Lonely, homesick and struggling: undergraduate students and intention to quit university

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-253
Author(s):  
Clive Boddy
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Desirability ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Projective Technique ◽  
Thematic Apperception ◽  
Retention And Attrition

Purpose This paper outlines a variety of the research on student attrition and recognises some of the sensitivities that may be involved for some students in dealing with dropping out of university. This paper claims that because of these sensibilities, some student’s responses to direct questions about the reasons for attrition may be biased by social desirability. The purpose of this paper is to get beyond social desirability bias to examine a fuller range of reasons for student retention and attrition. Design/methodology/approach In an exploratory investigation, this research study uses a projective technique which helps to circumvent the conscious defences of respondents. The projective technique is based on the “thematic apperception test” and uses a “bubble drawing” to elicit emotional and more socially undesirable responses. Findings All first-year students appear to consider leaving university, and emotional considerations involving loneliness and homesickness are much more prominent than most quantitative studies acknowledge. For example, in this research, social concerns are twice as prominent as financial concerns, whereas in past survey research, financial concerns have been identified as most prominent. Practical implications To retain students, universities need to provide new students with real care and support, especially in their first few weeks at university. To study retention comprehensively, researchers need to go beyond the confines of positivist research. Originality/value This is the first study that uses a projective technique to investigate student retention and attrition. By going beyond a merely positivist approach to research, a fuller, deeper and more complete understanding of the wide extent and profound nature of the emotional issues involved in student attrition and retention is gained.

Prediction of student attrition risk using machine learning

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio Barramuño ◽  
Claudia Meza-Narváez ◽  
Germán Gálvez-García
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Supervised Machine Learning ◽  
Computer Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Management ◽  
Qualitative Variables ◽  
The University

PurposeThe prediction of student attrition is critical to facilitate retention mechanisms. This study aims to focus on implementing a method to predict student attrition in the upper years of a physiotherapy program.Design/methodology/approachMachine learning is a computer tool that can recognize patterns and generate predictive models. Using a quantitative research methodology, a database of 336 university students in their upper-year courses was accessed. The participant's data were collected from the Financial Academic Management and Administration System and a platform of Universidad Autónoma de Chile. Five quantitative and 11 qualitative variables were chosen, associated with university student attrition. With this database, 23 classifiers were tested based on supervised machine learning.FindingsAbout 23.58% of males and 17.39% of females were among the attrition student group. The mean accuracy of the classifiers increased based on the number of variables used for the training. The best accuracy level was obtained using the “Subspace KNN” algorithm (86.3%). The classifier “RUSboosted trees” yielded the lowest number of false negatives and the higher sensitivity of the algorithms used (78%) as well as a specificity of 86%.Practical implicationsThis predictive method identifies attrition students in the university program and could be used to improve student retention in higher grades.Originality/valueThe study has developed a novel predictive model of student attrition from upper-year courses, useful for unbalanced databases with a lower number of attrition students.

Retaining students by embedding librarians into undergraduate research experiences

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Knapp ◽  
Nicholas J. Rowland ◽  
Eric P. Charles
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Scientific Literacy ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
College Curriculum ◽  
Institutional Goals ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify an important area for librarians to positively impact student retention. Design/methodology/approach – This programmatic and conceptual piece describes how embedding librarians into the growing enterprise of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) lays a framework for a context in which libraries and librarians directly contribute to the retention of undergraduate students. Findings – Librarians are capable of directly contributing to the retention of students. While their efforts, it is contended, contribute routinely and to the actual retention of students, it is difficult for their efforts to register in the assessment of retention used by administrators. This discrepancy can be solved if librarians play a more explicit (and quantifiable) role in retaining students. Research limitations/implications – UREs are a growing, but generally untapped trend for librarians; however, because UREs generally correlate with academic success and student retention, they offer librarians a useful entry point to contribute to the academic mission of colleges and universities, and in a measurable way. Practical implications – Embedded librarianship poses a number of hurdles for its practitioners; however, it also has the potential for libraries and librarians to become more explicitly connected to overall institutional goals and strengthen their positions in the academy more broadly. Social implications – Improving the scientific literacy of undergraduate students and aiding them on their path toward graduation is meaningfully enhanced through the embedding of librarians into the college curriculum. Originality/value – Systematically embedding librarians into UREs is not strongly represented in the literature.

