The "institutional databases audit" addresses common challenges of retention research by viewing existing databases and key surveys as resources for analyzing persistence rates. Such an audit helps verify whether student database elements have theoretically derived research referents. Positive results show that institutions can acquire…

Since social connectedness is critical to student retention, colleges and universities have vested interest in identifying and providing assistance as early as possible. When students are struggling to fit in, a great deal of campus energy is invested in welcoming each new cohort of students and planning events to facilitate a sense of belonging.…

This article explores the issue of older adults' access to and participation in higher education in two countries, Aotearoa New Zealand and Scotland. It discusses older adults' engagement with regard to patterns of participation and provision, using a critical educational gerontology approach. The two case studies, one in more theoretical terms,…

One of the fastest-growing categories of disability in the college student population is psychiatric disabilities: bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, and borderline personality disorders, among other. Appropriate treatment and support can provide students with psychiatric disabilities the opportunity to develop their talents and realize their…

Tinto's integration framework is often assumed to be inapplicable to the study of student persistence at community colleges because one of the linchpins of the framework, social integration, is considered unlikely to occur for students at these institutions. Community college students are thought to lack the time to participate in activities, such…

Common Time (CT) was a structured programme designed to enhance the social and academic engagement of a growingly diverse student body on a new campus that draws its population from a low-socioeconomic area. As a voluntary and non-remedial programme, it incorporated a range of formal and informal activities and processes to engage students. CT…

This essay is designed to engage academic discipline in a conversation about the utility and practices associated with providing communication coursework online, particularly general education, communication skills courses. The author has framed the conversation in terms of student success, retention, and degree completion. He outlines three…

After reviewing the state of student retention research and practice, past and present, the author looks to the future and identifies three areas of research and practice that call for further exploration. These concern issues of institutional action, program implementation, and the continuing challenge of promoting the success of low-income…

Learning communities are a popular strategy that community colleges nationwide have embraced in support of developmental students. In a learning community, a cohort of students takes two or more courses linked by integrated themes and assignments that are developed through ongoing faculty collaboration. While the number of learning community…

The academically underprepared community college student may also be psychosocially underprepared for college, a condition contributing to the development of classroom-specific social phobia and to the high attrition rate at community colleges. The "Find Your Voice Program" uses individual and group cognitive-behavioral techniques to develop…

American Indians are underrepresented in the nursing profession. In fall 1990, the University of North Dakota (UND) College of Nursing received funding to increase the number of nurses providing health care to Indian people. In 1992, Recruitment/Retention of American Indians into Nursing (RAIN) became one of three Quentin N. Burdick Indian Health…

Part-time graduate students, particularly from minority groups, find that time management and sacrifice are necessary for success. Problems encountered include balancing jobs and academic work, difficulties integrating into the institution's graduate culture, and the need to cut back on some personal activities. However, part-time study…

This paper describes a study in progress that is designed to examine the pressures that low-income, first generation African-American college students experience to leave college and the factors that help them stay in college, especially as the elements are related to Vincent Tinto's concept of social integration. It is planned to examine the…

Based on an examination of related literature, reviews the pre- and post-enrollment characteristics of first-generation community college students, and discusses what colleges should do to help these students be successful. Asserts that while considerable research exists on first-generation students on four-year college campuses, the findings and…

A case study approach was used to examine reasons for success and failure among high-risk students at a community college. The impact of academic and social integration was assessed in terms of success, as defined both by the students and by institutional standards. Two surveys of 563 first-time enrolled students in 1984 and a later follow-up of…