College Student Retention and Success
Student retention is an important issue that warrants the attention of higher education institutions. It is a fact that some students may arrive at college with certain background characteristics that may predispose them to dropping out before completing their degree. However, this does not mean that institutions are powerless in addressing the forces compelling students to drop out. While higher education institutions and the students they serve are both very diverse, there are some general ideas and practices that institutions can consider incorporating into their efforts addressing student retention.
Below is a collection of ideas and practices that colleges and universities can utilize in their efforts to increase student persistence. They are organized using the five conditions outlined by Tinto:
Student Retention and Success: Sample Practices
I. Tinto's Condition for Retention: Advice
| Area of Practice | Recommendation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Advising | Use academic advising as an opportunity for students to have quality interaction with campus personnel | One of the primary factors affecting college retention is the quality of interaction a student has with a concerned person on campus (Habley, 2004). Academic advising is one of the few ways in which a college can formally implement this type of interaction (p. 16). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Academic Advising | Inform students of degree requirements and the campus resources that can help them earn their degree | To succeed, students need a roadmap that guides them through the institution and the field in which they want to earn a degree, the institutional resources available to them in pursuit of that degree, and requirements that have to be completed to earn a degree or certificate in their chosen field of study (Gordon, 2007; Gordon and Habley, 2000; Gordon, Habley, and Grites, 2008; King and Kerr, 2005). In response to these needs, institutions have established a range of advising programs (p. 17). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Student Support | Student support through counseling, mentoring, and advising can all play an important role in student retention | For many students, social support in the form of counseling, mentoring, and faculty and peer advising can spell the difference between staying and leaving (Bahr, 2008; Lidy and Kahn, 2006; Morales, 2009; Salinitri, 2005; Sorrentino, 2007) (p. 28). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
II. Tinto's Condition for Retention: Expectations
| Area of Practice | Recommendation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Expectations | Clearly communicate academic rules and expectations, and how they will be enforced | It appears that successful first-year retention in this type of institutional setting is based to a great extent on how well campuses can effectively communicate rules and expectations, enforce rules fairly, and encourage students' to participate in decision making across campus. In the classroom, this means having well-articulated, consistent, and clear expectations for assignments and grading. Therefore, it is important for academic leaders and administrators to make sure that individual faculty members know this information and provide professional development opportunities that can support individual faculty efforts in this area (p. 117). | Berger, J. B., & Braxton, J. M. (1998). Revising Tinto's Interactionalist Theory of Student Departure through Theory Elaboration: Examining the Role of Organizational Attributes in the Persistence Process. Research in Higher Education, 39(2), 103-119 |
| Academic Expectations | Communicate classroom expectations that establish the amount of effort that students must put forth | Student expectations, specifically those that most directly shape learning are primarily framed by the expectations teachers establish in their classrooms as to the amount of effort required of their students (Kirk, 2005) (p. 22). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Collaborative Learning | Use active and collaborative learning as an avenue to place higher expectations on students | Our results suggest that faculty seeking to improve their teaching might hold higher expectations of their students. They also should consider including active and collaborative learning activities in their classroom instruction or emphasize higher-order cognitive activities such as the application of learning or synthesis of ideas. Interactions with students in and out of the classroom also can have a profound effect on student learning (p. 176). | Umbach, P. D., & Wawrzynski, M. R. (2005). Faculty Do Matter: The Role of College Faculty in Student Learning and Engagement. Research in Higher Education, 46(2): 153-184 |
| Supplemental Instruction | Utilize supplemental instruction as a means to force students to take responsibility for the content of their learning | SI focuses on both process and content. SI sessions are structured to maximize active student involvement with the course material. Learning and study strategies, such as note-taking, graphic organization, questioning techniques, vocabulary acquisition, and test prediction and preparation are integrated into the course content. Students learn to verbalize what they do understand and clarify what they do not understand. The SI leader is a model student who provides an example of how successful students think about and process the course content. The leader facilitates study sessions, but does not re-lecture or introduce new material. Although the SI leader guides students in using their own notes and reading materials to help clarify course concepts, students assume responsibility for the structure by creating informal quizzes and note cards, brainstorming, designing problem-solving activities, or predicting test questions (p. 13). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
III. Tinto's Condition for Retention: Involvement
| Area of Practice | Recommendation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Participation | First-year seminars, service learning, and learning communities each contribute to the retention of students by encouraging social and academic integration | This study explored the relationship between three curricular interventions— first-year seminars, service-learning, and learning communities—and the longitudinal process of first-to-second year retention. The findings from descriptive analyses show that there are numerous positive relationships between these three interventions and integrative first-year experiences as described by Tinto’s (1987, 1993) longitudinal model of departure. Interestingly, the largest and most consistent positive relationships from the descriptive analyses were found with measures of student interaction with faculty. In addition, descriptive findings suggest that service-learning may be a particularly salient means of facilitating interaction with faculty, although further research on the quality of this interaction may be necessary as it is associated with feelings of intimidation on the part of students. These findings suggest that first-year seminars, learning communities, and particularly service-learning initiatives may be a means of overcoming this difficult aspect of first-year adjustment (p. 81). | Keup, J. R. (2005). The Impact of Curricular Interventions on Intended Second Year Re-Enrollment. Journal of College Student Retention, 7(1): 61-89 |
| Collaborative Learning | Use collaborative learning to help students development support networks that can help the be more socially and academically engaged | First, it is evident that participation in a collaborative or shared learning group enables students to develop a network of support - a small supportive community of peers - that helps bond students to the broader social communities of the college while also engaging them more fully in the academic life of the institution (p. 613). | Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6): 599-623 |