scholarly journals RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SELF-EFFICACY, COPING AND STUDENT RETENTION

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey J. Devonport ◽  
Andrew M. Lane
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Time Use ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Efficacy Measure ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Insight Into

Relationships between self-efficacy, coping and retention among first-year undergraduate students were investigated. Qualitative methods were used to develop a self-efficacy measure assessing confidence to achieve those competencies required to successfully complete the first year of an undergraduate degree. One hundred and thirty-one first-year students completed a 40-item self-efficacy questionnaire and the MCOPE (Crocker & Graham, 1995) at the start of the academic year. Factor analysis indicated a coherent 5-factor model that described self-efficacy to manage time, use learning resources, work in groups, work well in lectures, and communicate. Results indicated that the coping strategies of planning and seeking social support for instrumental purposes significantly related to more than one self-efficacy factor and that self-efficacy scores taken at the start of the course could correctly classify 81.3% of students who subsequently withdrew. Findings lend insight into the association between strategies used to cope with environmental and interpersonal demands, and self-efficacy to cope with the demands of an undergraduate degree.

scholarly journals Fostering creativity understanding

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 574-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Boulocher-Passet ◽  
Peter Daly ◽  
Isabelle Sequeira
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Hard Data ◽  
Paired Samples ◽  
Fostering Creativity ◽  
Survey Responses

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to encourage initiatives to train large cohorts of undergraduate students for creativity understanding. The authors describe a case study of a creativity exercise developed within a corporate setting that accommodates a large cohort and discuss the results of empirical research on this teaching experience at a French Business School. The authors reflect on the transferability of this exercise by other educators to similar educational contexts and the usefulness of training future managers to a structured creativity methodology to be exploited in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach – A case study explains the features of the exercise. Hard data on students’ perceptions and motivation/satisfaction prior to and after the creativity exercise was collected through an internet self-completed survey instrument. In total, 245 pairs of survey responses from first-year students were analysed using prototypical analysis, paired samples t-test and content analysis. Findings – The exercise proved an effective tool to help large cohorts of undergraduates to better understand that creativity is a managerial competence that can be trained. The authors particularly underlined the need for fluidity in the organisation of the exercise; use of a clear creativity process and methodology; the necessity to involve an external creativity consultant; and the importance of the chosen topic being non art related. In the workplace, this understanding of creativity methodologies will enable future managers to support, promote and manage creativity endeavours. Originality/value – This paper encourages initiatives and provides insights into the difficulties of training large cohorts of undergraduate students for understanding the concept of creativity.

Examining the relationship between the accreditation of engineering programmes and institutional performance

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
Humaid Al Busaidi
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Attrition Rate ◽  
Institutional Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Graduate Employability ◽  
Retention And Attrition ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between engineering programme accreditation (EPA) and institutional performance (IP) using perceptual measures. Two IP dimensions have been explored to test this relationship, namely, graduate employability and student retention and attrition. Design/methodology/approach This quantitative research is based on the perceptions of 211 academic staff holding a range of positions within 15 higher education institutions located in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). Linear regression was used to test the relationships in the data. Findings The empirical analyses proved that EPA has a statistically significant positive relationship with the IP dimensions, namely, graduate employability, student retention and attrition. Research limitations/implications A few limitations were encountered while conducting this study. Most of the accredited engineering programmes are located in the United Arab Emirates and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (nearly 73%). The online survey was the only option available for the researcher to reach some universities rather than using a face-method to collect data. Another limitation is the availability of only five accredited programmes in some countries such as Oman, where the researcher is based, meaning that the researcher had to devote extra time and effort to contact the other five countries by emails, telephone calls and travel to attain a reasonable survey sample size. Practical implications There are many implications of these findings for the universities, employers and economies of the GCC. All GCC countries are concerned about high unemployment rates; for example, the rate of youth unemployment reached 41% in KSA. Adopting EPA for all academic programmes will eliminate the mismatch between the skills graduate students develop while they are studying and those skills required of them when they are practising their job in industry. Although the jobs market is determined by the wider economy, accredited programmes may help graduates to obtain employment because employers are more able to recruit students who graduate from accredited programmes. Universities aim to retain students until graduation and improving student retention and lowering attrition rate brings many direct and indirect benefits to universities, including saving governments’ financial resources. Originality/value This study is the first to examine the relationship between EPA and IP within the six GCC region as a whole.

