Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-79).

The purpose of this study was to use first-year test results to develop an early warning system for the identification of freshmen at risk of failing. All students registered between 1989 and 1997 for the six-year programmes chiropractic and homoeopathy were included in this ex post facto study. A descriptive study firstly indicated a serious problem of attrition with on average only 66% of chiropractic and 55% homoeopathy freshmen successfully completing the first year. A relationship was demonstrated between both first and second test results and outcome at the end of the first year of studies. A logistic regression model estimated retrospectively from first test results in physiology, anatomy, biology and chemistry was able to discriminate between successful and non-successful freshmen with an overall predictive accuracy of 80.82%. When this model was validated on a different set of data it was shown to have a very high sensitivity and was thus able to correctly identify >93 % of the potentially at risk freshmen. It also had a low Type II error ( <7%) and thus missed very few of the freshmen at risk of failing. A logistic regression model estimated retrospectively from second test results in physiology, anatomy, biology and chemistry had an overall predictive accuracy of 85.94% . The validated model had a sensitivity of 67% which was too low for the model to be of much use as a management tool for the identification of the freshmen at risk of failing. However, the model was shown to have a high specificity and was able to correctly identify >93% of the potentially successful freshmen. It also had a low Type I error (14.29%). Discriminant analysis models estimated from both first and second test results in physiology, anatomy, biology and chemistry produced strong support for the use of test results for the early identification of those freshmen who would need support in order to be successful. It is suggested that the objective models developed in this research could identify the freshman in need of support at an early enough stage for support measures to still have a positive effect on attrition. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Educational management)

The purpose of the study was to investigate the success of the Extended Programme at Walter Sisulu University, with particular reference to throughput rates. Programmes offered by the institution to students are intervention measures to assist in improving student retention. This research investigated the role of the university with regards to retaining engineering students at Buffalo City. Also discussed will be the impact of financial support or lack thereof to paying for academic education. Lastly, the discussion will focus on Extended Programme courses offered to students and their impact on retention of students. Through Tinto’s model, Koen discussed that institutions have a responsibility for integrating academic and social activities to create holistic competent students (2007:65). It was also discovered that the institution through the Centre for Learning and Teaching Development (CLTD), offers services that benefit both students and lecturers. Merriam found out that the key to understanding qualitative research is the idea that meaning is socially constructed by individuals in their interaction with the world, (2002:3). This study called for qualitative research to get meaning from each participant. The research was conducted using questionnaires to both students and lecturers. The investigation discovered that an education institution is not only about academic studies. Data was collected and analysed using qualitative methods which included coding and colouring of responses. Research deduced that lecturers and students conclusively complained about the poor infrastructure of the university. It has been found that students think about their educational development, their personal growth and development, their employability and their prospects for career preparation or change (Moxley 2001:39). When students have this kind of attitude it means they have the courage to get through the choice no matter what challenges they face (2004: 212). According to Moxley, members of staff who expand their roles into tutorials, independent studies and small group projects, could be a pivotal strategy of the institutional retention mission, (2001:39). This is supported by Coetzee who state that lecturers should provide students with feedback quickly, promote independent thinking, guide and motivate students (2001:31).