| Learning Community | View learning communities as a way to facilitate students' social development through the positive social relationships developed over shared academic goals | Much like the service-learning model, learning communities enable students to become more socially adept. Peer groups that share common academic goals enhance both social and academic efficacy by giving students a structure in which to build competence and confidence. As students’ confidence in their academic abilities grows they establish positive social relationships with peers from their classes. Such associations make them more likely to become integrated into the academic and social fabric of the college (p. 81). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Learning Community | Learning communities can help students develop of pragmatic and rewarding relationships with peers that build on mutual aid centered on common social and academic challenges | Based on the Sense of Belonging instrument, learning communities were found to facilitate the development of relationships that integrated both academic and social aspects of university life by allowing for greater interaction among peers around common challenges and stressors. The common agenda and similar struggles further encouraged student/peer interactions and helped to create meaningful bonds between students that are characterized by support rather than mere social unions. The inherent opportunity provided by the learning community model, for students to both aid other students and to be aided in meeting the challenges of academic demands, helped to create mutually rewarding and pragmatic connections among students and provided for relationships in which students not only valued knowing other students but felt valued themselves. The perception that one is cared about contributed directly to interpersonal attachment, intimacy, and reassurance; all of these increased students’ comfort around both social and academic matters and enhanced their ability to cope with the demands of the transition (p. 252). | Hoffman, M., Richmond, J., Morrow, J., & Salomone, K. (2002). Investigating "Sense of Belonging" in First-year College Students. Journal of College Student Retention, 4(3): 227-256 |
| Peer Interaction | Facilitate student interaction among peers and encourage them to forge close personal relationships with other students | Students' interactions with peers and developing close personal relationships with other students were related to persistence for both males and females (p. 445) | Nora, A., Cabrera, A., Hagedorn, L. S., & Pascarella, E. (1996). Differential Impacts of Academic and Social Experiences on College-Related Behavioral Outcomes across Different Ethnic and Gender Groups at Four-Year Institutions. Research in Higher Education, 37(4), 427-451 |
| Peer Interaction | Encourage students to form wide-ranging and well-established social relationships among peers | First, a broader discussion network is better. Those students with a greater proportion of ties outside of their peer group perform better academically and are more likely to persist (p. 609). | Thomas, S. L. (2000). Ties That Bind: A Social Network Approach to Understanding Student Integration and Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education: 71(5): 591-615 |
| Peer Interaction | Facilitate the social integration of students by encouraging them to development mutual relationships among peers | These results suggest it is also important to help maximize the number of student relationships that are viewed as mutual. Reciprocated relations boost the likelihood of a student being named as a relation by others, which in turn has a positive and direct impact on students' sense of affective social integration, commitment to the institution, and intention to persist (p. 610). | Thomas, S. L. (2000). Ties That Bind: A Social Network Approach to Understanding Student Integration and Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education: 71(5): 591-615 |
| Peer Interaction | Encourage students to be more academically and socially engaged with others | A condition for student retention, perhaps the most important, is involvement, or what is now commonly referred as engagement (Astin, 1984; Kuh, Schuh, Whitt, and Associates, 1991; Kuh et al, 2005; Tinto, 1975, 1993) (p. 64). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Peer Interaction | Facilitate forms of student involvement that are meaningful and supportive. | Decisions to stay or leave are shaped, in part, by the meaning students attach to their involvement, in the sense that their involvement is valued and that the community in which they interact is supportive of their presence on campus (p. 66). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Social Participation | Attempt to fulfill the social expectations students have of college, which will increase the level of social integration students develop from being content with the social community of their campus | The fulfillment of social expectations for college plays a noteworthy role in the college student departure process. The fulfillment of social expectations exerts a direct and positive influence on two key facets of the student departure process: social integration and subsequent institutional commitment. Moreover, it also wields an indirect effect on another key dimension of the college student departure process: the decision to withdraw or re-enroll. Specifically, the fulfillment of social expectations for college indirectly affects in a positive manner the student’s intent to re-enroll (p. 393). | Helland, P. A., Stallings, H. J., & Braxton, J. M. (2001). The Fulfillment of Expectations for College and Student Departure Decisions. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(4), 381-395 |
| Social Participation | Promote a wide range of student involvement that facilitate positive social interaction | From an intervention perspective, institutions should make every effort to encourage students to join different student organizations and to get all students involved in different activities. Moreover, institutions should create an atmosphere on campus where group study and interactions are invited (p. 445). | Nora, A., Cabrera, A., Hagedorn, L. S., & Pascarella, E. (1996). Differential Impacts of Academic and Social Experiences on College-Related Behavioral Outcomes across Different Ethnic and Gender Groups at Four-Year Institutions. Research in Higher Education, 37(4), 427-451 |
| Social Participation | Determine which forms of involvement are most effective in promoting student success | For institutions, the question is not whether students want to be involved – students go to college precisely to be involved – but to which forms of involvement they will direct their energies and how those involvements will shape their success in college (p. 67). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Social Participation | Encourage students to become more socially involved, since the emotional support they receive can aid in student retention | Social involvement and the emotional support that accrues from involvement also affect retention (Gloria, Kurpius, Hamilton, and Wilson, 1999; Gloria and Kurpius, 2001; Mallinckrodt, 1988) (p. 65). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
IV. Tinto's Condition for Retention: Learning
| Area of Practice | Recommendation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Participation | View student experiences in the classroom as vital to student retention | Assessing student classroom experiences institution-wide can also lead to improvements in student retention (p. 62). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Academic Participation | Emphasize student involvement in the classroom and quality student-faculty interaction | Academic and social involvement influences retention in a variety of ways. The impact of academic involvement arises primarily from classroom involvement and student-faculty interaction (e.g., Astin, 1984, 1993; Frielander, 1980; Ory and Braskamp, 1988; Parker and Schmidt, 1982; Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991) (p. 65). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Academic Participation | Refine student involvement and effort in the classroom | Specifically, it suggests important relationships, on one hand, between the educational activity structure of the classroom, student involvement, and the quality of student effort and, on the other, between quality of student effort, learning, and persistence (p. 614) | Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6): 599-623 |
