Exploring Work-students' Experiences of Persistence at a Northeastern Community College

Exploring Work-students' Experiences of Persistence at a Northeastern Community College PDF Author: José E. Vélez Otero
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to investigate the experience of persistence on the part of work-study students at a Northeastern community college. The construct of resilience provided the conceptual framework through which the collected data were analyzed. The broad question informing this investigation was how do work-study students understand the experiences that influence their decision to persist at a community college. Data from one-on-one interviews served as the main source of information, followed by observations made by the researcher and information from the college's Banner Data System. Each participant's account was analyzed individually. From the preliminary tables, a main chart was created that contained four superordinate themes with 10 nested themes. Data were validated against the participants' transcripts and participant's feedback. The research findings over all revealed that their persistence was influenced by the way they strengthened their resiliency as they developed the mechanisms required to cope with stress, engage in what they sensed as welcoming environments, develop personal and professional identities, and acquire time-management skills. These findings suggest that to improve campus persistence among adult populations at this particular community college, similar work opportunities should be made available to more students. Higher-education institutions, by finding alternative ways to fund on-campus work, should ensure that student jobs are paired with individuals' areas of study and take place at culturally inclusive work locations where they can feel connected with both supervisors and peers and can experience professional growth. Future research might include a multi-community-college study with a larger sample size, other extra-curricular groups, and additional factors influencing students to drop out despite participation in work-study.

Exploring Work-students' Experiences of Persistence at a Northeastern Community College

Exploring Work-students' Experiences of Persistence at a Northeastern Community College PDF Author: José E. Vélez Otero
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to investigate the experience of persistence on the part of work-study students at a Northeastern community college. The construct of resilience provided the conceptual framework through which the collected data were analyzed. The broad question informing this investigation was how do work-study students understand the experiences that influence their decision to persist at a community college. Data from one-on-one interviews served as the main source of information, followed by observations made by the researcher and information from the college's Banner Data System. Each participant's account was analyzed individually. From the preliminary tables, a main chart was created that contained four superordinate themes with 10 nested themes. Data were validated against the participants' transcripts and participant's feedback. The research findings over all revealed that their persistence was influenced by the way they strengthened their resiliency as they developed the mechanisms required to cope with stress, engage in what they sensed as welcoming environments, develop personal and professional identities, and acquire time-management skills. These findings suggest that to improve campus persistence among adult populations at this particular community college, similar work opportunities should be made available to more students. Higher-education institutions, by finding alternative ways to fund on-campus work, should ensure that student jobs are paired with individuals' areas of study and take place at culturally inclusive work locations where they can feel connected with both supervisors and peers and can experience professional growth. Future research might include a multi-community-college study with a larger sample size, other extra-curricular groups, and additional factors influencing students to drop out despite participation in work-study.

Increasing Persistence

Increasing Persistence PDF Author: Wesley R. Habley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470888431
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 513

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Book Description
INCREASING PERSISTENCE "Of all the books addressing the puzzle of student success and persistence, I found this one to be the most helpful and believe it will be extremely useful to faculty and staff attempting to promote student success. The authors solidly ground their work in empirical research, and do a brilliant job providing both an overview of the relevant literature as well as research-based recommendations for intervention." GAIL HACKETT, PH.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; professor, counseling and educational psychology, University of Missouri, Kansas City Research indicates that approximately forty percent of all college students never earn a degree anywhere, any time in their lives. This fact has not changed since the middle of the 20th century. Written for practitioners and those who lead retention and persistence initiatives at both the institutional and public policy levels, Increasing Persistence offers a compendium on college student persistence that integrates concept, theory, and research with successful practice. It is anchored by the ACT's What Works in Student Retention (WWISR) survey of 1,100 colleges and universities, an important resource that contains insights on the causes of attrition and identifies retention interventions that are most likely to enhance student persistence.?? The authors focus on three essential conditions for student success: students must learn; students must be motivated, committed, engaged, and self-regulating; and students must connect with educational programs consistent with their interests and abilities. The authors offer a detailed discussion of the four interventions that research shows are the most effective for helping students persist and succeed: assessment and course placement, developmental education initiatives, academic advising, and student transition programming. Finally, they urge broadening the current retention construct, providing guidance to policy makers, campus leaders, and individuals on the contributions they can make to student success.

