation higher education students. Those for social integration were: interaction with peers, sense of belonging and identity, interaction with staff, involvement and accommodation issues. The main outcomes for both academic and social integration were found to be student retention, persistence and academic success. The findings are consistent with past research on academic and social integration. Based on the emergent themes, recommendations were made with the aim of improving success rates in higher education. The results of the study could be of particular value in the South African higher education context by offering insights into the global and local trends with regard to academic and social integration. The findings could hopefully offer possible responses to current critical student success challenges experienced in South African higher education, especially in the light of the call by the #FeesMustFall movement for free and decolonised education.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and predict Latino male student retention using ACT’s Engage College survey at a research university in the southwestern region of the U.S. ACT’s Engage survey was designed to predict first-year college retention using 10 psychosocial measures. However, no empirical study exists to support ACT’s claim especially for Latino male students. Data from a four-year research university between 2009 and 2011 were analyzed with logistic regression. Logistic regression analysis was performed for the whole sample (N = 8,061) and for the Latino male subsample (n = 860). In the entire sample’s first regression model, high school grade quartile and SAT score as well as demographic variables were used as predictor variables. In this model, the independent variables of high school grade point average quartile, SAT score, gender, and race made statistically significant contributions to the model (Nagelkerke R2 = .031, p < .01). In the entire sample’s second regression model, ACT’s 10 psychosocial variables were added to the first regression model as predictor variables. Results indicated the instrument was valid for the freshmen as a whole because five out of 10 psychosocial measures displayed statistically significant odds ratios (ORs) for predicting retention: (a) Commitment to College (OR = 1.006, p < .01), (b) Academic Discipline (OR = 1.005, p < .01), (c) Social Activity (OR = -.997, p < .01), (d) Social Connection (OR = 1.004, p < .01), and (e) Academic Self-Confidence (OR = -.997, p < .01). Regarding the subsample of 860 Latino males, none of the 10 psychosocial measures produced statistically significant results. The findings indicate the need to determine a new way of identifying at-risk Latino male students because current methods have failed to build a robust predictive model for this student population.