Critical Issues in Student Retention
Whether a student is working through a certification program, two-year degree, four-year degree, or higher, there are many reasons students fail to finish their chosen program. When looking at second-year persistence, retention must be viewed uniquely to each type of student. In addition to the type of student, factors contributing to successful matriculation should also be identified. Following is a description of seven student types used to review retention rates, and factors known to contribute to second-year persistence. Additionally, other concepts such as the use of remedial classes to increase the likelihood for success, factors affecting female students, and factors influencing students of minority
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High-risk students consist of students from low socioeconomic household, lower-level achievers, entry-level degree aspirations, above the average age for college, and already raising children (Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, 1999). First generation students, as the name implies, are students who are the first in their family to attend college. Additional factors that contribute to a decreased likelihood for completion for first generation students are entering college significantly behind students who are not first generation students, beginning their program in a two-year college versus a four-year college, attend school part-time, and do not integrate socially with other students from the school. African American student retention is affected by students feeling school faculty is prejudiced against them, feeling controlled by rules imposed at White institutions, failing to adapt socially, failing to develop interracial friendships prior to college, and minimal support from parents. The greatest factor for Hispanic students is …show more content…
For new college students, those with better grades in elementary and high school were more likely to make it to their second-year of college. Another indicating factor was higher levels of educational goals. Those students whose goal was to earn a Bachelor or Master Degree, had a greater likelihood of persistence when compared to their counterparts pursuing a certificate or two-year degree. Also indicative of successful continuance to year-two were student study habits. Those students who complete submit all assignments on time and have a regimented homework schedule had greater chances of retention. Interestingly, marital status indicators were different between males and females. Males who were married had a greater likelihood of successful completion of their program. In contrast, single females were more likely than married females to remain in school (Astin, Seidman, Berger, & Bibo,
The documentary, First Generation, follows four first generation college students who try and balance the hardships of working, sports, being part of a lower socioeconomic status and handling the challenges of learning how to apply and cover the cost of hefty college tuitions. In this paper, I will discuss barriers that some students experienced, the benefits of attainting a college education as a first generation student and some of the challenges individuals faced once they were accepted into college.
Everett pointed out the favorable circumstances provided by public community colleges which created access for first-generation students. She divided access into five categories: financial, geographic, programmatic, academic, and cultural/social/physical accessibility. She went on to elaborate the different ways in which these elements aided first-generation students in attending college. She concluded the article with a few challenges faced by first-generation students and the programs that were implemented to combat such challenges.
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
How does being the first in one’s family to graduate from college impact one’s desire to finish college? Some of the major barriers first generation college students face include lack of motivation, lack of support, and low income finances. Some freshman students might lack the motivation to do well in school because of the lack of appropriate role models or mentors in the academic environment. These difficulties can be tied to lack of support at home; the parents might not be concerned about their child's education, maybe the parent lacks the ability to guide them through college, the parent might not have the process of having not navigated it themselves. Parents might feel embarrassed that they don’t have any knowledge to help them through college.
Saunders, M., & Serna, I. (2004). Making college happen: The college experiences of first-generation Latino students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3(2), 146-163.
