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.

Examples of Academic Support Systems to Improve Student Success

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Karimi
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
San Antonio ◽  
Academic Support ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
University Of Texas ◽  
Student Demographics ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
The University

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has implemented a number of academic support systems to address obstacles to student success and to improve student retention. This paper describes the student demographics at UTSA, provides tracking data on student enrollment and retention, and includes discussion of the underlying causes of student attrition. It will describe some of the programs that are implemented to improve student success. Data is provided to measure the level of success of some of the programs that have implemented for the student success.

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.

Retention Through Curriculum Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-148
Author(s):  
Charles B. W. Prince
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Student Experience ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Strategic Vision ◽  
Student Progression ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Retention And Graduation Rates ◽  
The University

Designing university curriculum is an important component to improve student retention and engagement. At the University of East London, the institution took to the curriculum as an opportunity to improve student progression and retention. In a time where UEL needed to make significant changes to the student experience, satisfaction, progression, retention, and graduation rates, bold steps were taken to ensure that their academic offering would support their strategic vision. The chapter provides the context of UEL's curriculum design journey and the results from those changes. A brief literature review is on the correlation between curriculum and retention. Next, the document analysis will show the experience of administrators during this process. The chapter closes by providing replicable and scalable opportunities that can be learned from their experience.

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.

‘Wings to fly’: a case study of supporting Indigenous student success through a whole-of-university approach

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Bep Uink ◽  
Braden Hill ◽  
Andrew Day ◽  
Gregory Martin
Keyword(s):  
Student Success ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Pass Rates ◽  
Indigenous Student ◽  
Repeated Calls ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Direct Student ◽  
The University

AbstractAlthough there have been repeated calls for empirical evaluations focused on if and how the activities of Indigenous Education Units contribute to Indigenous student success at university, data demonstrating the outcomes of these activities remain scarce. As a first step in addressing this gap, a case study of the Kulbardi Aboriginal Centre is presented which documents the development and implementation of its student success strategy. Informed by research that identifies a range of different barriers and enablers of Indigenous student success, the strategy was built around a ‘whole-of-university’ approach which focuses on influencing across multiple levels of the university (governance and management, teaching and pedagogy and direct student support). The success of the strategy is described in relation to changes in Indigenous student retention and pass rates. The case study offers insight into the activities of an Indigenous Education Unit, which can inform future models of practice in this area and raise awareness of the need for more comprehensive and nuanced evaluation of Indigenous higher education initiatives.

Shhh! No talking about retention in the library!

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Student Attrition ◽  
Retention Rates

Student retention rates have long been a topic among school administrators, but it is an issue barely mentioned in library circles. This article will discuss the role the academic library can play in increasing and maintaining student retention rates on campus. By focusing briefly on four main topics, including reaching out to students early and often, getting them in the library door and getting them to stay, the reader will be able to see the broad picture of how crucial libraries are to fighting student attrition.

Explaining Student Retention: The Case of the University of Aberdeen

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. David McCausland ◽  
Kostas G. G. Mavromaras ◽  
Ioannis Theodossiou
Keyword(s):  
Student Retention ◽  
The University

scholarly journals Spiritual and Religious Support for Underrepresented First-Generation, Low-Income (UFGLI) Students

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 548
Author(s):  
Elliott Ingersoll ◽  
Sophia Elliott ◽  
Stephanie Drcar
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Support Systems ◽  
Educational Experience ◽  
Religious Support ◽  
Religion And Spirituality ◽  
Minimal Support ◽  
Systemic Barriers

UFGLI students comprise 34% of the students enrolled in four-year universities. Unlike some students, UFGLI students face internal and systemic barriers throughout their educational experience and their struggles are often dismissed and disregarded. Working and raising a family while taking courses, minimal support systems, and financial struggles require students to optimize their resources. We explore the issues of UFGLI students and the importance of their spiritual and religious supports using a literature review and a case study. Religious and spiritual identities are resources that should be explored and supported by staff at university counselling centers. Affirming UFGLI students’ religious and spiritual identities and understanding how religion and spirituality work in their lives can assist these students in their acclimation to and success at university.

Quality assurance systems: enemies or allies of innovation in higher education institutions?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Ferreira de Mello Silva ◽  
Eduardo Raupp de Vargas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
University Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Innovation In Higher Education

Purpose This study aims to examine the extant literature to analyze the relationship between quality assurance (QA) and innovation in the higher education context. Design/methodology/approach This study selected 63 articles through a systematic literature review in Scopus and Web of Science databases and performed a descriptive and thematic synthesis-analysis on the sample. Findings The research identifies several perspectives discussed on QA systems covering experiences, criticisms and practice implications. The literature review shows there is no clear consensus on whether innovation in higher education institutions (HEIs) is fostered or hindered by QA processes. However, it seems that the likelihood of innovativeness and positive QA outcomes are directly linked to how these processes are managed in universities. Research limitations/implications This review highlights the university management concerns that emerge with QA issues as it is not yet clear to what extent innovation is actually promoted in scenarios where QA is applied. Hence, this literature review could be considered comprehensive but not exhaustive. Further studies are recommended to improve the understanding of how HEIs can both innovate and ensure quality at the same time. Originality/value The paper contributes to the existing body of knowledge by advancing the opportunities and challenges that HEIs face due to QA system features.

The International Engineering Student Exchange Program at the University of Waterloo

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H. G. Howard ◽  
Herbert C. Ratz
Keyword(s):  
Major Element ◽  
Engineering Student ◽  
Close Collaboration ◽  
Global Marketplace ◽  
Exchange Programs ◽  
Exchange Program ◽  
Student Exchange ◽  
Student Exchange Programs ◽  
The University

The importance of international engineering student exchange programs in today’s increasingly global marketplace is well accepted. This report describes aspects of the experience of the University of Waterloo with such a program which involves 26 institutions in 14 countries. A major element in a successful link is close collaboration between faculty coordinators at the two institutions.

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