The Perceptions Of Minority Students Drop-Outs

The problem of university retention rates is not a new issue, but it is a continual situation that must be addressed on a consistent basis. Due to the number of students who choose to transfer from Westland University, we need to create a new academic agenda that will steadily bring in revenue. There was a motion a couple of years ago that tried to rectify this issue, a decision made to close two out of our three commuter campuses. This decision did eliminate some financial burden, but it also hindered our application rates plus the number of transfer students who left Westland for another college did increase. Consequently, until the finances of the university stabilize the school is now moving forward by electing to offer more

With the rising high school graduation rates among the African-American student body, African-American students are still underrepresented in institutions of higher education (Stinnett, Perkins, Parla, Monson & Ready, 2017). Despite the increasing trends in high school graduation rates among African-American students, immediate college enrollment has not increased significantly since 1990 (Stinnett et al., 2017).

Gottfried (2013) supported the notion that urban students are at an exceptionally high risk for educational failure. In addition, Pharris-Ciurej, Hirschman, and Willhoft (2012) noted that students from low-income families were nearly 26% less likely to graduate from high school. The findings from this study further proposed an overrepresentation of retained students residing in disadvantaged areas among students who drop out of school, and students residing in underprivileged areas exhibited unforeseen academic

Many institutions face challenges retaining and graduating community college students. Students, faculty, staff, and administrators need work together to find ways to help these students succeed. Through the use of the Achieving the Dream initiative, the organization can help community colleges and their students to stay with their school and become successful academically and professionally.

Student retention is an issue that has been plaguing college and universities for a very long time. Retention of students in higher education in itself has many facets some of which follow a positive order such as when students go from a two year institution to a four year institution and a negative when students just drop out of school. Either event can cause an economic disruption unless this is something that is expected or planned for. Institution with formula funding is very sensitive to such swing in student demographics. While not desirable it is a fact that some institution have grown to accept.

Tinto (1975, 1993, 1997) indicated that the success of college student depended on their academic integration and social integration. However, social integration in colleges has not been as consistent in predicting student persistence as academic integration (Beil, Reisen, Zea, & Caplan, 1999; Braxton, Hirschy, & McClendon, 2004). Nontraditional students was found to have less interaction with faculty and students (social integration factors) than traditional (Bean and Metzger, 1985). Nontraditional students also were reported to difficulties in institutional initiatives than traditional ones (Jalomo, 1995; Rendón, 1994).

While retention is important for all institutions of higher education, there is more to receiving an education apart from the enrollment and retention rates. This includes the quality of the education being obtained and progression of students during college. In addition to benefiting student retention, academic advising increases the quantity of students graduating due to students taking the appropriate coursework and meeting the requirements to work towards graduation. According to Pascarella and Terenzini, research continually represents that academic advising performs a function in students’ judgments to continue and in their likelihoods of graduating from college (2005). Furthermore, Metzner found that excellent academic advising had

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States and several other countries face a common problem. Student retention is a growing problem across the nation for all ethnic groups and all ages. Each individual who chooses to drop out of school has their own personal reasons as to why they do. However, many drops out can be completely avoided. When students drop out they are not clearly thinking about how it’s going to affect their future, the future of their children and even grandchildren. Although there are several reasons as to why students drop out of school, we will be exploring a few as it relates to why student retention is a growing problem.

I work for a college as a Coordinator in our nursing program, part of my duties is student retention and I believe that’s what your study is referring to. Most of our students are non-traditional ages 25-65 and have been out of high school for many years. At one time we did what was called a wonderlic test for entering students, this test would gauge the student on math, English and would let us know if the student needed remediation classes. The college then decided to take in all students with no test, if you could breathe and was of age you could attend. When the college did away with the test there was a 21% drop in retention of students over a year period of time. When students take classes that are above their education level

Of the vast majority of freshman orientations, the university president always reiterates the same cliché line that sounds like, “Look at the person to your left and right, one of you will not make it to graduation.” One would concur that it seems almost impossible to have 100% graduation rate, but the question remains why? The study of retention in higher education started around forty years ago from a psychological stand point (Tinto, V. 2007). Over the past 40 years the main point that can be contributed to the graduation or drop out of a student is the student’s experience during their first year at the university (Tinto, V. (2007). Although the study of retention in higher education is relatively young, there is significant studies throughout America outlining some of the main issues that lead to, students dropping out of college. Perhaps the most popular reason for dropping out of college is funding. With the decline of state funding for higher education throughout the country, 4 year institutions were forced to raise their cost of education. Not all American households can afford to continue to send their children to college (Harkin, T. (2013). Of all the causes for students leaving college the most disheartening cause is, the student not being prepared for college level course work. There is substantial amount of evidence that shows a student’s support network, on campus, in their first year of school leads to the academic success or failure of that student with in

In America, there is a growing problem of college dropouts, which if left untreated for even a generation, will be detrimental to not only educational standards, but also the country’s ability to maintain its competitive edge in the financial markets, technological advancements, and fields of academia. This problem with dropout rates seem to lie in a large percentage of students who do not know what they want to do or have the motivation and direction to achieve higher educational goals. Therefore, In order to curb this rising decline, undecided students will need more commitment from the school’s administration.

Student adjustment is a critical issue concerning student retention, because if a student can’t adjust to being a college student then more than likely they will drop out or struggle throughout college to finish. Most, if not all universities realize that the First Year Experience (FYE) is critical to retaining students. Some schools go to great lengths to help their freshman students adjust to being away from home and being a college student. Whether the university chooses to or not the FYE is an important factor in determining the success of a student at that university.

While there are many problems college students’ face while attempting to obtain a degree, the largest hindrance from completion is that of financial ability. One of the largest contributors to college dropout rates is the lack of financial support. Many college students must work either full or part time to support themselves or their families. With the declining economy and increasing costs of college tuition, funds are being scarcely distributed and many college students find that they are unable to continue their education due of this.

The 2016 article “Students Satisfaction as a Predictor of Retention in a Professional Online For-Profit Higher Educational Institution” by Eric Page and Melinda Kulick is enlightening and insightful because they expanded on previous satisfaction and retention research by exploring the relationship with the online for-profit division. By using a binary logistic regression, they found that three items significantly predicted student retention. Page and Kulick argue that the evolution and boom of the online learning platform has attracted increased attention toward student retention. They argue that online institutions have historically attracted students with the understanding that many will not graduate. Ultimately, creating massive student debt and damaging the institutions reputations.

Students are one of the most important parts of the educating process. Without them, there would be no need for the education system. The students’ best interests are always at the center of the decisions being made, regarding the education system. Retention affects hundreds of thousands of children annually (Turnet & Kaskins, 2014). The topic of holding students back is one that has been debated for years. Holding students back is also referred to as being retained. Retention refers to “a child repeating his or her grade level again the following year” (Fitz, 2007). Retention is one response to students who under-achieve. Retention gives the student an extra year to perform at grade level (Martin, 2011). This became a hot topic of interest after the “No Child Left Behind” policy was put into place in 2002 (Phillips, 2008). This policy focused on helping the students that were at a high-risk of failure. These students were the ones that would potentially be held back. This shift in focus highlighted the need of meeting grade level requirements, so no child would be left behind. A problem arose when students were not meeting their grade-level requirements. Thus, the education system was left with a decision to make: hold the student back or promote them to the next grade level. The effects of being promoted to the next grade level or being retained have been studied to try to solve this dilemma.