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Published Articles / The four year extended degree (ED) with a foundation provision is one of the academic intervention tools available to underprepared students in higher education institutions (HEIs). University of Venda (Univen) introduced this form of assistance in 2007 to students enrolled in the Schools of Human Sciences, Management and Law (HML). The 15% completion rate for this first cohort is a cause for concern. This paper examines the implications of this result in terms of Univen's implementation of EDs. EDs can be variously applied dependent on the peculiar situation in an institution and it can be assumed that Univen chose the current format after due consideration of all factors. The poor throughput rate of these students, however indicate otherwise, motivating this investigation. An examination of the curricula for the various degrees indicates that Univen is implementing a blend of the various academic interventions without the necessary reconfiguration of teaching and learning and this might be the cause for the poor performance. The final sections of the paper contribute to the debates on topical issues related to academic literacy and support such as an extended high school period and a four year generic bachelor's degree.

Master of Science / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Kenneth Hughey / Students are entering institutions across the country unprepared to meet the demands of higher education. While Kansas is above the national average for students prepared for higher education, only twenty-nine percent of Kansas seniors are considered "prepared” for college in the four determined benchmark areas, compared to the twenty-five percent national average (ACT, 2012). With this statistic, ACT indicates that only one fourth of students complete high school requirements in such a way that leads to success post-graduation. Students are not ready for the expectations of higher education, and as a result this population is less likely to succeed. Further, development opportunities targeted at underprepared students are largely unsuccessful at reaching the population. This report looks at the unprepared student population, the role of higher education, and the projected future for underprepared students in higher education. In an effort to encourage holistic development and successful support initiatives, recommendations for higher education practices and research are discussed.

This study was designed to identify and examine certain individual factors that contribute to Louisiana Technical College (LTC) student success in Web-based developmental education (DE) courses among the academically underprepared students. The independent variables (IV) selected for this study included students' prior academic preparation (PAP), comfort with technology (CWT), interaction with faculty (IWF), and motivation (MOT). The dependent variable (DV) was students’ course success measured by their mid-term scores (MTSCORE). Research methodologies included correlational statistics using multiple and logistic regression, and t-test for group comparisons. Data were gathered through an online survey using SurveyMonkey.com from the DE students at LTC that use PLATO Web Learning Network using a survey instrument (WBLSS) designed by the researcher for this study. The study found two predictor variables, IWF and PAP, to be statistically significant and two variables, MOT and CWT, statistically not significant. Based on the IVs' combined identified relationship with the DV, the researcher designed a predictive model of LTC students' course success in Web-based DE courses. The model employed in this study explained 17% of the variance in the MTSCORE. For many academically underprepared students at LTC, college and career success first depend on their success in the DE courses. Therefore, identifying individual characteristics related to course success is the key to building academic success models for underprepared students at two-year colleges like the LTC.

The 1st-year retention rate of the Structured Education Program (SEP) is 90%, yet the 6-year graduation rate of SEP students is 29%. The gap between SEP 1st-year retention and graduation rates is the problem that this study addressed. The low graduation rate of SEP students is an important issue because graduation rates are used to measure the quality of higher education institutions. The purpose of this study was to understand the low graduation rates of SEP students. Tinto's retention theory, which seeks to explain dropouts from higher education institutions, was the main framework of the study. The study's research questions focused on former SEP students' experiences with required and optional support services that were first introduced to students while enrolled in the SEP. This study used a qualitative, intrinsic case study research design. Data were collected through 12 semistructured interviews with participants who met the criteria of former SEP students who have completed the program within the last 5 years. Interviews were transcribed, member checked by interviewees, and then coded to identify 6 themes that focus on participants' commitment to support services. The findings revealed that required exposure to support services in SEP students' 1st year had a meaningful influence on each student's journey toward graduation. An outcome of this study was a policy recommendation paper designed to increase the study site's graduation rates through increased support service requirements for 1st-year students. This study may provide positive local social change through more student commitments to support services and increased retention and graduation rates.

College students often enter college academically unprepared, as evidenced by low high school cumulative GPAs or poor SAT scores. In response to this problem, administrators at a 4-year university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Unites States implemented an intensive, semester-long program to introduce and acclimate conditionally admitted students to the rigors of collegiate life. The purpose of this study was to understand how to assist students in moving from Year 1 to full admission and beyond. In accordance with Bandura's reciprocal causation of social cognitive theory model, the research questions centered on conditionally admitted students' descriptions of their experiences with intensive, semester-long program participation. The qualitative case study used data collected from 10 semistructured interviews with conditional admission program student participants. Data analysis consisted of initial coding, axial coding, and iterative recategorization to identify the key findings. Among the findings were that the study site lacked strong faculty-student engagement and that students had mixed feelings regarding the seminar course being helpful. However, they found the university environment conducive to learning, leading them to stay. A white paper provided potential solutions to administrators, including increased faculty-student engagement and more meaningful required seminars for first-year conditionally admitted students. This study and the subsequent project may create positive social change by expanding degree achievement for underprepared, conditionally admitted college students, which thus increases opportunities for upward social mobility.

