Yip, Shing Kai Alexander. / "April 2002." / Thesis (M.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-255). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Abstract The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to explore students' perceptions of factors that influenced their success or failure in an online English composition course at a community college located in the southeastern United States and to understand how these factors affected their persistence in coursework. Retention rates in online for online English composition courses are lower compared to face-to-face English composition courses. Rapid expansion of online learning has led to increased concern regarding student persistence in courses and degree or certification completion. Tinto's interactionalist theory and Kember's model of student success framed the course of inquiry for this study. Eight online student volunteers, who completed, failed, or withdrew from a required entry-level English composition course, were purposefully selected and individually interviewed using a semistructured format. Data were thematically analyzed using open and pattern coding strategies and related to the conceptual framework. Key results revealed student perceptions of factors that influenced their success or failure in an online English composition course and suggested a change in pedagogical practices to improve persistence as well as institutional and instructional practices. Based on findings from this study, a white paper was drafted to present stakeholders with a 2-pronged approach to improve student persistence featuring faculty student engagement and meaningful action and reflection on student learning experiences in an online English composition course. This study contributes to social change by presenting a pedagogical shift to address a persistence problem in online English composition courses. Persistence to course completion can build students' confidence and keep them on a path to achieving their academic goals.

<p>One of the environmental problems today in seas, lakes and streams is eutrophication. This is often caused by nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that leak from agricultural areas. A measure to partly prevent the nutrient discharge is to construct or restore wetlands.</p><p>In order to control the efficiency of nutrient reduction of existing wetlands in the county, the administrative board in Västra Götaland wants to find different criterias for reference wetlands. These reference wetlands should represent other wetlands and be used in future evaluations of reduction of nutrients and design of constructed wetlands.</p><p> </p><p>According to the administrative board in Västra Götaland the reference wetlands should have a catchment area of about 50 hectare consisting of at least 70 % arable land, to represent wetlands created to remove nutrients. The surface area should exceed 0,5 hectare and the inlet-nitrogen concentration should be around 5 mg N-1.</p><p>This report investigates nitrogen and phosphorus retention in two wetlands, Härstad and Åmot in the county of Västra Götaland, and if they fulfill the criteria of being a reference wetlands. In addition to this, a tracer study was performed in one of these wetlands with the purpose to study the hydraulic efficency.</p><p> </p><p>Neither the wetland in Åmot or Härstad achieves the guidelines of about 5 mg N l-1 in the incoming water. Therefore, they can be seen as inappropriate as reference wetlands according to their nitrogen retention. The wetland of Härstad, however, has significantly better N retention than the wetland of Åmot. Results from the report shows that N retention in the wetland of Härstad was relatively high not only due a higher N load, but also due to that N was largely in the form of NO3- facilitating efficient transformation of NO3- to N2 by denitrification bacteria. Nitrogen removal was much lower in the wetland in Åmot due to that N in incoming water was not in the form of NO3- and could therefore not be efficiently transformed to N2 by denitrification.</p><p>Incoming total phosphorus to the Härstad and Åmot wetlands exceeded 100 µg P l-1, which means "extremely high" tot-P concentrations according to environmental quality criteria from the Swedish Environment Protection Agency. Phosphorus load per wetland area was slightly higher in the wetland in Åmot than in the Härstad wetland. In spite of this, P retention per wetland area as well as relative P retention was clearly higher in the Härstad wetland. This can be explained by that P in incoming water to the Härstad wetland was to a larger degree than in the Åmot wetland bound to particles, facilitating P retention through sedimentation.</p><p>According to the tracer study, the Härstad wetland has a hydraulic efficency (λ) of about 0,13 which means it has a low hydraulic efficiency. The effective volume ratio (e) in Härstad was calculated to 18 % which means that the water has an inadequate spreading in the wetland, which is not good for the nutrient elimination in this wetland.</p><p>This study illustrates the difficulties in finding representative reference wetlands due to potential differences between wetlands in nutrient concentrations in incoming water, the degree that incoming P is bound to particles, the degree that incoming N is in the form of NO3-, and hydraulic efficiency.</p>