Based on widespread perceptions and short-term reports that most research masters and doctoral students at the University of Ghana spend unusually long durations to complete their studies due to their inability to complete and submit their theses on time and unduly long waiting periods for thesis results, the researcher decided to investigate these phenomena to identify the root causes. The aim of the study therefore, was to establish empirical basis for this problem and to recommend ways of strengthening postgraduate study delivery at the University of Ghana, based on input from past students, faculty, and the University‟s external publics who have a stake in promoting postgraduate studies and research. To achieve this aim, the researcher set out the framework within which the study should be conducted in Chapter One, and reviewed literature on the theories and concepts of throughput and student throughput in particular as well as global student throughput trends and postgraduate candidature models in Chapter Two. To fully appreciate the delivery of postgraduate studies and throughput trends at the study institution, Chapter Three was devoted to the review of the University of Ghana‟s postgraduate study delivery system, and its enrolment and output statistics compared with similar trends in other African Universities. The research design was explained in Chapter Four, and, guided to adopt the mixed methods approach because of its efficacy in rendering research findings credible and reliable, a number of past masters and doctoral students who extended their candidatures while at the University of Ghana provided data by completing questionnaires. Thesis supervisors and examiners selected on the basis of experience also provided data by completing questionnaire, heads of departments, past deans and thesis schedule officers and the Ghana Education Trust Fund Secretariat provided information through interviews. To further unravel specific cases of the phenomenon, which might not be obtained by means of questionnaire and interviews, relevant information were extracted from selected case files that typify cases of delayed candidature and non-completions. In Chapter Five, Quantitative data were analyzed statistically, qualitative data were analyzed using the open coding method, and documentary data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings and recommendations from the study were reported in Chapter Six. The findings confirmed the perceptions and reports and the major factors responsible for delayed completion and non-completion, including other unpopular factors were identified and discussed. Recommendations were made to address the findings, with particular reference to the role of each stakeholder in strengthening postgraduate study delivery to ensure high throughput at the University of Ghana. In the end, three models were developed for improving candidature durations for masters and doctoral candidates, and for ensuring timely examination of theses. The researcher hopes that, if implemented, the recommendations would help to improve postgraduate study delivery and throughput at the University of Ghana. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

The desire to attract an increasing number of minorities is pushing institutions of higher learning to brand themselves and communicate with students in ways that ensure their identification with the institution. Students' identification with an institution is one way to increase their enrollment numbers at the institution. This study was interested in determining whether NDSU's Graduate School and Office of Multicultural Programs used Cheney's (1983a) organizational identification inducement strategies in their recruitment and retention material that targeted multicultural graduate students. A closed coding textual analysis was used to analyze the material. Three of the four strategies were present in the analyzed communication material. Results are discussed in terms of key findings and practical implications for NDSU and other institutions that are interested in increasing their enrollment numbers of multicultural graduate students.

College student retention has been described as a puzzle because retention rates have stagnated, and in some cases declined, despite over seventy years of research into the problem. The magnitude of the problem is that 50 percent of college students will leave their institution before obtaining a degree (Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2011). In an effort to improve retention rates, colleges and universities have concentrated their attention on first year students. But this concentrated strategy may have simply transferred the retention problem into the second year where retention rates for many schools are as low as first year rates (Amaury, Barlow, & Crisp, 2005). While advising practices have been identified as one of the three top contributors to increasing retention, major gaps exist about the role academic advising might play in the retention of second year students. The present correlational study was undertaken to fill gaps in the mostly conceptual second year literature base which implies second year students differ from first year and upper division students. Advising formed the focus of the study because advising has been identified as one of the most important methods for putting students into a mentoring relationship with college staff and faculty, a practice with strong ties to retention (Habley & McClanahan, 2004; Kuh, 2008). Six research questions were posed in the study which asked whether second year students differed from first year and upper division students and whether retained second year students differed from not retained second year students in their attitudes toward and experiences with advising. Using simultaneous and logistic regression models, and controlling for confounding variables, statistically significant differences were found between second year students and their first year and upper division peers as well as between retained second year students and not retained second year students. The findings of difference between second year and other students provide the growing second year retention literature with an empirical basis to support previously held assumptions about difference between class years which had also formed the basis for presumptions about practice for second year success and retention. Many of the findings in this study also support present retention and second year research and prescriptions for practice provided by that research.

Academic advising has been touted as a key to student success and retention. Today's academic advising delivery models vary considerably and little is known about the efficiency and effectiveness of these models. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between how academic advising is delivered to first-year students at a four-year public, high research activity university located on the west coast and the students' satisfaction with advising, advising learning outcomes, and retention. In the study, responses of 628 first-year students to a survey which asked them about their attitudes toward and experiences with academic advising were examined. Results indicated statistically significant relationships between student satisfaction ratings and advising learning outcomes and how advising is delivered, specifically, who advises students, where students are advised, how frequently students are required to see an advisor, how frequently students choose to see an advisor, and how "mandatory" advising is implemented. Furthermore results showed that student retention was related to who advises students and how "mandatory" advising is implemented with peer-led advising processes showing higher student attrition rates than other processes. The overall advising delivery variable effect size was small. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.

