There are many challenges associated with student retention. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) has focused on determining the factors affecting student retention across its campus and distance course delivery formats in order to improve student retention. The purpose in this study was to explore the extent to which age, course delivery, technical ability, and financial background determine retention at SMWC. Retention and attrition models of Tinto and Walleri laid the foundation of this study. Qualitative data on technical ability were collected from 69 students who responded to the survey instrument on Survey Monkey. Quantitative data on retention, age, course delivery, and financial background on students who had graduated over the past 10 years were gathered from the offices of financial aid and the registrar. For quantitative data analysis, the influences of age and financial background on student retention were examined through multiple regression; the influence of course delivery on student retention was examined through 2-tailed t tests for comparing the 2 population means. Qualitative data were analyzed through a narrative approach. The findings of quantitative data analysis were that student age and financial standing were not significant predictors of student retention and that retention for distance course delivery was significantly lower than that of online delivery. The finding for qualitative analysis was that students with higher technical ability showed higher retention across both course deliveries. The social change implications include a better understanding by SMWC's administrators and faculty of course delivery and design in order to improve student retention, thus benefitting the local economy and community by creating a more skilled and employable workforce and a stronger reputation for SMWC.

Объектом исследования явились студенты (молодежь в возрасте от 16 до 29 лет). Предметом исследования стали психологические особенности переживания счастья студентами. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав (теоретической и практической), заключения, списка литературы (62 источника) и приложения, включающего в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 92 страницы, на которых размещены 9 рисунков и 5 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируются гипотезы, указываются методики и эмпирическая база, а также теоретическая и практическая значимость работы. В первой главе представлен обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме: Психологические особенности переживания счастья студентами. В данной главе подробно рассматриваются три раздела: феномен счастья в отечественной и зарубежной психологии, психологические особенности современного студента, психологические предикторы переживания счастья у студентов. Выводы по первой главе представляют собой итоги, по изучению теоретического материала представленные в работах авторов. Вторая глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования. В ней представлено описание организации и методов проведенного исследования, подробный план эмпирического исследования и результаты, полученные по всем использованным методикам. Также вторая глава содержит анализ полученных результатов исследования. Выводы по второй главе включают в себя основные результаты эмпирического исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования и описаны возможные перспективы дальнейшей разработки данной проблематики. / The object of the study were students (youth aged 16 to 29 years). The subject of the study was the psychological characteristics of the experience of happiness by students. The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters (theoretical and practical), a conclusion, a list of references (62 sources) and an appendix, which includes the forms of the methods used. The volume of the master's thesis is 92 pages, which contain 9 figures and 5 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the research problem, the development of the problematics, sets the goal and objectives of the research, defines the object and subject of research, formulates hypotheses, indicates methods and empirical base, as well as the theoretical and practical significance of the work. The first chapter presents an overview of foreign and domestic literature on the topic: Psychological features of the experience of happiness by students. In this chapter, three sections are considered in detail: the phenomenon of happiness in domestic and foreign psychology, the psychological characteristics of a modern student, psychological predictors of experiencing happiness in students. The conclusions on the first chapter are the results of the study of theoretical material presented in the works of the authors. The second chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study. It presents a description of the organization and methods of the study, a detailed plan of empirical research and the results obtained by all methods used. Also, the second chapter contains an analysis of the results of the study. The conclusions of the second chapter include the main results of the empirical study. In conclusion, the results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work, as well as conclusions on the hypotheses put forward, are summarized, the practical significance of the study is substantiated, and possible prospects for further development of this issue are described.

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