Understanding Persistence of the Latino/a Adult Student at the Community College

Understanding Persistence of the Latino/a Adult Student at the Community College PDF Author: Yolanda Reyes Guevara
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
Student persistence has been a topic of discussion in higher education for decades. Researchers have examined factors that affect persistence for traditional-aged students with research focusing on quantitative studies that fail to acknowledge the individual experiences of persistence. Likewise, there is minimal research on Latino/a adult students and their experiences with persistence at community colleges. This dissertation study examined the Latino/a adult student at the community college to gain a better understanding of their lived experiences of persistence. This study took place at an urban, two-year institution in south Texas that has a high number of Hispanic or Latino/a students and a low number of adult students. For this study, I examined the following overarching research question: Looking through the lens of Latino/a adult students, what explains the phenomenon of their persistence at the community college? This study utilized a phenomenological, qualitative approach to explore the overarching question. The study followed a phenomenological methodology in order to focus on the lived experiences of the participants and to further explore the phenomenon of persistence. Two semi-structured interviews and a critical incident reflection were used to gather data from the participants. The themes that emerged from the data analysis were the following: the past will not define my future, moving into higher education, finding my place in higher education, aiming for a better life, what matters to me, making connections, and looking into a mirror. Sub-themes were identified for each of these themes as well, and study findings were interpreted in light of existing research literature and the study's conceptual framework encompassing Schlossberg's Transition Theory (1981) and Yosso's theory of Community Cultural Wealth (2005). The study adds to the body of literature on Latino/a adult students and their persistence and also provides implications for practice for practitioners in the field of higher education.

They returned, but will they stay? Exploring the influence of college experiences on adult students' persistence

They returned, but will they stay? Exploring the influence of college experiences on adult students' persistence PDF Author: W. A. Locke (III.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


A Community Research Guide to Student Persistence

A Community Research Guide to Student Persistence PDF Author: Ed D Michael K Blanchard
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 70

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Book Description
According to the United States Department of Education, only 22% of all students who enroll in community colleges complete an associate degree within three years. Only 16% of students at urban community colleges earn a degree in the same time frame. This rate rises to 35% after five years; however, 45% of these degree-seekers drop out and do not graduate. Community college administrators recognize that most of their student population desires to earn a degree, but many lack the knowledge, skills, and support to complete college. For example, only 68% of students enroll in a 2-year or 4-year course program in post-secondary institutions upon completing their high school studies. Very few community college students graduate, and the completion rate of those who enroll in 2-year institutions was found to be only 30%. This low graduation rate is related to the college readiness of the learner prior to enrollment. Thus, community college faculty and administrators agree that addressing the problems of academically unprepared students and the developmental programs intended to help those students need to be essential components of any framework for understanding and improving community college persistence. This guide serves to empower college students and their families to improve their outcomes over the course of their academic careers.

They Returned, But Will They Stay?