This study was designed to identify the needs of Native students at the University of Saskatchewan. The researcher claimed that the university does not adequately address Native student needs. The importance of this issue is heightened in today's society as Native students are entering universities in increasing numbers because they realize the necessity of university educated people. Native self-government and economic self-sufficiency are two goals which are attainable as more Native people successfully complete university studies.<p>Native students, however, continue to experience high attrition and low success rates at university. It is suggested that these trends continue because the university is founded and operates on philosophies and values which contradict those of Native cultures. Moreover, the university pays little attention to the cultural characteristics of Native people which results in an environment and learning styles that pose academic and non-academic difficulties for these students.<p> This research was conducted in the 1991-92 academic year and utilized three forms of data collection. The central theme was to determine what factors cause difficulties for Native students pursuing an education at the University of Saskatchewan. To provide a response for this question, four secondary areas were explored: demographic elements, academic and career experiences prior to university entrance, experiences at university, and initiatives that could be undertaken to improve the situation for Native university students. Seven interviews (involving eight individuals) who work with Native students were conducted. Forty students also completed questionnaires. Results from these two sources were analysed and it was determined that students and interviewees held similar opinions on some issues: academic preparation, funding, adjustment, the need for more Native services and Native employees. There were other issues (housing, health problems, university indifference) where interviewees were unaware of the magnitude of difficulties faced by Native students. There were other issues (child care, single parenthood) where interviewees perceived the difficulties to be greater than the perceptions of the students. Both student respondents and interviewees discussed the need for the university to undertake the implementation of a number of initiatives to improve the situation for Native students. The results from previous research were incorporated throughout the study. These results formed the basis for the construction of the research instruments. They were also a significant component of data analysis.<p>An analysis of the results led to the formulation of a number of recommendations which could prove beneficial for Native students if implemented. It is suggested that teachers and guidance counsellors could implement strategies which would enable students to heighten their academic qualifications and increase their awareness of programs and services prior to university entrance. Colleges, faculty, staff, and administrators at the university could also undertake measures to lessen the difficulties which Native students encounter at university and increase their representation in colleges where their enrolments have been traditionally minimal or non-existent. Finally, Bands and Tribal Councils (who are beginning to administer their own post-secondary programs), and the federal government can also play a significant role.

One of the environmental problems today in seas, lakes and streams is eutrophication. This is often caused by nutrients such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that leak from agricultural areas. A measure to partly prevent the nutrient discharge is to construct or restore wetlands. In order to control the efficiency of nutrient reduction of existing wetlands in the county, the administrative board in Västra Götaland wants to find different criterias for reference wetlands. These reference wetlands should represent other wetlands and be used in future evaluations of reduction of nutrients and design of constructed wetlands. According to the administrative board in Västra Götaland the reference wetlands should have a catchment area of about 50 hectare consisting of at least 70 % arable land, to represent wetlands created to remove nutrients. The surface area should exceed 0,5 hectare and the inlet-nitrogen concentration should be around 5 mg N-1. This report investigates nitrogen and phosphorus retention in two wetlands, Härstad and Åmot in the county of Västra Götaland, and if they fulfill the criteria of being a reference wetlands. In addition to this, a tracer study was performed in one of these wetlands with the purpose to study the hydraulic efficency. Neither the wetland in Åmot or Härstad achieves the guidelines of about 5 mg N l-1 in the incoming water. Therefore, they can be seen as inappropriate as reference wetlands according to their nitrogen retention. The wetland of Härstad, however, has significantly better N retention than the wetland of Åmot. Results from the report shows that N retention in the wetland of Härstad was relatively high not only due a higher N load, but also due to that N was largely in the form of NO3- facilitating efficient transformation of NO3- to N2 by denitrification bacteria. Nitrogen removal was much lower in the wetland in Åmot due to that N in incoming water was not in the form of NO3- and could therefore not be efficiently transformed to N2 by denitrification. Incoming total phosphorus to the Härstad and Åmot wetlands exceeded 100 µg P l-1, which means "extremely high" tot-P concentrations according to environmental quality criteria from the Swedish Environment Protection Agency. Phosphorus load per wetland area was slightly higher in the wetland in Åmot than in the Härstad wetland. In spite of this, P retention per wetland area as well as relative P retention was clearly higher in the Härstad wetland. This can be explained by that P in incoming water to the Härstad wetland was to a larger degree than in the Åmot wetland bound to particles, facilitating P retention through sedimentation. According to the tracer study, the Härstad wetland has a hydraulic efficency (λ) of about 0,13 which means it has a low hydraulic efficiency. The effective volume ratio (e) in Härstad was calculated to 18 % which means that the water has an inadequate spreading in the wetland, which is not good for the nutrient elimination in this wetland. This study illustrates the difficulties in finding representative reference wetlands due to potential differences between wetlands in nutrient concentrations in incoming water, the degree that incoming P is bound to particles, the degree that incoming N is in the form of NO3-, and hydraulic efficiency.