| Academic Participation | Emphasize the classroom as an essential place for both formal learning and student-faculty socialization | For most institutions, especially those that are nonresidential, the classroom is the one place, perhaps the only place, where students meet each other and the faculty and engage in formal learning activities. For the great majority of students, success in college is most directly shaped by their experiences in the classroom (p. 114). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Active Learning | Implement enhanced lectures to encourage active learning among students | Faculty teaching methods also play a role in fostering student retention. Recommended teaching methods include the use of enhanced lectures in order to apply active learning in large classes (Braxton et al., 2000). Enhanced lectures consist of a series of short mini-lectures followed by specific active learning exercises (Bonwell, 1996). | Braxton, J. M., Brier, E. M., & Steele, S. L. (2007). Shaping Retention from Research to Practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3): 377-399 |
| Active Learning | Use active learning to demonstrate institutional commitment to students’ development and well-being, leading students to feel more socially integrated | The pattern of findings of this study tends to indicate that active learning practices that faculty use shape in students the perception that their college or university is committed to their welfare in general and their growth and development in particular, a perception that leads to their sense of social integration. The greater a student’s degree of social integration, the greater is his or her level of subsequent commitment to the college or university. The greater the student’s level of subsequent commitment to the college or university, the greater is his or her likelihood of persistence in the college or university of initial choice (p. 81). | Braxton, J. M., Jones, W. A., Hirschy, A. S., & Hartley III, H. V. (2008). The Role of Active Learning in College Student Persistence. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 115(Fall), 71-83 |
| Active Learning | Implement active learning in courses to facilitate social integration by helping students develop peer networks and establish membership in campus social communities | Students who infrequently experience active learning in their courses may become socially isolated in order to improve their academic performance in their courses. Active learning course activities may also help students develop friendships and networks of peer support that assist them in the establishment of membership in the social communities of their college or university. Thus, active learning course practices may directly influence social integration and indirectly affect subsequent institutional commitment and student departure decisions (p. 572). | Braxton, J. M., Milem, J. F., & Sullivan, A. S. (2000). The Influence of Active Learning on the College Student Departure Process: Toward a Revision of Tinto's Theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 569-590 |
| Active Learning | Encourage the utilization of educational practices that stress active student learning | The educational context created by faculty behaviors and attitudes has a dramatic effect on student learning and engagement. Institutions where faculty create an environment that emphasizes effective educational practices have students who are active participants in their learning and perceive greater gains from their undergraduate experience (p. 173). | Umbach, P. D., & Wawrzynski, M. R. (2005). Faculty Do Matter: The Role of College Faculty in Student Learning and Engagement. Research in Higher Education, 46(2): 153-184 |
| Collaborative Learning | Adopt cooperative learning and project-based learning, which are known to promote academic achievement and social engagement | The most commonly employed of pedagogies of engagement are cooperative or collaborative learning, and problem or project-based learning. Both have been shown to positively impact student success because they lead not only to greater academic achievement but also to social relationships with other students (Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005) (p. 68). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Collaborative Learning | Establish the classroom as a community of learning that blends the academic values of an institution with individual learning goals | Thus, using the classroom to create communities of learning must be a high priority in terms of creating a success oriented campus culture. Faculty members assisted by student development and other professionals familiar with culture-building strategies can work together to fashion a culturally rich and compelling classroom experience in ways that complement the institution’s academic values and meet students’ individual learning goals. This means that faculty members must also be more intentional about teaching institutional values and traditions and informing students about campus events, procedures, and deadlines such as registration. In addition, faculty members could design cooperative learning activities that extend beyond the class hour and classroom building to bring students together to work on meaningful tasks elsewhere on the campus in order to encourage the continued adoption of academic norms and values and resist what are often anti-intellectual influences of their primary peer reference groups (p. 35). | Kuh, G. D. (2001): Organizational Culture and Student Persistence: Prospects and Puzzles. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 23-39 |
| Collaborative Learning | Recognize the potential of collaborative learning to provide a more complex learning experience | Third, though we did not obtain information about "learning" as measured by tests either of content or skills (e.g., critical thinking, etc.), we know that student perceptions of intellectual gain as well as academic performance as measured by GPA were greater in the learning community setting than in the more traditional learning settings and that these "gains" were independent of student attributes. Just as important, we know from student comments that the quality of learning was seen to be different, indeed deeper and richer, in the collaborative learning settings (p. 614). | Tinto, V. (1997). Classrooms as Communities: Exploring the Educational Character of Student Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(6): 599-623 |
| Collaborative Learning | Explore collaborative learning and personalized systems of instruction as potential ways to increase social integration and persistence | Faculty use of such teaching methods as the lecture, collaborative learning, and personalized systems of instruction are examples of teaching methods that might variously affect social integration, subsequent institutional commitment, and persistence (p. 582). | Braxton, J. M., Milem, J. F., & Sullivan, A. S. (2000). The Influence of Active Learning on the College Student Departure Process: Toward a Revision of Tinto's Theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 569-590 |
| Faculty Commitment | Encourage faculty to be more responsive to the needs of their students | This study presents evidence that faculty attitudes and behaviors do affect retention in this sample. The results from the present study suggest that faculty can significantly contribute to student retention by using the following strategies: a) being supportive of students’ needs; b) returning phone calls and e-mails in a timely manner; and c) being approachable. | Lundquist, C., Spalding, R. J., & Landrum, R. E. (2002). College Student’s Thoughts About Leaving the University: The Impact of Faculty Attitudes and Behaviors. Journal of College Student Retention: 4(2): 123-133 |