Despite the initiatives used by universities to resolve the issue with retention amongst this group of students, there is a relatively high rate of first generation students not returning to college. The “combined portrait” facing first year students is one of students at academic risk, where a disproportionally low number succeed in college. They are more likely to leave at the end of the first year and less likely to stay enrolled or attain a bachelor’s degree after five years (Stuber, 2008). Dr. McKay ,a professor at the University of Oklahoma in a study found that approximately 43% of FGS leave college before finishing a degree where the drop-out rate of non-first generation student is 20% (McKay & Estrella, 2008)
Most first generation college students are significantly older than the average, approximately 24 year of age (Pascarella et. al 2004). The surrounding low-income environments that many of these students are raised around can explain this late age. This financial pressure can also explain another category of first generation students, preparation (Chen & Carroll, 2005). These students are often less prepared to enter the college life. They have not been exposed to the necessary preparation needed to succeed on college admissions tests and furthermore don’t meet the performance requirements that universities and institutions require. Analyzing the prefaces that surround the environment of first generation college students aids in understanding current problems faced in college as well as assist in proposing solutions for this subset of
If failure ever becomes an option, reconsider your choices and work out a plan where it is not even considered. Finding groups that help first generation students will help you tenfold. Students do not have to face the learning curve alone. Tutors and professors understand that being a first generation student is difficult even if the university doesn’t have anything to help. On top of not knowing about college and dealing with a learning curve, first generation students also have a fear of becoming unrecognizable to their own families. The development of two separate identities can often make it difficult for these students to branch out and learn. The fear of becoming someone else and not knowing can lead students to living in a shell where they are not only excluding themselves from others, but also from learning and being educated. More colleges need to implement a program that helps first generation students transition to college life. Without anything being done, these students will continue to have the highest dropout
Being a first generation college student has been my biggest struggle in life. For years, I was told to attend Allen Community College before any big changes of course I didn’t listen. For years I was told I wouldn’t last in a big university, I have been told I will be unprepared and behind. I have been told that three out of five first generations students do not complete a degree. Being told something isn’t possible is a hard thing to deal with.
Shoup, Rick. Kinzie, Julian. “Unmasking the Effects of Student Engagement on First-Year College Grades and Persistence.” Journal of Higher Education. Sep/Oct2008, Vol. 79 Issue 5, p540-563. Web. 29 April 2014.
In the 21st century, if an individual decides to make a major commitment or resolution, they have the utmost support from their peers and family members. However, when a first-generation college student decides on furthering their education, the dearest people close to the student seem to disappear. Linda Banks-Santilli (2015) claims that first-generation students apply to a single college and without the help of a parent (para. 13). Although Banks-Santilli does not say so directly, she assumes that the students can not afford multiple application fees and the students are unsure on how to determine which college is a good fit, as their parents have not taken them on a college tour. I agree that first-generation students have far less help
Determining college readiness is an essential part of determining who will qualify as a good candidate for admission into a college or university. The last thing that colleges want is for students to qualify for admission and drop out, this affects drop out rate and graduation rate. Robin Chait and Andrea Venezia (2009). to about 83 percent of high school graduates enroll in some form of postsecondary education, but only about 52 percent of students complete their degrees. Further, a very small proportion of students complete a degree in four years—“among students starting at ‘four-year’ institutions, only 34 percent finish a B.A. in four years, 64 percent within six years, and 69 percent within eight and a half years.”
Trusty, J.; Robinson, C.; Plata, M. (2000). Effects of Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and Early Academic Performance on Postsecondary Educational Choice. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 463.
Since the early 70s theorists have pondered the causes of college dropout. Generally referred to as “student attrition,” this problem has spurred numerous causal theories and theoretical models. Vincent Tinto led the research with his revolutionary 1973 study, which he later revised (1987) amid criticism from other luminaries in the field, most notably Bean, Astin, Terenzini, and Pascarella. It is on the work of these scholars (including also Tinto) that all modern research in the student attrition field is based. I found and will review in brief some of the extensive research from Tinto to the present, including the basic criticisms therein. I will further explain the steps some colleges are currently taking to counteract this increasingly important issue.
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut Sabah Mazhar Galapagos is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut published in 1985. Although not one of his most well-known novels, it features some excellent themes along with an intriguing plot line. Set a million years in the future, the ghost of Leon Trotsky Trout, the deceased son of Vonnegut’s popular character Kilgore Trout, narrates the story of how the world changed and where everything began in 1986 on a cruise ship named the Bahia de Darwin. The main characters include a con artist named James Wait, a high school teacher named Mary Hepburn, a computer software whiz Zenji Hiroguchi and his wife Hisako Hirogushi, the captain of the ship Captain Adolf von Kleist. The world at this stage is in the midst of a financial crisis