Shaping Retention from Research to Practice

Abstract

This article presents seven guidelines to direct professional practice aimed toward the improvement of institutional student retention rates. For each of the seven guidelines, specific recommendations to provide direction to the enactment of the focal guideline are described. These seven guidelines spring from empirical studies of campus-based interventions and from recommendations for policy and practice advanced in empirical studies of college student retention.In 2006, The American College Testing Program reported that approximately 48% of students enrolled in two-year colleges departed during their first year and that more than one out of every four students departed during the first year from a four-year college or university. Moreover, these rates varied little between 1983 and 2006. Despite the long history of research on student departure that spans over 75 years (Braxton, 2000), these rates of departure continue to persist. Although the body of research on student departure has greatly increased our understanding of the college student departure process, much work remains to be 377 Ó 2007, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.

Volume 2. Proceedings of the Interdisciplinary STEM Teaching and Learning Conference

“…Persistence in the STEM major was higher one year out than two years out as shown in Table 4. Retention research (Braxton, Brier & Steele, 2008) shows that though the majority of students who leave do so in the first year, a similar percentage exit during year two. A large percentage attempt to persevere beyond the first gateway course, but make the decision to leave when not performing well during the second or third course in the sequence before investing too much time.…”

Recruiting Undecided Admits to Pursue a STEM Degree

“…The academic support center created for COMPASS provides math and science tutoring, a service that plays a role in the retention of students. 37 Research shows that tutoring is overwhelmingly the most used service 38 by students and those who participate in tutoring experience an improved transition to and increased sense of belonging within the institution 39 , both important outcomes of a first-year learning community. Providing academic support for students in their discipline has always been a key retention strategy, especially in the areas of science and mathematics.…”

It Takes an Institution's Village to Retain a Student: A Comprehensive Look at Two Early Warning System Undergraduate Retention Programs and Administrators' Perceptions of Students' Experiences and the Retention Services they Provide Students in the Early Warning System Retention Programs

“…The theory and associated four paradigms provide a comprehensive approach useful for viewing the entire student experience and designing multi-interventions that can remedy attrition and improve student success (Borland, 2001;Braxton et al, 2007). Borland (2002) and Perez (1998).…”

“…Despite the above statement, and the claim made by Braxton, Brier, and Steele (2007), that counseling addressing student retention is guided by a philosophy that any student can be an at-risk student and can benefit from interventions, there are not substantial empirical research that identifies campus interventions with a built-in psychotherapy/psycho-educational counseling component as approaches to address student retention. In addition, even though student success coaching is beginning to make its way into the retention literature (e.g., Midwestern Religious University's academic advising life coach), and individual psychological processes have been identified as the catalyst for retention decisions (Bean & Eaton, 2001), few interventions focus on psychotherapy/psycho-educational counseling and student success/life coaching geared toward executive skills function.…”

“…Persistence (or retention) in 4-year institutions, in contrast to attrition, is most commonly defined as continuous enrollment until a baccalaureate degree is achieved (Braxton, Brier, & Steele, 2007;Derby & Smith, 2004;Lenning et al, 1980). Institutions are very concerned about students' persistence rates, because it is essential for higher education institutions to maintain institutional stability and ultimately contribute to the greater common good through producing an educated workforce.…”