Browsing by Subject "attrition"
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Item Factors affecting student retention within a faculty-centered student advisement program at a rural community college(2009-05-15) Kantor, Anna SchusterThe purpose of this descriptive and correlational study was to examine factors to determine if a faculty-centered student advisement program, which was implemented at a rural community college, affects student retention in a positive manner. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) was incorporated, and data collected by this group provided the basis for the study. The study was a comparative study of quantitative parameters looking at five benchmarks. The five benchmarks included active/collaborative learning, student effort, academic challenge, student faculty interaction, and support for learners based on teaching, learning and retention in community colleges with regards to personal characteristics of age, gender, ethnicity, and enrollment status. Analysis of variance provided information between the benchmarks and personal characteristics and the quality of advising, and correlations were run using the various benchmarks and personal characteristics in order to determine any connections between the benchmarks themselves and quality of advising. In addition, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), created by this rural community college, was analyzed from 2004 to 2006 to determine any inferred connection with the benchmarks and the quality of advising because of the implementation of the QEP. Findings show that, even though the survey CCSSE instrument used to determine student engagement and its function in student retention may not provide the most accurate results in general for Navarro College, the implementation of the faculty-centered student advisement program has coincided with an increase in graduation rates, an increase in fall to first fall persistence, and an increase in GPAs as evident at Navarro College.Item The class of 1990: a longitudinal study of a freshman cohort at Texas A&M University-Kingsville(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Dollar, SusanExtensive research has been conducted on college student retention and graduation and many studies have found certain characteristics to be predictive of successful completion of college. However, few studies have focused on a target population which is primarily Hispanic. This study examined the 1990 entering freshmen class of students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK), of which more than 68% were Hispanic. An attempt was made to examine characteristics that would predict success, defined as graduation from TAMUK. Data derived from institutional records and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board were examined using descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple logistic regression. Pre-college characteristics studied included age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, high school GPA (Grade Point Average), high school class rank, high school of origin, county of origin, and American College Test (ACT) and the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores. In-college characteristics studied included residency status, admission status, enrollment status, number of hours enrolled fall 1990, college major, the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP) scores, developmental courses, semester GPA??s, academic standing, and finally, attrition, transfer or graduation status. The fall 1990 entering students were evenly divided between males (53.4%) and females (46.6%), were young (79% were age 19 or less), single (91.4%), and Hispanic (68.2%). Almost half (46%) of the students came from high schools within 50 miles of Kingsville. The mean college entrance exam scores (ACT=16.76 and SAT=766) were well below the national means of 21 and 999, respectively. Of the 1106 entering freshmen, 307 (27.7%) graduated from TAMUK within the 10 years under study. An additional 490 (44.3%) transferred to other state institutions, and 309 (27.9%) dropped out of TAMUK and did not enroll in any other state college or university. The fall-tospring attrition rate was only 16.5%; however, the fall-to-fall attrition rate was 50.0% at the end of the first year. Stepwise multiple logistic regression (backward) analysis revealed that only high school GPA and the ACT composite score were statistically significant predictors of graduation.Item The impact of an alternative certification program on teacher retention in selected Texas public school districts as reported by personnel in Education Service Center, Region 20, Texas(Texas A&M University, 2005-11-01) Goldhorn, Jeffery LeeThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of an alternative certification program on the retention of teachers in Region 20, Texas, as reported by Education Service Center, Region 20, Texas. Demographic variables were used to determine association with retention rates. Additionally, the study provided qualitative data and information that assisted in explaining the retention rates of Teacher Orientation and Preparation Program (TOPP) participants. A mixed methods research, utilizing logistic regression and a survey interview instrument, was used to determine retention rates as well as variables that influence retention rates of TOPP participants. A total of 537 TOPP participants were analyzed. Additionally, a sub-sample of 10 participants was interviewed. The study provides an analysis of the following demographic variables: ethnicity, gender, current grade type (elementary ??PK-5, middle school ??6-8, and high school ??9-12), and current socioeconomic level (as determined by the percent of children who qualify for free and reduced lunch programs). Of