The study was necessitated by the fact that the throughput rates of accounting students studying at distance learning institutions in South Africa are disturbingly low when compared to students studying at residential universities. Bearing in mind the magnitude of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) market share of accounting students in South Africa, it was pivotal to comprehend the unique challenges related to retention and throughput of these students. This thesis reports on a case study of the use of mobile phones in an Accounting module by applying the theories of didactic conversation and transactional distance to understand the retention and throughput rates of the Accounting students in an open distance learning (ODL) environment. Considering the landscape of accounting education in South Africa, the specific challenges faced by accounting students at Unisa and the recent scholarly discourse on retention and throughput of distance education students, this study contributes to the limited theoretical understanding of students’ retention and throughput rates in an Accounting module at Unisa. This theoretical understanding has been obtained through combining the transactional distance theory of Moore (1973) and the didactic conversation of Holmberg (1982) in a single conceptual framework. By applying this framework, this thesis makes an original contribution to the deepening understanding of the retention and throughput rates of accounting students in an ODL environment. The study has shown that retention and throughput rates can be improved through the lessening of the transactional distance between facilitator and student and by improving the quality and extent of the two-way didactic conversation in the learning process. To this effect, the study provided empirical evidence of the successful use of various complementing technology interventions, suitable for accounting students with time constraints, to enhance the learning process. / Management Accounting / D. Com.

This research is set within the context of the Kenyan Public Universities, where with the changing student population dynamics, students are increasingly choosing to combine parenting with studies. Many of these student parents both male and female have had to negotiate the academic requirements as well as the burden of parenthood. Such a study is important at this time of privatization and liberalization of higher education in order to open up public discourse on the provision of higher education and the effect on the socio-economic status of the students. Using qualitative research analysis based on socio-educational, socio cultural as well as socio-economic status (SES), a study was designed and conducted with the question posed: What are the socio-educational approaches of public universities with respect to student parents. Eighteen (18) interviews of ten (10) university officials and eight (8) student parents formed the research sample. Qualitative research questions were prepared in an in-depth interview guide and a focus group questioning route. Data revealed that there are students both male and female who are actively parenting in the public university and that they face role conflict and financial challenges which impacts on retention and completion rates of students in the public university. The research argues that there is need to create awareness of socioeconomic status (SES) in the university approach to inclusiveness of all students as well as student parents. Recommendations based on this study should be helpful as guidelines for a model on guidance for student parents as well as documentation of a clear policy on approaches or support for student parenthood in the public university. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The study was necessitated by the fact that the throughput rates of accounting students studying at distance learning institutions in South Africa are disturbingly low when compared to students studying at residential universities. Bearing in mind the magnitude of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) market share of accounting students in South Africa, it was pivotal to comprehend the unique challenges related to retention and throughput of these students. This thesis reports on a case study of the use of mobile phones in an Accounting module by applying the theories of didactic conversation and transactional distance to understand the retention and throughput rates of the Accounting students in an open distance learning (ODL) environment. Considering the landscape of accounting education in South Africa, the specific challenges faced by accounting students at Unisa and the recent scholarly discourse on retention and throughput of distance education students, this study contributes to the limited theoretical understanding of students’ retention and throughput rates in an Accounting module at Unisa. This theoretical understanding has been obtained through combining the transactional distance theory of Moore (1973) and the didactic conversation of Holmberg (1982) in a single conceptual framework. By applying this framework, this thesis makes an original contribution to the deepening understanding of the retention and throughput rates of accounting students in an ODL environment. The study has shown that retention and throughput rates can be improved through the lessening of the transactional distance between facilitator and student and by improving the quality and extent of the two-way didactic conversation in the learning process. To this effect, the study provided empirical evidence of the successful use of various complementing technology interventions, suitable for accounting students with time constraints, to enhance the learning process. / Management Accounting / D. Com.