Undergraduate African–American student’s experience of racial microaggressions on a primarily white campus

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-277
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Brezinski ◽  
John Laux ◽  
Christopher Roseman ◽  
Caroline O’Hara ◽  
Shanda Gore
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
College Retention ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between African–American undergraduate students, racial microaggressions (RMAs) and college retention rates. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from a survey given out to African–American undergraduate students, recruited from a large, midwestern, predominantly white public university (n = 53). Findings The results indicate that students did experience a wide range of microaggressions. Furthermore, the data revealed a statistically significant relationship between the participants’ perceptions that others viewed them as if they were foreigners and did not belong to the place and the participants’ thoughts about dropping out during the ongoing semester [r(51) = 0.338, p = 0.05]. The results suggest that African–Americans frequently experience RMAs while on campus but these experiences are not significantly tied to their intentions to complete the ongoing semester or return for the subsequent semester. Practical implications This study shows that African–American students felt disconnected from the campus that they attend. This information may allow for faculty and staff members to assist in making students feel more welcomed and included in the classroom and on campus. Originality/value This is one of the few studies to provide evidence of the relationships between African–American undergraduate students, RMAs and college retention rates. In addition, most studies looking at the relationship between RMAs and retention are qualitative in nature. The use of a quantitative approach helps us eliminating possible observer bias and increasing sample size.

scholarly journals Pre-commencement interviews to support transition and retention of first year undergraduate students

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Wood ◽  
Gillian Gray-Ganter ◽  
Robyn Bailey
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Nursing Program ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Student Preparedness ◽  
Student Transition ◽  
Student Profile ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
Critical Components

This paper reports the findings of a pilot study conducted at a regional university in Australia involving a pre-commencement interview strategy that aimed to better support first-year students transitioning into an undergraduate nursing program. The aim of the study was to determine the efficacy of the approach and inform the development of more effective transition and retention strategies (STARS) at the institutional level. The study was informed by Kalsbeek’s (2013) ‘4 Ps’ framework for student retention, which identifies student profile, progress through their studies, university processes and alignment between a university’s promises and the student experience of its delivery on those promises as critical components of an all-of-institution approach to improving student retention and success. An additional ‘P’, preparedness, was identified as another important dimension, recognising that student preparedness for study is a vital component of an effective transition and retention strategy. The findings viewed through the lens of the expanded ‘5Ps’ framework highlight the potential of the approach as an institutional strategy for improving student transition, retention and success.  

Contrasting first and final year undergraduate students' plagiarism perceptions to investigate anti-plagiarism measures

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syeda Tuba Javaid ◽  
Sameera Sultan ◽  
John Fitzgerald Ehrich
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Rasch Analysis ◽  
Academic Misconduct ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
First Year ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Education Commission ◽  
The University