They Returned, But Will They Stay? PDF Author: W. A. Locke (III.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Adult education dropouts
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
This study explored how college experiences, as perceived by adult students, influenced their decisions on persistence. Specifically, the role students' perceptions of their college experiences played in their decisions to persist in college or voluntarily depart without completing a degree was examined. A grounded theory approach was used involving 26 current, completed, and non-completed students between 40 and 65 years of age. Of these 26 students, 23 had returned to college to obtain masters or doctoral degrees, two had recently obtained their bachelors degree and were now seeking graduate certificates, and one was completing her bachelors degree after a 39 year absence from college. These students were interviewed regarding their college experiences within five main areas: Business Processes, Support Services, Student/Advisor Interactions, Classroom Environment, and Feelings of Fit. Within these areas, four categories of phenomena regarding students' college experiences were identified as most influential in their decisions regarding persistence: Importance of Relationships, Assessment of Value, Feelings of Fit, and Challenges Encountered. Student's Expectations was the central category that brought the others together and served as the building blocks for theory, as an explanation regarding the phenomenon. The resulting theory, Adult students' expectations of their college experiences influence their perceptions and assessment of the actual experiences, thereby influencing their decisions to persist in or depart college, responds to this study's research questions. Regarding the five main areas of college experiences, analysis showed that interaction with advisors and instructors was critically important to students, and that classes students considered intellectually challenging were also considered the most valuable. While analysis also showed that business processes and support services mattered to students, their significance was minor in comparison to the other areas. Students' overall feelings of fit were related across the spectrum of college experiences to the level of harmony or discord between their expectations and their perceptions of the experiences. Based on the findings, it appears that college experiences, as perceived by adult students, can influence their decisions on persistence. It is recommended that colleges promote open discussion of students' expectations to reduce discord between expectations and perceptions of experiences.

The Transfer Experience

The Transfer Experience PDF Author: John N. Gardner
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000978516
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Co-published with At last there is a handbook that everyone in higher education can use to help increase transfer student success. This comprehensive resource has been brought together to meet the need for a truly holistic approach to the transfer experience. The book brings together research, theory, practical applications, programmatic illustrations, case studies, encouragement, and inspiration, and is supplemented by an online compendium for continual updates of resources, case studies, and new developments in the world of transfer.Based on a totally different way of thinking about, understanding, and acting to increase transfer student success, The Transfer Experience goes far beyond the traditional, limited view of transfer as a technical process simply about articulating credits, a stage of student development, or a novel enrollment management strategy. Rather, the book introduces a stimulating array of new perspectives, resources, options, models, and recommendations for addressing the many needs of this huge cohort – making the academic, civic, and social justice cases for improving transfer at both transfer-sending and transfer-receiving institutions.

Exploring the Relationships Between Self-efficacy and Student Success and Persistence at the Community College ; a Dissertation

Exploring the Relationships Between Self-efficacy and Student Success and Persistence at the Community College ; a Dissertation PDF Author: Shelley J. Fortin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Community colleges
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description


Effects of Intervening Work Experience on Undergraduate Persistence

Effects of Intervening Work Experience on Undergraduate Persistence PDF Author: Floyd Russell Anible
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 110

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Book Description
Some of the variables had interesting and unexpected effects. There was a significant difference between the likelihood of persistence of those subjects who had an intervening work experience and those who did not. However, the outcome was opposite that of the original hypothesis in that the likelihood of persistence of those who did not have the intervening work experience was about 12 times greater than that of those who had the work experience.

Exploring Persistence Factors of Latino Graduates of a Two-Year, Private, Career College

Exploring Persistence Factors of Latino Graduates of a Two-Year, Private, Career College PDF Author: Lori Jean Spencer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Latino college students face factors in their lives on a daily basis that affect their persistence in college. While the nation is seeing an increase in Latino enrollment in higher education institutions, the persistence rates of Latino students are not higher than other students, regardless of ethnicity. Several theorists such as Astin, Tinto, Pascarella, and Terenzini have studied specific variables affecting Latino college student persistence; however, Terenzini and Reason (2005) developed a model that combined the multiple forces affecting Latino college student persistence. This qualitative case study was guided by two questions that intended to explore the phenomenon of college student persistence factors: (1) How do college experiences affect Latino persistence to graduation? and (2) How do cultural factors promote or hinder Latino college persistence? Findings produced six key themes: (1) Campus Influences, (2) Out of Class Experiences, (3) Curricular Experiences, (4) Teachers' Influences, (5) Influential People, and (6) Pre-college Preparation. The themes identify key components of student experiences before they begin college and while they are attending. These components work together as a force developing each student with skills that promote persistence in college such as student engagement, admission's criteria, cultural capital, and family support.