| Faculty Commitment | Utilize organized and clear teaching methods that promote student satisfaction with their academic experience | Our analyses suggest that most of the causal influence of overall exposure to organized and clear instruction on reenrollment decisions is indirect, being mediated (or accounted for) by level of satisfaction with the first-year education one is receiving. Net of other influences, overall exposure to organized and clear instruction during the first year of college increases the likelihood that a student will be "very satisfied" with the undergraduate education he or she is receiving. In turn, this satisfaction has a net positive influence on the likelihood one will reenroll for the second year of undergraduate education at an institution (p. 67). | Pascarella, E. T., Seifert, T. A., & Whitt, E. J. (2008). Effective Instruction and College Student Persistence: Some New Evidence. New Directions For Teaching and Learning, 115, 55-70 |
| Faculty Commitment | Provide faculty with opportunities to develop skills that allow for clear and organized teaching | Our findings underscore the salience of faculty behaviors in student persistence decisions by suggesting that it is not just their nonclassroom interactions with students that count, but also their actual classroom instructional behaviors. Exposure to instructional behaviors that enhance learning (organization and clarity) might also increase the probability of a student’s persistence at an institution by increasing his or her sense of overall satisfaction with the education being received. Perhaps of equal, if not greater, importance to policymakers is the implication that delivering organized and clear classroom instruction might not be merely a function of an individual faculty member’s innate skills or propensities. Rather, as Weimer and Lenze (1997) suggested, faculty members can learn many of the constituent skills and behaviors required to implement organized and clear instruction in their courses (p. 67). | Pascarella, E. T., Seifert, T. A., & Whitt, E. J. (2008). Effective Instruction and College Student Persistence: Some New Evidence. New Directions For Teaching and Learning, 115, 55-70 |
| Faculty Commitment | Make faculty aware that they play an important role in student decisions to stay in college | Put differently, faculty classroom behaviors play a role in the student departure process. Three of the four indices of active learning wield a statistically significant influence on one or more of the central constructs of this study's theoretical perspective: social integration, subsequent institutional commitment, and students' intent to return (p. 581). | Braxton, J. M., Milem, J. F., & Sullivan, A. S. (2000). The Influence of Active Learning on the College Student Departure Process: Toward a Revision of Tinto's Theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 569-590 |
| Faculty Commitment | Stress adherence to college teaching norms to promote student learning, which may facilitate social integration and institutional commitment | Faculty adherence to undergraduate college teaching norms might also wield an influence on social integration, subsequent institutional commitment, and persistence. Such empirically derived proscribed undergraduate college teaching norms as condescending negativism, inattentive planning, moral turpitude, particularistic grading, personal disregard, and uncommunicated course details may hinder student learning of course content (Braxton & Bayer, 1999). As a consequence, students who take courses from faculty whose classroom decorum reflects these proscribed teaching behaviors may learn less from such courses. In turn, this may negatively affect their degree of social integration as well as in-directly influence their subsequent institutional commitment and departure decisions (p. 583). | Braxton, J. M., Milem, J. F., & Sullivan, A. S. (2000). The Influence of Active Learning on the College Student Departure Process: Toward a Revision of Tinto's Theory. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 569-590 |
| Feedback | Provide students with feedback that allows them to make adjustments to their academic performance | Students are more likely to succeed in settings that enable all parties – students, faculty, and staff – to adjust their behaviors to better promote student success. In such settings, students become more involved in learning activities, and more effective in self-assessment to improve their learning strategies and study habits. Feedback is particularly helpful when it creates a slight cognitive dissonance between what a person thinks of his or her performance and what a person discovers from feedback, because such dissonance can cause profound changes in behavior (Carroll, 1998) (p. 54). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Feedback | Refine classroom practices through the use of faculty and student feedback | Assessment and feedback is utilized within classrooms to create "feedback loops." These provide faculty and students alike with continuing information needed to improve both faculty teaching and student learning (Brookhart, 1999; Huba and Freed, 2000; Yao and Grady, 2005) (p. 57). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Learning Community | Know that learning communities are associated with a range of academic gains in skill and knowledge | Learning communities are associated with enhanced academic performance, integration of academic and social experiences, gains in multiple areas of skill, competence, and knowledge, and overall satisfaction with the college experience (p. 130). | Zhao, C., & Kuh, G. D. (2004). Adding Value: Learning Communities and Student Engagement. Research in Higher Education, 45(2): 116-138 |
| Learning Community | Establish learning communities as a way to promote students' academic and social success throughout their college careers | Participation in some form of learning community is positively related to student success, broadly defined to include enhanced academic performance, integration of academic and social experiences, positive perceptions of the college environment, and self-reported gains since starting college. The effects are somewhat stronger for first-year students. The effect sizes for seniors were nontrivial on a number of variables, indicating that the positive influence of learning communities persists throughout the college experience. (p. 132). | Zhao, C., & Kuh, G. D. (2004). Adding Value: Learning Communities and Student Engagement. Research in Higher Education, 45(2): 116-138 |
| Learning Community | Emphasize learning communities as a way to promote academic and social engagement | When fully implemented, learning communities have enhanced student retention by increasing both academic and social engagement (Pike, Kuh, and McCormick, 2008; Rocconi, 2010) (p. 72). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Learning Community | Maximize the potential of learning communities by blending meaningful learning experiences with a supportive environment | These findings suggest that it is the principle of connecting the learning experience in a meaningful way in a supportive environment that makes learning communities successful rather than the specific way the learning community concept is applied from institution to institution (p. 12). | Andrade, M. S. (2007). Learning Communities: Examining Positive Outcomes. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(1): 1-20. |
| Learning Community | Create successful learning communities by including an integrated curriculum, familiarizing student with campus resources, developing academic skills, and peer or faculty mentoring | Implications of this learning community analysis for higher education are that regardless of institutional type or student profile, learning communities have demonstrated positive results in persistence, academic achievement, involvement, and satisfaction. Administrators, faculty, and support staff must be aware that no magic formula to this success is apparent. The specific features of curriculum design and pedagogy vary widely among institutions. However, key features that contribute most frequently to success are an integrated curriculum, a component familiarizing participants with campus resources and the development of academic skills, and peer or faculty mentoring (p. 15). | Andrade, M. S. (2007). Learning Communities: Examining Positive Outcomes. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(1): 1-20. |
