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The Problem of educational attainment and student retention have received increasing attention by social researchers for many years. The focus of analysis has shifted from describing status mobility to the causal sequence of status transmission and attainment. The present study examines the process of formal educational attainment through student retention in American four-year colleges by applying objective and subjective variables in a sequence of causal relationships. The results of the study show student retention in higher education may depend on institutional resources such as, parent and sibling's educational attainments in addition to strong individual commitment to educational goals and positive feelings about the institution that the student attends. Though the sample in the study are relatively disadvantaged in academic ability, the findings suggest that high schools and colleges as primary socializing agents provide powerful influences in developing educational aspirations and commitments that help in the process of educational attainment among young adults. Taking relevant factors of retention, the knowledge-base is created for the design of expert system. User interface is developed with the help of object-oriented language to access the knowledge-base. The expert system will provide useful services to the users in terms of prescribing, monitoring and evaluating individualized intervention program(s) for the high risk students. This service will facilitate the process of educational attainment among the high risk students and perhaps, will help retain them in the given institution.

This qualitative study focused on which features of a linked courses model learning community may foster student persistence throughout a semester long course at a two-year institution. The mainstream course, comprised of 17 mainstream and eight non-mainstream students, provided for a natural experimental setting. Strong features of learning communities were explored through various indicators (i.e., student-faculty and peer interactions, shared inquiry and collaborative learning, satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the classroom environments, and how features of this particular linked courses model were reflected in the learning community model adopted by the institution). End-of- year marks plus persistence into fall were compared. Findings failed to support any direct links to persistence. Results indicated, however, both mainstream and non-mainstream students who passed with a "C" or higher possessed what the researcher identified as an "economy of ambition," characterized by an ability to merge personal and academic lives and schedules successfully. Positive student traits included being goal-oriented, self-motivated, flexible and adaptive to their academic and campus environment. Social integration and inclusion (e.g., social events or participation in campus-wide groups) were not priorities for both groups. Non-mainstream students expressed more positive perceptions toward social acceptance in the non-mainstream classroom due to its smaller size. Thus, heightened peer interaction, a main feature of learning communities, influenced positively students' socialization experience that led to study partnerships, which may have fostered student persistence. Non-mainstream students were motivated, in large part, because of their shared academic goals, and these partnerships would not have developed or been possible in the larger mainstream environment. Both mainstream and non-mainstream students represented a wide range of ages and ethnic backgrounds. The majority felt reluctant to speak up as participants in the mainstream classroom of 25 peers. Academic involvement (i.e., clear expectations from the teachers, detailed syllabus, handouts, and in-class exercises) was a priority for both groups. Overall, both groups appreciated contact with their instructors and expressed a strong commitment to second semester persistence. In addition to analysis of the interview data and strong participant observation throughout the semester, institutional data were analyzed. Findings failed to support any institutional outcomesbased measures dealing with behavioral outcomes except for support for pursuit and attainment of a degree, in particular for part- and full-time developmental (remedial) and first-time-in-college students (FTIC).

Retention is a concern for colleges and universities nationwide. The focus of this study is what a small private liberal arts college does well in terms of retaining students by examining the students who left the college for a minimum of one semester and then returned to finish their degree. A survey instrument was used to examine the positive impact the faculty, academic advising, academic program, student services, technology, and the living environment had on the return of reactivated students to Jamestown College (JC). The survey instrument was also used to find out the reasons students attended JC initially, why they left, why they came back, what they like the most, and what they like the least about JC. The faculty and staff of JC had the most positive impact on reactivated students returning to JC. Other factors that positively impacted the students included academic advising and programs of study.