This study was designed to identify the needs of Native students at the University of Saskatchewan. The researcher claimed that the university does not adequately address Native student needs. The importance of this issue is heightened in today's society as Native students are entering universities in increasing numbers because they realize the necessity of university educated people. Native self-government and economic self-sufficiency are two goals which are attainable as more Native people successfully complete university studies.<p>Native students, however, continue to experience high attrition and low success rates at university. It is suggested that these trends continue because the university is founded and operates on philosophies and values which contradict those of Native cultures. Moreover, the university pays little attention to the cultural characteristics of Native people which results in an environment and learning styles that pose academic and non-academic difficulties for these students.<p> This research was conducted in the 1991-92 academic year and utilized three forms of data collection. The central theme was to determine what factors cause difficulties for Native students pursuing an education at the University of Saskatchewan. To provide a response for this question, four secondary areas were explored: demographic elements, academic and career experiences prior to university entrance, experiences at university, and initiatives that could be undertaken to improve the situation for Native university students. Seven interviews (involving eight individuals) who work with Native students were conducted. Forty students also completed questionnaires. Results from these two sources were analysed and it was determined that students and interviewees held similar opinions on some issues: academic preparation, funding, adjustment, the need for more Native services and Native employees. There were other issues (housing, health problems, university indifference) where interviewees were unaware of the magnitude of difficulties faced by Native students. There were other issues (child care, single parenthood) where interviewees perceived the difficulties to be greater than the perceptions of the students. Both student respondents and interviewees discussed the need for the university to undertake the implementation of a number of initiatives to improve the situation for Native students. The results from previous research were incorporated throughout the study. These results formed the basis for the construction of the research instruments. They were also a significant component of data analysis.<p>An analysis of the results led to the formulation of a number of recommendations which could prove beneficial for Native students if implemented. It is suggested that teachers and guidance counsellors could implement strategies which would enable students to heighten their academic qualifications and increase their awareness of programs and services prior to university entrance. Colleges, faculty, staff, and administrators at the university could also undertake measures to lessen the difficulties which Native students encounter at university and increase their representation in colleges where their enrolments have been traditionally minimal or non-existent. Finally, Bands and Tribal Councils (who are beginning to administer their own post-secondary programs), and the federal government can also play a significant role.