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of undergraduate students toward plagiarism and its change (if any) during their four-year study at a Pakistani university.Design/methodology/approachThe students who participated were majoring in electrical engineering; there were 106 first-year students and 127 final-year students. The students were asked to complete a plagiarism attitude scale (Harris, 2011) survey and reveal their attitudes toward plagiarism.FindingsRasch analysis was conducted on the scale to optimize its measurement qualities. Analysis indicated no significant changes in the attitude of the students, which remained very lenient and soft toward plagiarism despite the strict policy of the higher education commission of Pakistan and the university. These results indicate that the students lacked an understanding of what constitutes as plagiarism. Therefore, more awareness toward the ethical aspects of plagiarism is needed to reduce academic misconduct.Originality/valuePlagiarism is an academic offense yet very few studies have been conducted to understand the perceptions of the students in order to minimize it.

scholarly journals Engineering Student Retention and Attrition Literature Review

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Kuley ◽  
Sean Maw ◽  
Terry Fonstad
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Student Success ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Educational Experience ◽  
Student Characteristics ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Engineering Student ◽  
Retention And Attrition ◽  
The University ◽  
Engineering Schools

The University of Saskatchewan, similar tomany engineering colleges, would like to improve studentretention. With that in mind, a literature review wasundertaken to summarize current peer reviewed literaturerelated to engineering student retention and attrition inan attempt to better understand the potential structuralcauses, processes, and student characteristics that maycontribute to student success or attrition. Through asystematic search of several major databases using thekeywords “engineering and attrition or retention,” andafter narrowing the scope to peer reviewed articleswritten between 2005 and the present, each article’sabstract was read and evaluated. Forty-five papers weredeemed to be highly relevant, and were thus included inthe literature review. Preliminary trends that haveemerged in this review are: the potential causes of highattrition rates in engineering schools, various methodsthat have been used to determine the causes of attrition,interventions that have been implemented and stories oftheir success/failure, and attributes that have been foundto correlate with student attrition or success. This paperis an attempt to organize this body of research into asingular source that can be referenced by engineeringeducators or researchers who wish to increase studentretention and improve the educational experience of theirstudents.

scholarly journals Applying quality tools to improve student retention supporting process: a case study from WOU

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
PohLean Chuah ◽  
PengKeat Lim
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Failure Modes ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Quality Analysis ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Tools ◽  
The University

Purpose Student retention is important in the management of any university especially one which is not financially independent. Administrators in such institutions need to investigate ways to improve the retention rate in order to avoid the loss of revenue. One of the methods is to ensure that students are able to follow their study pathway and complete their study on time instead of dropping out. The purpose of this paper is to establish a system that allows the university to monitor the progression of these students and highlight the need for counselling when necessary. It is also hoped that this paper helps to improve the student retention rate using quality analysis tools and add knowledge into factual-based problem-solving methodology. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a co-relational study based on secondary data. It is a continuous improvement method adopting the “plan-do-check-action” model. Quality analysis tools adopted are failure modes and effects analysis and process mapping, where both are the quality analysis tools commonly used in solving product design or assembly process issues in manufacturing. Using the case study of Wawasan Open University, the authors will adapt the aforesaid quality analysis tools from design and manufacturing sectors into an open distance learning education design. It is hoped that the identified process facilitates certain functions of the departments of the organisation to be more effective. Findings This paper provides a practical approach on the methods to improve the retention rate in a private higher education institute. Stakeholders are more willing to embrace the improvement when there is proper factual analysis to support the plans. A cross-departmental team is formed to brainstorm the various aspects of the process and the potential failure modes. In a resource-constrained environment, prioritisation is important to identify the high-impact problems. It is also important that a mechanism is available to deliver information to the area where decisions and actions can be made. The failure modes are prioritised systematically and the corresponding solutions installed. The end result is a system with the process that reduces interdepartmental inconsistency thus providing students with a clearer visibility of their study pathway so that they can complete their study on time instead of dropping out. Research limitations/implications This study is performed within the context of an institute. The generalisation is low. Other researchers are encouraged to explore further. Practical implications This paper provides some practical actions for the improvement of student retention in the university. It is hoped that other researchers will be attracted to explore further on using quality analysis tools to solve non-technical problems. Originality/value This paper provides a structured problem-solving method in a service-oriented organisation.

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