Theses (Ed. D.)--Marshall University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains vii, 88 p. Bibliography: p. 76-82.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed July 22, 2010). PDF text: iii, 135 p. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3369325. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-142). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to identify those retention-associated variables which best account for persistence and nonpersistence among new full-time students in a community college. The major research question for the study was: Within a community college, what differentiates new full-time students who leave and those who stay? Do factors identified in previous studies which helped to explain persistence and nonpersistence in four-year colleges and universities and those colleges that serve large numbers of residential students hold the same power for explaining this phenomenon in community colleges? Of the 607 new full-time students who enrolled Fall Term, 1987, 552 were sent questionnaires at the end of the fourth week of Fall Term, 1987. Data within the persister and nonpersister groups were examined using chi-square and ANOVA. Discriminant analysis was used to study simultaneously the differences between persisters and nonpersisters with respect to several variables. The results of the study found statistically significant differences between persistence and nonpersistence and several community college students' background and environmental characteristics, and social and academic integration into a community college. This study also found among new full-time students who attend a community college, institutional and goal commitment contributed the most to group discrimination between persisters and nonpersisters. Future research of persisters and nonpersisters in community colleges was recommended. Implications for higher education practices was also suggested.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the role of studentaculty interaction in retaining nontraditional community college students. There are a large and growing number of nontraditional students, especially at the community college level. Being labeled as nontraditional typically implies that there are multiple competitors for the time and resources of these students. Often, nontraditional students are less connected to their institutions, and exploring the relationships between faculty and student is a way to meet them where they are: in the classroom. As a result of the label nontraditional being difficult to define, the researcher used seven characteristics to provide a variety of contexts for the interviews. The study included 10 students age 24 or older who had completed 12-36 hours and attended a community college in the southeastern United States. They were asked to participate in 30-minute, one-on-one interviews regarding their interactions with faculty and the role of these interactions on their decisions to persist. Findings suggest that continuity decisions are largely based internally. However, 20% of the participants attributed their decisions to continue to interactions with their instructors. Attributes that contributed to making the instructors more approachable were openness, being oneself, and speaking to students as peers, rather than subordinates. Throughout the interviews, the participants admitted to seeing themselves differently than traditional students, but they did not feel like their instructors treated them differently. They assumed the responsibility of initiating contact, but they also appreciated initiation and acknowledgement by the instructors. Formal interaction did not appear to be as important as casual interaction. Even students who appear to be doing well can benefit from interaction, leading the researcher to conclude that interaction can be beneficial as both a preventative and a prescriptive measure. Educating both faculty and nontraditional students on the seemingly untapped value of interaction can help increase the retention rates at the community college level.

No description available.

A longitudinal analysis of transactional data for an entire college cohort was mined from administrative student records systems to identify individual student behaviors and establish correlations between individual students’ behaviors and academic outcomes. Conducted at one large urban community college, this study determined curricular peer association behavior between individual students, and also evaluated late registration and course schedule change behaviors. Findings demonstrated a strong correlation between these three behavioral patterns and a lasting influence on academic outcomes, such as: semestrial GPA and cumulative GPA, credit accumulation, persistence and graduation rates. Finding also indicated a correlation among the three behaviors themselves. Furthermore, conducting a longitudinal analysis of individual students made it possible to identify the temporal tipping-points which differentiated at-risk behavior from otherwise benign behavior. The intrinsic factors associated with individual students’ behaviors were followed over a period of thirteen consecutive semesters. Mining Transactional Student-Level Data at the scale achieved in this study, when compared to traditional methods of data collection, provided the precision needed to determine the actual proximity among specific peers, and the identification of registration behavior patterns. The extraction of transactional data from the records of each student in an entire cohort resulted in a method of inquiry immune to the negative effects of student’s non-response or selection bias. Complimenting previous research, this study provides a detailed descriptive analysis of those behaviors not only at the semestrial level, but also cumulatively across consecutive semesters. This study demonstrates that curricular peer association can be measured directly from common, ubiquitous, transactional records. The rates of Peer Association among individual students was very dynamic: While the majority of students had some peer associations while enrolled, in the aggregate two thirds of students had no peer association (were soloists) at some point in time, while more than a quarter of all students were soloists for at least half of their entire enrollment period. Soloists differed from students with peer associations. They were likely to be older, international students, African Americans, transfer students, or those entering fully prepared for college level coursework (no remedial coursework). Peer association was positively correlated, both in the semester in which it occurred and cumulatively, with: GPA, credits earned, and retention or graduation rates. These correlations to academic outcomes varied with the number of peer associations established, and the intensity of peer encounters. The study revealed that nearly a quarter of all students practiced late registration at least once; and more than 10 percent have registered late multiple times during their studies. Nearly three quarters of students made modifications to their course schedule at least once after the semester began. Overall, two fifths of students changed their initial schedule every semester. These behaviors were unrecorded in previous studies that were limited in the evaluation of longitudinal behaviors, used subsets of students and were subject to non-response bias. Late registration and student schedule changes was correlated with lower semestrial and cumulative academic outcomes. Late registration behavior subsequently increased the likelihood of a student being a soloist. When compared to previous studies, the analysis conducted here not only accounted for academic, demographic and financial variables at baseline, but went on to perform updates at key points in time each semester to reflect changes over time. The exhaustive revisiting of the covariates each semester provided enhanced control to the ‘order of time’ influence. All covariates were re-measured each semester allowing to better evaluate the correlation of student behavioral indicators for a given semester, and cumulatively. This enhanced the study’s ability to account for common unobserved variables inherent to academic, demographic and financial attributes that might influence student outcomes correlated with peer association, late registration and schedule changes. This study contributes to the literature by showing that peer association can be evaluated in the setting of an open admission commuter institution, and that peer association has consistent and positive correlation with academic outcomes. It provides new insights regarding the magnitude of late registration and schedule changes, as well as their negative immediate and longitudinal correlation with student outcomes. Further implications to community colleges’ faculty, administrators, researchers and policymakers, as well as future directions for research employing transactional level data are discussed.

The era of "customer satisfaction" brings students to colleges who are increasingly identifying themselves as customers. Competition among a growing number of institutions and learning organizations is sharpening the desire of institutions to deliver high quality service in order to attract and retain students. Some examples of interactions where service quality may affect satisfaction are accessible and prompt service, knowledgeable assistance and personal attention. The use of the SERVQUAL survey instrument offers a fruitful opportunity for student services managers to assess student satisfaction with service quality. Insofar as satisfaction may affect student desire to attend, retention, and word-of mouth recommendations, colleges should include service quality assessment in their efforts to be accountable for the effectiveness of their services. This study was conducted at a suburban community college, using a cluster sampling methodology, focused on students in college transfer and professional/technical courses. Student expectations and perceptions of service quality in Registration, Financial Aid, Counseling, Career Center and Library services were probed. Data analysis yielded discernible patterns in student satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Students placed less emphasis on the tangible aspects of service quality, such as the appearance of facilities and brochures, and more emphasis on aspects that provide them with reliable services and demonstrate attention to their personal needs. The quality of some Financial Aid services, as well as office hours among all five services, were identified as needing further examination. Some significant differences between male and female respondents, and between Caucasians and Students of Color were found. Because SERVQUAL offers a targeted method of identifying areas that can improve student satisfaction, this strategy offers some direct and perhaps cost-effective ways of implementing action as a result of assessment research. This may make it appealing to other community colleges. Implementation by other community colleges would be helpful in building a database and reference points about student satisfaction with service quality. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-149). Also available on the Internet.