Student Retention In College Essay

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Retention rates are one of the biggest issues faced by higher education institutions today, especially in community colleges. Studies have shown that students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds Demographically, financially, and academically may be more likely to attend community colleges but less likely to complete their post-secondary education. In this paper, seven research studies will be examined to answer two questions. The first is “What factors affect students’ decision to return to post-secondary institutions?” The second is “How can higher education institutions improve retention rates?”
Literature Review
What Factors Affect Students’ Decision to Return to Post-Secondary Institutions? This section will review four fairly recent …show more content…

However, they only researched students within community colleges, followed the surveyed students through their next term, and were not focused on minorities. This study explored retention rates and student persistence with more detail compared to others. The analysis factored in 63 survey items including self-efficacy, goals, student-faculty interaction, demographics, financial background, and academic background. They ultimately decided that many of the factors that were considered do not have a large impact in students’ decision to return to college or not. Some factors that did make a difference were age, work hours, and English proficiency. Students who were younger, worked minimal hours, and had strong English, were more likely to return and succeed in school than others. However, they realized that the students’ overall grade point average was probably the strongest predictor of persistence no matter what their background was. Their grade point average helped them decide to stay at community college and increased their persistence, along with having relationships within the college with someone such as faculty, counselors or administrations. Overall above average grades and ties to a representative of the institution decreased the risk of students dropping out. These finding are significant because institutions can be aware to provide in-person support for students along with resources to help students maintain a successful grade point

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