| Service Learning | Service learning is associated with psychological growth that contributes to enhanced academic and social integration | From the perspective of our retention model, there seems to be ample evidence that service-learning programs offer opportunities for the kind of psychological growth that leads to increased academic and social integration (p. 79). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Service Learning | Service learning provides students the opportunity to work with faculty in new ways, increasing the knowledge students gain and enhancing their self-confidence and academic self-efficacy | Service-learning provides students with opportunities to work with faculty in a new way. Interaction with faculty and improved learning gained by applying theory to practice enables students to increase self-confidence and develop academic self-efficacy (p. 80). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Service Learning | Recognize service learning as an opportunity to enhance the quality and quantity of interaction with faculty and providing the opportunity for positive academic experiences | The potentially positive role of service-learning initiatives on first-year student experiences is further supported by the fact that it proved to be the sole predictor of the intention to re-enroll among the three curricular interventions when they were tested as separate programs. It is important to note that this impact does not appear to be direct, but instead offers additional evidence to the descriptive findings regarding the important relationship between service-learning, faculty interaction, and academic experiences. In other words, these data suggest that service-learning facilitates the intention to re-enroll for a second year of college by its ability to enhance the quality and quantity of faculty interaction and to promote positive academic experiences for students in their adjustment to college during the first year (p. 82). | Keup, J. R. (2005). The Impact of Curricular Interventions on Intended Second Year Re-Enrollment. Journal of College Student Retention, 7(1): 61-89 |
| Service Learning | Utilize service learning opportunities to aid retention efforts by linking service activities with courses students are enrolled in | Service learning is another way of engaging students by requiring them to get involved with service activities beyond the campus (Bringle, 1996). Unlike voluntarism, the service students provide must be linked in an educative way to a course in which they are enrolled (Vogelgesang and Astin, 2000) (p. 75). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Student Support | Create courses and academic workshops specifically aimed at high risk students and which stress academic development and academic content | In addition to courses or instructional interventions centered on the first year or university experience, courses and academic workshops targeting high risk students have been successfully implemented. These efforts generally share goals with extended orientation, first year, and university experience courses. They ordinarily differentiate themselves by putting greater stress on academic development and academic content including study and test-taking skills, textbook reading, critical thinking skills, and grade point average improvement. | Braxton, J. M., Brier, E. M., & Steele, S. L. (2007). Shaping Retention from Research to Practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3): 377-399 |
| Student Support | Assist students address their long-term academic deficiencies, rather than just course content | Although many programs rely on traditional academic factors to identify students at risk of dropping out, our findings suggest that this approach may be limited and may miss students who are at risk due to other, non-academic factors. Furthermore, the findings suggest that retention programs that focus primarily on helping students master course content alone may only address immediate, rather than longer-term deficiencies. Students who master course content but fail to develop adequate academic self-confidence, academic goals, institutional commitment, achievement motivation, and social support and involvement may still be at risk of dropping out (p. 10). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Supplemental Instruction | Use supplemental instruction to assist students enrolled in difficult courses to master course content and develop effective learning strategies to meet the academic expectations of those courses | One such widely applied, academically focused program is Supplemental Instruction (SI). SI is a unique form of academic assistance designed to help students in historically difficult college courses to master course content while they develop and integrate effective learning and study strategies applicable to that course. SI targets first- and second-year high-risk courses, rather than high-risk students (Ramirez, 1997). Studies indicate that across institutional types, disciplines, precollege student preparation levels, and ethnic groups, SI participants consistently outperform their peers who attempt the same courses on their own (Congos & Schoeps, 2003; Hensen & Shelley, 2003; Ogden, Thompson, & Russell, 2003; Ramirez, 1997) (p. 12). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Supplemental Instruction | Develop supplemental study as a form of academic support through having students apply what they learn in supplemental study to the courses they are enrolled in | The academic support received in a supplemental study course enables the students to immediately apply that support to the tasks required by the course to which the group is connected (p. 36). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
V. Tinto's Condition for Retention: Support
| Area of Practice | Recommendation | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feedback | Proactively identify students who are at risk of dropping out | Identification of high-risk students enables institutions to target services to those persons before high risk turns into high rates of departure (p. 482). | Allen, D. (1999). Desire to Finish College: An Empirical Link between Motivation and Persistence. Research in Higher Education, 40(4), 461-485 |
| Feedback | Utilize classroom performance as a way to identify students who may be prone to dropping out | The most effective form of assessment is that which monitors actual student performance in the classroom. To the degree that such assessments are shared with students, faculty, and staff to trigger action, as in early warning systems, they address the issue of student success within most directly by focusing on student performance in the classroom (p. 63). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Learning Community | Incorporate into learning communities the opportunity to assist students develop basic academic skills, as well as provide opportunities for peer or faculty supplemental tutoring through linked coursework | Learning communities are effective in improving persistence and that they can be equally successful in improving persistence for both academically prepared and less prepared students. Neither the number of linked courses nor the types of courses (i.e., general or major) in a learning community appear to have much impact on persistence. A seminar component addressing academic skills, whether a separate course or integrated into the assignments and content of the learning community courses, is one characteristic that most programs recognizing gains in persistence have in common, as is integrated course work and some type of supplemental peer or faculty assistance with course content (p. 5). | Andrade, M. S. (2007). Learning Communities: Examining Positive Outcomes. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(1): 1-20. |