Student academic progress has been at the centre of concern to all higher education institutions in South Africa. It is understood that student progress emanates from a range of dynamics that gives students different educational experiences. The student cohort at University of Pretoria (Abdulghani et al., 2014) come from diverse cultural backgrounds in South Africa, aptly called the rainbow-nation, and subsequently bring different levels of proficiency and world experiences to the higher education sector. The student population is like a tapestry interwoven from different cultures and includes students from all 'walks of life', rich and poor, alternative lifestyle and background, as well as students who are disabled, and students who have diverse sexual orientations. The transition from school to university is regarded as a time of extreme stress for students arriving at the university door for the first time. The expectations of students are mostly unknown, but educators know that students entering university come from positions of extreme inequality, not only in terms of schooling, but also of financial and other resources. It is well-documented that in addition to all the other changes, a large number of students arrive at the university lacking the necessary knowledge and skills that will help them cope at university. These are largely students that come from underprivileged schools that still bear the ravages of apartheid education. To assist students in overcoming the lack of these skills and bridging the educational gap, higher education has to address these needs. Hence, it is the intention of this research to "explore the undergraduate Information Technology experience of an extended programme". The research is a four-year longitudinal study of IT students in the extended (four-year) IT degrees at UP, and has analysed interviews conducted with IT graduates in a range of professional settings. Taken together, these components have been designed to expand the researcher's understanding of undergraduate IT experience (extended programmes) and the transition from university to the workplace. Furthermore, it focuses on how students in Information Technology experience their education, how they gain knowledge of what Information Technology is, and what their post-graduation plans are. Based mainly on the theoretical framework of Vincent Tinto (1975), this study provides an analysis of research regarding student experiences, retention and withdrawal in the extended four-year programme (E4YP) in IT. The research methodology used to conduct this study includes a mixed methods approach undertaken from more than one point of view. The researcher used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research features. The data was generated by surveys (online questionnaires and mini-questionnaires), mini-essays and the results of statistical analysis using academic results and Students� Academic Readiness Survey (STARS) scores. The findings of this study paint a portrait of typical first-year students irrespective of study direction. Their experiences and journey during the first-year are fraught with issues such as finance, accommodation, transport, gender inequality, institutional hiccups, loneliness and exhaustion, and difficulty in finding their way around campus. However, many expressed experiencing the euphoria of freedom from school/parental rules, meeting new friends and socialising, and enjoying the general feeling of being a university student. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Informatics / PhD / Unrestricted

Institutions continually try to balance the access/retention/success pendulum by accepting students on a contingent or probationary basis and enrolling them in student success or support programs. These programs are offered to help colleges increase enrollment while at the same time supporting fair and equitable access policies. The two primary purposes for conducting this study are to determine what variables have the greatest impact upon student persistence or student attrition and to evaluate the effectiveness of a retention program designed to assist at-risk students. The barriers that have the largest impact upon student persistence or attrition are explored. The extent to which performance in developmental English impacts persistence and attrition are examined as well as the effectiveness of a retention program specifically designed to assist students accepted contingently to college. The goal of this study examines how one institution's retention program was interpreted and experienced by students and what impact it had upon those students' persistence and overall college success. This study further examines the necessity for institutions to assess established policies and processes as inadvertent barriers to success. According to Laskey and Hetzel, 41 percent of entering community college students, and 29 percent of all entering college students are under prepared in at least one of the basic skills. / Educational Leadership

Students who graduate from high school and receive a diploma believe they are indeed ready for a college education. What most of these students are not aware of is that many students enter into higher education underprepared for the rigors of college level coursework. There are support programs such as tutoring and intervention reading courses that have been created to combat this problem and further prepare students to handle college level work, specifically reading. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an intervention reading course in terms of student success and growth. Students participated in a semester long course and were taught many reading and comprehension strategies to use in and outside of the class. Students were also given the Nelson-Denny Adult Reading Test as a pre- and post-test measure of success in the intervention reading course. After collecting and analyzing data, statistics show that the intervention reading course does, in fact, have a positive effect on students’ vocabulary and comprehension growth.

This document is a report on an experiment in which mathematical skills were taught to first year university students using the Web as a method of instructional delivery. Special attention was paid to the ability of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to cope with this method of delivery. Overall, the results obtained by students using this method were slightly better than that of students on the equivalent paper-based course. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds fared marginally worse than those on the paper-based course. The results of these students allow extrapolation to a broader context where Web-based teaching of disadvantaged communities may be used. Definitions for knowledge, information, learning and teaching were developed. These definitions were then used as the foundation for creating the Web pages used in the experiment. / Dissertation (DPhil (Information Science))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Information Science / unrestricted