Low completion rates have created serious "leakage points" (Astin, 1988) and "severe hemorrhaging" (Lango, 1996) in higher education to a large number of Hispanics. Traditional research on college persistence, which has blamed the students' culture for low performance, is inaccurate. Little research has specifically investigated academic persistence from a cultural perspective. Spirituality is a dynamic dimension among this cultural group. It is an untapped richness that Hispanic students bring with them to higher education. The study focused on six participants' understandings of spirituality from a cultural perspective. The purpose of the study helped participants voice the influence of their cultural spirituality and critically reflect the university's role regarding this cultural dimension. The research question was: What does spirituality, from a cultural aspect, mean in the context of persistence by Mexican American Chicana (o) students who transfer from a community college to a small liberal arts university? Critical theory, emphasizing phenomenology and critical consciousness, was the epistemological perspective. An indigenous methodology was used. Such a critical perspective and indigenous methodology embraced the participants border knowledge. Three data collection methods were used. A 43-Item Likert Survey, twenty-four diaolgos (individual conversations), and three circulos de cultura (group discussions). Data was interpreted with the following findings. The majority of the participants' survey responses indicated that matters of the spirit are important and significant to them. Through the di��logos the participants expressed interpretations and critiques by indigenous modes of language that spirituality did influenced their persistence. In the circulos the participants developed insights interconnecting spirituality and persistence. Spirituality was expressed through various images: "a push," "passion," "a driving force and desire," "an inner force," "La Virgen," and a "quiet inner strength." Most importantly, their persistence was influenced by a family-centered spirituality grounded in their cultural heritage. This qualitative study highlighted the six voices. Each case consisted of an interpretation of the participant's phenomenological understanding and growth in critical consciousness. The co-investigators' enriched the analysis by their cultural intuition and bicultural understanding. The following themes emerged from participants' visual and written summaries: 1) Family. 2) Quien Soy Yo? (Who Am I?) 3) Quiet Inner Strength 4) Recognizing My Background. 5) Encouraging Me to Persist. 6) Critical Consciousness of the Interrelationships of One's Culture. Study concluded with testimonies from the co-investigators. Researcher proclaimed: it is important to listen to students voice why they persisted from strengths within their culture. / Graduation date: 2002

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There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of English

The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model for graduation rate at non-residential research universities. As well, this study investigated, described, and compared the student characteristics of non-residential and residential institutions. Making distinctions between significant predictor variables at non-residential research universities and significant predictor variables at residential institutions was also an aim. The researcher obtained data from the Integrated Postsecondary Data System. Student and institutional variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, analysis of variance, and regression analyses. Results indicated that student and institutional characteristics can be used to significantly predict graduation rate at nonresidential institutions with student variables yielding greater predictive power than institutional variables. As well, residential status was found to moderate the relationship between undergraduate enrollment and graduation rate. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

his research addressed educational persistence among first-generation, low-income college students. The educational paths of 22 first-generation, low-income undergraduate students attending a large, urban university in the Northwest region of the United States were examined through a narrative framework. Half of the participants had persisted from year one to year two, and the other half left the university after their first year. Analytic procedures consisted of thematic qualitative coding, an analysis of student trajectories over educational histories, and the reconstruction of narrative stories. Data were used to examine: (1) How first-generation, low-income students understood and described their journey through their first year, (2) Reasons some students gave for leaving the university, (3) Meanings students gave to their experiences in college and how those meanings influenced future decisions, and (4) Differences between the stories of students who persisted versus those who left. The first-generation, low-income students who participated in this study were individually diverse and took various paths through college. After prolonged contact, evidence of interrupted enrollment and transfer among colleges was shown for approximately half of the participants. The descriptive codes most frequently discussed were financial issues, aspects of self, and family. Students described motivations for college in terms of themes related to family, gaining practical skills, existential discovery, desire for the college adventure, and affirmation of personal attributes. Students left the institution as a result of academic challenges, external life events, financial difficulties, dissatisfaction with the college process, unclear goals or reasons for continuation, and a need to stay near family. Students who persisted in college indicated adequate pre-college academic preparation, social connection to the university, family support for continuation, adequate financial resources, and support from social and cultural brokers that helped them navigate college. Findings from this study suggest social class, financial, individual and family contextual variables be added to Tinto's (1975, 1993) classic model of student departure. Higher education policies suggested by data include partnering with families, reducing social class barriers and providing better information to students about the hidden costs of transfer and interrupted enrollment.