| Learning Community | Learning communities can serve as opportunities to facilitate the development of peer groups where students can learn effective academic strategies from peers | In learning communities, interactions with faculty members enable students to adapt better to academic requirements by developing academic strategies which can be used in future assignments. The development of a peer group also allows students to view the coping strategies that others use for similar stressful situations. By working together to solve academic problems, students also gain new coping strategies for other situations (p. 81). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Learning Community | Utilize learning communities as a safe environment for students to try new academic strategies and gain confidence in their academic self-efficacy | While working with other students to solve common problems and accomplish course goals, students begin to learn that they can take charge of their academic future. Learning communities allow students to try new behaviors in a protected environment. Learning community dynamics give students the opportunity to see first hand how their behavior and other people’s behaviors result in various outcomes (p. 81). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Learning Community | Include learning communities as a means of providing academic support | An increasing number of institutions have adapted learning communities to the task of providing academic support. They do so by including a course in study skills or a freshman seminar as one the linked courses (Friedman and Alexander, 2007; Maxwell, 1998; Tinto, 1999). Such learning communities have proved most effective when the instructors of the courses that constitute a particular community coordinate the activities of their courses with those of other instructors (Engstrom and Tinto, 2007, 2008) (p. 38). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Mentoring | Incorporate student peer mentoring into college programming as a way to enhance the persistence of students at risk of dropping out | From a practical standpoint, given a plain and visible commitment by top administration, and coordination as well as commitment among campus retention constituencies, a student-to-student initiative could be formulated. For example, minority persisters with high levels of desire in this study could be organized into peer motivators for high-risk low-desire minorities identified in subsequent freshman classes (p. 481). | Allen, D. (1999). Desire to Finish College: An Empirical Link between Motivation and Persistence. Research in Higher Education, 40(4), 461-485 |
| Mentoring | Use mentoring to assist students develop strategies to cope with their college-related need and problems | Mentoring provides an opportunity for a student to develop active coping strategies for dealing with the needs and problems encountered in college (p. 83). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Mentoring | Provide students with mentoring to help them become more socially successful and provide them with ways to navigate the campus social environment | When a mentor validates a student’s strengths and perspectives, the student can become more successful. A mentor contributes to social self-efficacy by providing ways in which the student can experience and interpret the campus social environment (p. 84). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Mentoring | Mentoring can help a student become more confident and effective academically by affirming the student's academic work and study habits | With respect to academic self-efficacy, a mentor becomes a sounding board by which a student can explore her/his own perceptions of the academic world. The mentor can help the student see the validity of their own work and study habits to build the student’s self-confidence (p. 84). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Mentoring | Inform all institutional actors on campus of the role they play as mentors in helping students succeed academically and socially | Student effort and student-institution interaction at each phase of the model can contribute to student retention. Institutions need to provide suitable information and required resources so that students can succeed on campus. Staff and faculty need to provide students with opportunities to build and enhance academic and social skills in a positive, supportive, intentionally constructed environment. Institutions need to provide new students with mentors and access to students that are already a part of the community. These mentors and other administrators, counselors, advisors, and faculty need to help newer students validate their impressions, to guide them in positive ways, and to help them see that they have control of their academic and social lives (p. 86). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Mentoring | Provide students with faculty or peer mentors to enhance their academic achievement and persistence | Mentoring programs also serve retention goals. Campbell and Campbell (1997) as well as Mangold, Bean, Adams, Schwab, & Lynch, 2002-2003) found that student participants in a faculty/student mentoring program experienced greater academic achievement as reflected in grade point averages and persisted at a greater rate than their non-mentored counterparts. In a similar study using students in good standing as mentors for students at risk, Pagan and Edwards-Wilson (2002-2003) and Colton et al. (1999) found similar positive results. The at-risk population in their research showed improved academic achievement along with improved rates of retention. All of these studies present compelling evidence supportive of implementing mentoring programs to foster college student retention (p. 391). | Braxton, J. M., Brier, E. M., & Steele, S. L. (2007). Shaping Retention from Research to Practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3): 377-399 |
| Peer Interaction | Include within campus-based and residential life activities opportunities for students to develop diverse academic and social networks to serve as resources for students | Activities and residential situations designed to encourage the development of student relations should also be designed to enhance cross-clique diversity and foster opportunities for nurturing and connecting emerging student social leaders. In short, these results call attention to the importance of not only connecting students but also, and perhaps more importantly, helping students develop a portfolio of relations that can provide key resources (academic as well as social) over the freshman year (p. 609). | Thomas, S. L. (2000). Ties That Bind: A Social Network Approach to Understanding Student Integration and Persistence. The Journal of Higher Education: 71(5): 591-615 |
| Peer Interaction | Offer programs that encourage students to enjoy greater support from peers so that students are more academically and socially adjusted | Consistent with our expectations, study results indicated that students with higher self-esteem and levels of peer support reported better academic and social adjustment. In addition, those students who utilized university support programs with greater frequency were more likely to report higher levels of social adjustment. Thus, students with increased support on campus did appear to be better adjusted to college life (p. 267) | Grant-Vallone, E., Reid, K., Umali, C., & Pohlert, E. (2003). An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Participation in Student Support Services on Students’ Adjustment and Commitment to College. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 255-274 |
| Peer Interaction | Encourage students to create interpersonal ties on which they can rely on to help deal with their social and academic challenges | This research found that the development of "interpersonal ties," on which a student could rely to provide tangible aid, guidance, and feedback about academic matters and which provided students with a sense of being cared for and of being a member of a network of mutual obligation, enhanced their coping abilities and increased their personal comfort around social and academic matters. Students were thus more resilient and more comfortable in the university environment (p. 237). | Hoffman, M., Richmond, J., Morrow, J., & Salomone, K. (2002). Investigating "Sense of Belonging" in First-year College Students. Journal of College Student Retention, 4(3): 227-256 |
