In order to meet the educational and economic demands of the United States in the future, institutions of higher education must increase the number of students who persist to the completion of a certificate or degree program, especially low-income students and students of color (Carnivale and Desrochers, 2004). To increase the persistence and completion rates of these students at community colleges, national initiatives, such as the Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative, have emphasized the importance of creating institutional environments in which planning and improvement efforts are data-driven (Achieving the Dream, 2005). This study explored the perceptions of faculty members, administrators, and staff directly involved in establishing this data-driven environment, also known as a “culture of evidence,” and the extent to which those perceptions had disseminated through the larger college community. Through the use of a case study and focus groups using Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) methods, the development of a “culture of evidence” at two Texas community colleges was examined as perceived by college constituents involved in its creation and by a group of college constituents indirectly influenced by their efforts. The emerging themes are discussed in their relation to promoting and maintaining a data- driven culture in the future. / text

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether certain student-entry characteristics collected from an admissions application from one nursing school’s graduate (master’s degree) programs had a statistically significant relationship with student persistence. Specifically, the study determined if the variables sex, age at matriculation, U.S. citizenship, state residency status, most recent schooling year, last statistics course taken and grade, graduate-level program of study, and credit hours identified on the graduate nursing admissions application and school transcripts, had a statistically significant relationship in predicting student persistence to graduation. If a relationship existed, it would contribute to graduate student persistence literature and influence how educators and student affairs professionals can identify and support students at risk. The population was the graduate nursing students who enrolled at a large public research university in the Pacific Northwest of the United States during Spring 2005 through the Fall 2009 terms. Graduate students meeting inclusion criteria had data extrapolated from the college’s database; including, the pre-entry characteristics, total credit hours completed, and if (and when) they graduated from their program of study. Astin’s (1985) Input-Environment-Outcomes (I-E-O) Model was the theoretical framework utilized in this study. Out of the 405 graduate nursing students, 257 students (63.5%) graduated within four years from time of matriculation, or 278 students (68.6%) graduated without any time restrictions. Certain pre-entry characteristic data were no longer accessible and not included in the data analysis (most recent schooling year, last statistics course taken and grade). The analysis showed that the age (p < 0.010) and type of graduate program of study one enrolls (p < 0.010) plays an influential role in student persistence to graduation at this nursing school during this time period. In summary, on average, those students who graduated within four years from the time of matriculation were 3.2 years younger than the average age of those who did not complete their graduate program, and the completion rates for practitioner-focused students were higher (66.5-70%) compared to their non-practitioner-focused (46.8-61.3%) counterparts. The results of this study will have an impact on graduate admissions and recruitment, student progression and advising services, and faculty development. Graduate nursing student persistence has multiple implications impacting institutions, communities, and the lives of students. Future opportunities to advancing knowledge on this subject include researching additional pre-entry variables across multi-campus populations with larger sample sizes, longitudinal studies, and interventions to promote persistence.

The doctoral student completion rate in the United States is approximately 57% across all disciplines. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate doctoral students' perceptions of program completion across multiple online doctoral programs at a single university. The quantitative component examined differences in 4 doctoral program completion-related factors between students in 2 capstone completion stages and 6 academic programs. The qualitative component included an analysis of student perceptions of program completion. Attribution theory was used as a framework to understand the ways that personal attributions influence the success of the participants. The Doctoral Completion and Persistence Scale (DCPS) used in this study measured success scales of individual ability to persist, inter-program relationships, program culture, and dissertation preparation. Four 2-way analysis of variances were used to test for mean differences in these scale scores between preprospectus (n = 10) and postprospectus (n = 18) students enrolled in the doctoral programs. Individual ability to persist scores were significantly higher for preprospectus students and there were no significant differences found between programs. The DCPS' qualitative open-ended prompts were also analyzed for themes in reflections. Open coding and thematic analysis revealed that faculty relationships were an important emergent theme for maintaining persistence for all students. A professional development project was developed to provide strategies to assist doctoral stakeholders in their efforts to increase student persistence. Positive social change results when students persist and complete their doctoral programs with the collective support of stakeholders.