the four demographic variables analyzed, none was found to have an association with retention rates. A number of other variables were found to have an impact on the retention of the teachers interviewed in the sub-sample. Those variables included personal commitment to the field of education or the kids, a mentor, team support, administrative support, and new teacher induction programs. The implications from the findings of this research study are numerous and can have an effect in areas such as teacher hiring practices, teacher retention practices, and teacher preparation programs. It is important to note that the researcher recommends that expert opinions be sought and further research be conducted on teacher retention and teacher preparation programs before any recommendations for change are made.Item The Limits of Fire Support: American Finances and Firepower Restraint during the Vietnam War(2013-07-12) Hawkins, John MichaelExcessive unobserved firepower expenditures by Allied forces during the Vietnam War defied the traditional counterinsurgency principle that population protection should be valued more than destruction of the enemy. Many historians have pointed to this discontinuity in their arguments, but none have examined the available firepower records in detail. This study compiles and analyzes available, artillery-related U.S. and Allied archival records to test historical assertions about the balance between conventional and counterinsurgent military strategy as it changed over time. It finds that, between 1965 and 1970, the commanders of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Generals William Westmoreland and Creighton Abrams, shared significant continuity of strategic and tactical thought. Both commanders tolerated U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Allied unobserved firepower at levels inappropriate for counterinsurgency and both reduced Army harassment and interdiction fire (H&I) as a response to increasing budgetary pressure. Before 1968, the Army expended nearly 40 percent of artillery ammunition as H&I ? a form of unobserved fire that sought merely to hinder enemy movement and to lower enemy morale, rather than to inflict any appreciable enemy casualties. To save money, Westmoreland reduced H&I, or ?interdiction? after a semantic name change in February 1968, to just over 29 percent of ammunition expended in July 1968, the first full month of Abrams? command. Abrams likewise pursued dollar savings with his ?Five-by-Five Plan? of August 1968 that reduced Army artillery interdiction expenditures to nearly ten percent of ammunition by January 1969. Yet Abrams allowed Army interdiction to stabilize near this level until early 1970, when recurring financial pressure prompted him to virtually eliminate the practice. Meanwhile, Marines fired H&I at historically high rates into the final months of 1970 and Australian ?Harassing Fire? surpassed Army and Marine Corps totals during the same period. South Vietnamese artillery also fired high rates of H&I, but Filipino and Thai artillery eschewed H&I in quiet areas of operation and Republic of Korea [ROK] forces abandoned H&I in late 1968 as a direct response to MACV?s budgetary pressure. Financial pressure, rather than strategic change, drove MACV?s unobserved firepower reductions during the Vietnam War.Item The relationship of noncognitive variables and their contribution to attrition among health care specialists at Fort Sam Houston, TX(2009-05-15) Woods, YvetteThe Health Care Specialist Course trains Active Army, Army Reserves, Army National Guard and various international students in basic medical care, culminating in the possession of the EMT-B certification. The course is conducted in a stressful environment where students are required to be successful in both academic and nonacademic domains. Within the last decade, course administrators have noticed a higher rate of attrition and requested assistance with understanding why one-fifth of students fail to graduate with their original unit. A high rate of attrition results in an increased use of resources and it decreases the Army?s ability to provide qualified Health Care Specialists to forward units. The purpose of this study was to understand how noncognitive factors contribute to attirition in the Health Care Specialist Program with students who were within their first six months of training. This study specifically focuses on the experiences of the recyled student. The Modified Noncognitive Questionnarie (NCQ) and the Military Environment Noncognitive Adjustment Scale (MENAS), which focused on measuring noncognitive variables, were used with both passing and recycled students. In addition, an interview was used for recycled students to allow them the opportunity to elaborate on their personal experiences. This mixed methods explanatory research study revealed quantitatively, using the t-test, that a significant difference exists between the passing and recycled groups in their: level of motivation, realistic self-appraisal, battle buddy support, unit support, preference for long-term goals, ability to successfully handle racism, and their level of stress. Logistic regression revealed the following to be predictive of attrition for students participating in this course: low ST score, unrealistic self-appraisal, preference for shortterm goals, low perception of battle buddy support and unit support, a high level of stress and low motivation to complete the course. Qualitative results were consistent with quantitative results and added a deeper understanding of how students negotiated the academic and military environment. The results of this study will contribute to course administrators understanding of the challenges that student?s encounter while matriculating through this course.