| Student Adjustment | Address the academic and social adjustment of students to their campus environment, as students who are more academically and socially committed to their campus are more likely to stay in school | Consistent with past research (e.g., Bagayoko & Kelley, 1994), both social and academic adjustment were predictors of commitment. Thus, students who felt greater social involvement in campus life and were better adjusted to the academic environment were more likely to report that they were committed to their university. In addition, those students who were more academically adjusted to campus were more committed to the goal of a college degree. Social adjustment appears to be an important factor for university commitment. Due to the fact that many students were not satisfied with the social environment on their campus, it seems important for a university to address this issue within their retention efforts (p. 268). | Grant-Vallone, E., Reid, K., Umali, C., & Pohlert, E. (2003). An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Participation in Student Support Services on Students’ Adjustment and Commitment to College. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 255-274 |
| Student Adjustment | Incorporate academic and social adjustment as critical elements into student retention efforts | As students start their careers at universities, their adjustment to the environment is critical for their success and retention at the university. Social and academic adjustment may include a positive perception of students own ability, motivation and academic performance as well as a perception of how well he or she fits in on the college campus and is involved socially (p. 256). | Grant-Vallone, E., Reid, K., Umali, C., & Pohlert, E. (2003). An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Participation in Student Support Services on Students’ Adjustment and Commitment to College. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 255-274 |
| Student Adjustment | Recognize the importance of students' social adjustment arising from its impact on student decisions to remain enrolled | When students perceive higher levels of adjustment on campus, it has a critical impact on their commitment to college and to overall retention rates. Although many universities focus on providing academic assistance (e.g., remedial writing, peer tutoring, etc.), it is important to note that social adjustment was important for university commitment. Thus, it is critical for academic institutions to consider ways to increase social adjustment as well (p. 269). | Grant-Vallone, E., Reid, K., Umali, C., & Pohlert, E. (2003). An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Participation in Student Support Services on Students’ Adjustment and Commitment to College. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 255-274 |
| Student Adjustment | Incorporate into student support offerings services that attend to the needs of students from underrepresented backgrounds, due to the unique challenges they face | However, research has shown that students who come from historically underrepresented ethnic and cultural groups face specific challenges during their college career (Griffin, 1992). In addition to traditional reasons for leaving school (lack of academic success, personal and emotional problems, and lack of adjustment), such students face some unique challenges as well (e.g., isolation, fewer role models, and lower expectations by peers and professors). Thus, counseling, faculty and peer mentoring, tutoring, and other student support services are an important component of all retention efforts, but are particularly important for traditionally underrepresented students (p. 267). | Grant-Vallone, E., Reid, K., Umali, C., & Pohlert, E. (2003). An Analysis of the Effects of Self-Esteem, Social Support, and Participation in Student Support Services on Students’ Adjustment and Commitment to College. Journal of College Student Retention, 5(3), 255-274 |
| Student Adjustment | Aim recruitment and retention efforts at students with lesser amounts of social and cultural capital | As shown, higher education serves as a means of cultural reproduction based on social class, and specifically based on previously acquired social and cultural capital. Beyond this, however, higher education may also implicitly replicate the stratification of society based on race or ethnicity due to differing initial amounts of social and cultural capital for these groups. For policy makers and administrators these findings mean that not only should students with "low" levels of social and cultural capital—such as students from poor quality high schools or first generation college students—be targeted via rigorous recruitment and retention efforts, but such efforts must continue to recognize the stratifying effect that race and ethnicity may have in the broader degree attainment process (p. 122). | Wells, R. (2008). Social and Cultural Capital, Race and Ethnicity, and College Student Retention. Journal of College Student Retention, 10(2): 103-128 |
| Student Adjustment | Bridge the gaps between campus norms and the diverse backgrounds of students | Traditionally, the concept of students changing so as to adapt to campus values and norms has become institutionalized as the prevailing administrative philosophical viewpoint on many college campuses. The findings from this study suggest that if we are serious about improving retention on campus, particularly for traditionally underrepresented groups, then we must find educationally sound ways to ensure that campus environments reflect the norms and values of a wider variety of students rather than the norms and values of a select few (p. 662). | Berger, J. B., & Milem, J. F. (1999). The Role of Student Involvement and Perceptions of Integration in a Causal Model of Student Persistence. Research in Higher Education, 40(6), 641-664 |
| Student Adjustment | Ensure that the values held and promoted by the campus does not adversely affect how students from underrepresented groups perceive how they fit on campus | First, intentionally changing certain aspects of what an institution values, how it transmits those values through various behavioral and linguistic artifacts, and the manner in which it conducts business on a daily basis (its operating philosophy) may work to the advantage of certain groups of students such as newcomers to the campus from historically under-represented groups. This is a non-trivial challenge and important to increasing the "institutional fit" for students from historically under-represented groups (p. 31). | Kuh, G. D. (2001): Organizational Culture and Student Persistence: Prospects and Puzzles. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 23-39 |
| Student Adjustment | Value the social and cultural capital that students bring with them to college | Retention policies for college freshmen should attempt to find creative ways to supplement specific types of social and cultural capital that may be lower for various groups or find substitutes for these forms of capital, and also find ways that the institution can better value alternate forms of capital which these students may possess (p. 123). | Wells, R. (2008). Social and Cultural Capital, Race and Ethnicity, and College Student Retention. Journal of College Student Retention, 10(2): 103-128 |
| Student Support | Attend to the academic and social challenges of students through programs that address skill enhancement and reinforce self-image | Program initiatives should combine academic and social activities to help students develop skills and a positive self-image. These skills include developing higher order thinking, problem solving that leads to more active, approach-driven coping, an internal locus of control, gains in self-confidence, gains in academic self-efficacy, and gains in social self-efficacy. These outcomes should help students successfully deal with their academic and social challenges in college (p. 86). | Bean, J., & Eaton, S. B. (2001) The Psychology Underlying Successful Retention Practices. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 73-89 |
| Student Support | Utilize learning style intervention and learning strategies intervention to help students develop effective study and learning strategies | Another instructional intervention which researchers found to have a positive effect on students’ achievement and retention was learning style intervention (Nelson et al., 1993) and learning strategies intervention (Levin & Levin, 1991). With these approaches to student learning, students were taught how to study and achieve given their learning styles (p. 391). | Braxton, J. M., Brier, E. M., & Steele, S. L. (2007). Shaping Retention from Research to Practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3): 377-399 |