The Health Care Specialist Course trains Active Army, Army Reserves, Army National Guard and various international students in basic medical care, culminating in the possession of the EMT-B certification. The course is conducted in a stressful environment where students are required to be successful in both academic and nonacademic domains. Within the last decade, course administrators have noticed a higher rate of attrition and requested assistance with understanding why one-fifth of students fail to graduate with their original unit. A high rate of attrition results in an increased use of resources and it decreases the Army’s ability to provide qualified Health Care Specialists to forward units. The purpose of this study was to understand how noncognitive factors contribute to attirition in the Health Care Specialist Program with students who were within their first six months of training. This study specifically focuses on the experiences of the recyled student. The Modified Noncognitive Questionnarie (NCQ) and the Military Environment Noncognitive Adjustment Scale (MENAS), which focused on measuring noncognitive variables, were used with both passing and recycled students. In addition, an interview was used for recycled students to allow them the opportunity to elaborate on their personal experiences. This mixed methods explanatory research study revealed quantitatively, using the t-test, that a significant difference exists between the passing and recycled groups in their: level of motivation, realistic self-appraisal, battle buddy support, unit support, preference for long-term goals, ability to successfully handle racism, and their level of stress. Logistic regression revealed the following to be predictive of attrition for students participating in this course: low ST score, unrealistic self-appraisal, preference for shortterm goals, low perception of battle buddy support and unit support, a high level of stress and low motivation to complete the course. Qualitative results were consistent with quantitative results and added a deeper understanding of how students negotiated the academic and military environment. The results of this study will contribute to course administrators understanding of the challenges that student’s encounter while matriculating through this course.

The purpose of this study was to identify how input and environmental factors impact first-to-second year retention of undergraduate students at a large Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). An additional purpose of the study was to determine the usefulness of the Astin Typology as a predictive factor for student retention. The sample for the study was 1,296 first-year students enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio during the 2002, 2003, and 2004 academic years. Data used for the study included student responses to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP): Freshman Survey (to identify each participant’s Astin type), gender, ethnicity, SAT scores, rank in high school class, first-generation status, financial need, first-semester residence, entry-college, semester credit hours attempted, academic course difficulty, participation in Supplemental Instruction, and enrollment in a first-year seminar course. Both descriptive and univariate statistics were used to describe the sample population, as well as the similarities and differences found to exist among the seven Astin types. Three separate logistic regression analyses organized by Astin’s I-E-O framework were conducted to develop a predictive model for retention from the first-to-second year of college. Subsequent analyses were conducted to identify the specific factors that were useful for predicting retention for each of the seven Astin types. The major findings of this study were: • The most frequent Astin type identified within the sample population was Status Striver • The model that included both Input and Environmental factors was the most accurate model for predicting retention • Students who were classified as Hedonist, Status Striver, and Uncommitted were less likely to be retained at this institution when all other input and environmental factors were controlled. • Environmental factors were most useful for predicting retention, in particular, semester credit hours attempted that had an inverse relationship with retention for all Astin types • First-generation status, financial need, SAT score were not useful for the prediction of retention • First-year seminar course enrollment and participation in Supplemental Instruction had a positive impact on retention This study provided evidence that the Astin typology is viable as a means of retention among college student populations.

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Texas A&M University changed the criteria for freshman admission after a legal decision in 1996 removed ethnicity from the list of possible admission criteria. The process now includes subjective criteria such as activities, leadership, service and awards as well as the traditional objective criteria such as test scores and rank in high school class. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between some of the admission criteria and retention of freshmen from the first fall to the second fall. Retention of freshmen is a performance indicator for higher education in Texas. The results of the logistic regressions showed that the relationships were modest at best and had a very small pseudo r2. The objective criteria of test scores and high school rank were either not significant or did almost nothing to increase the odds ratio. The only variable that was significant in the regression, but had a modest odds ratio, across the regression for all students and for the regressions for the subgroups of female and male students, Anglo, Hispanic and Asian American students, and for students from targeted, disadvantaged high schools was parents' education level. The points assigned to students by admissions counselors for self-reported leadership activities were significant for the regressions for all students, for female students and for Anglo students, but did very little to increase the likelihood of retention. Test scores were significant in the regressions for all students, for female students and for Hispanic students, but did almost nothing to increase the likelihood of retention. None of the variables were significant in the regression for the small group of African American students. One conclusion from the analysis is that some students whose parents have the lowest levels of education and some students from targeted high schools have unmet needs that cause higher attrition rates for these groups. However, even within these groups, there are other factors driving the students' commitment to stay enrolled for the second year at the institution than those included in this study.