| Student Support | Provide opportunities for students to receive tutoring | In addition to counseling, advising, and mentoring, tutoring services have contributed to retention efforts. Researchers have examined retention programs which have incorporated tutoring. Evidence produced by these researchers findings suggest that tutoring as a support service has a positive impact and an important role in retention efforts (Colton et al., 1999; Giles-Gee, 1989; Levin & Levin, 1991). | Braxton, J. M., Brier, E. M., & Steele, S. L. (2007). Shaping Retention from Research to Practice. Journal of College Student Retention, 9(3): 377-399 |
| Student Support | Adopt a safety net for students in academic or social difficulty and provide them with the type of instructional intervention they require | Consideration should also be given to establishing an ethic of care throughout the institution that promotes the belief in an individual’s worth; that is, every student can succeed (Kuh et al., 1991). Consistent with a holistic, talent development view of higher education, the programmatic elements of the invisible safety net include an early warning system made up of advisors, student life staff, and faculty members to identify students who are in academic or social difficulties. An invisible safety net and early warning system links advisors, registrar, financial aids, residence halls, faculty members, learning support specialists, the counseling center, and others in an effort to insure that no student encounters an academic or social situation that forces them to leave the institution without being able to consult with an institutional agent committed to helping the student overcome any obstacles to success. Assessment and feedback are essential to determine if interventions such as freshman interest groups, federated learning communities, intrusive advising, and appropriate placement in gateway mathematics and writing courses are having the desired effects on student performance. Each of these pieces when sewn together make for a very powerful, learner-centered campus culture (p. 34). | Kuh, G. D. (2001): Organizational Culture and Student Persistence: Prospects and Puzzles. Journal of College Student Retention, 3(1): 23-39 |
| Student Support | Provide counseling services to students with psychological, emotional, and social needs | Therefore, these findings suggest that providing services focused on attending to the emotional, social, and psychological needs of students may aid in reducing student attrition, especially in freshmen and transfer students (p. 316). | Lee, D., Olson, E. A., Locke, B., & Michelson, S. T. (2009). The Effects of College Counseling Services on Academic Performance and Retention. Journal of College Student Development, 50(3), 305-319 |
| Student Support | Facilitate participation in tutoring, study groups, and academic counseling | Consistent with other studies (Bean and Metzner, 1985; Cabrera, Nora, and Castaneda, 1993; Pascarella and Terenzini, 1980; Stoecker, Pascarella, and Wolfle, 1988), academic achievement in college (GPA) is highly associated with continuing in college. Efforts should be directed at providing intervention in the form of tutoring, study groups, and academic counseling that can enhance the academic achievement of all groups of students (p. 447). | Nora, A., Cabrera, A., Hagedorn, L. S., & Pascarella, E. (1996). Differential Impacts of Academic and Social Experiences on College-Related Behavioral Outcomes across Different Ethnic and Gender Groups at Four-Year Institutions. Research in Higher Education, 37(4), 427-451 |
| Student Support | Provide students with a sufficient level of academic support | Nothing is more important to student retention than academic support, especially during the first year of college, when student retention is still very responsive to institutional intervention (p. 25). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Student Support | Provide support services for students at high risk of departure | Rather than wait for students to avail themselves of services, effective institutions generally monitor student performance and quickly reach out to them when indicators warrant action (p. 50). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Student Support | Student support programming must treat the social and academic components of students' lives in combination with each other | Student support programming is increasingly being seen as part and parcel of college education, involving intellectual, social, and emotional development. For such programming to work well, however, academic and students affairs professionals must collaborate in ways that allow students to integrate their academic and social experiences in a coherent manner (American Association for Higher Education, 1998) (p. 50). | Tinto, V. (2012). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press |
| Student Support | Address academic and non-academic factors into the design and development of retention programs | Take an integrated approach in their retention efforts that incorporates both academic and non-academic factors into the design and development of programs to create a socially inclusive and supportive academic environment that addresses the social, emotional, and academic needs of students (p. 22). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Student Support | Be aware that student retention has both academic and non-academic factors | Our study clearly illustrates that retention and performance are two very different college outcome processes. We explain how the relationship of various academic and non-academic factors to each of these two outcomes changes depending on the outcome (p. 10). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Student Support | Know that student retention efforts should have academic and non-academic components | Our study highlights the need to reevaluate educational retention models such that they incorporate the use of both academic and non-academic factors. College retention and performance are two different processes affected by different factors and combinations of factors (p. 10). | Lotkowski, V. A., Robbins, S. B., & Noeth, R. J. (2004). The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention. Iowa City: ACT |
| Student Support | Make intervention programs more effective by catering programs to different types of students | The results of this study imply that special interventions are necessary at the beginning of the college life with different type intervention programs targeting different student bodies in order to improve the effectiveness of the programs on student retention. To obtain better intervention results for student retention, the interaction effects found in this present study suggest that college administrators adapt the special intervention programs to different student characters (p. 296). | Pan, H., & Pan, W. (2009). A Multilevel Approach to Assessing the Interaction Effects on College Student Retention. Journal of College Student Retention, 11(2): 287-301 |
| Student Support | Take into account how racial and ethnic differences may need to be incorporated into student retention programs | The results of the study indicated that institutional experiences, academic achievement, and environmental pull factors contributed the most to persistence decisions. Furthermore, analyses revealed that differences in the effects of these factors for different ethnic and gender groups were important in explaining persistence decisions. When analyses were disaggregated by gender and ethnicity, differences were evident as to the role of major constructs in the conceptual framework on persistence (p. 444). | Nora, A., Cabrera, A., Hagedorn, L. S., & Pascarella, E. (1996). Differential Impacts of Academic and Social Experiences on College-Related Behavioral Outcomes across Different Ethnic and Gender Groups at Four-Year Institutions. Research in Higher Education, 37(4), 427-451 |
Sources:
- A. W. (1999). Student Involvement: A Developmental Theory for Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5): 518-529.
- Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges and Universities.
- Tinto, V. (2010). "From Theory to Action: Exploring the Institutional Conditions for Student Retention". In Smart, J. C. (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 25, 51-89.
- Tinto, V. (n.d.). Taking Student Retention Seriously.
