Higher education institutions face increased pressure from government and external funding sources to retain and graduate their students each year. Nationally, the federal government's IPEDS report defines the standard measure of an institution's retention and graduation success. When universities attempt to adapt this institutional standard to…

About one-third of college students drop out before finishing their degree. The majority of those remaining will take longer than 4 years to complete their degree at "4-year" institutions. This problem emphasizes the need to identify students who may benefit from support to encourage timely graduation. Here we empirically develop machine…

"Reimagining Pastoral Education and Training" is a professional doctoral project born out of a burden of pastor-parish challenges that lead to pastoral dropout. A basic prelude question assesses the perceived problem: "Is there really a declining corps of young pastors leaving the ministry, disrupting their families, and…

This study used rich individual-level registry data covering the entire Norwegian population to identify students aged 17-21 who either failed a high-stakes exit exam or who received the lowest passing grade from 2006 to 2018. Propensity score matching on high-quality observed characteristics was utilized to allow meaningful comparisons (N =…

Using data from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), longitudinal trends in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic and White students were analyzed over a period of 17 years (2002-2019). The results indicated that there was a significant positive…

Purpose and Method of Study: This study focused on the relationship between the cost of undergraduate education (COUE) and graduation rates in four-year institutions in Oklahoma. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the cost of undergraduate education (COUE) and graduation rates at four-year higher education…

Higher education has been touted as critical to social mobility, even greater longevity; however, these benefits accrue with degree completion, and many students who begin college never earn a degree. Using the most recent Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we sought to understand variation in college completion rates and test…

This dissertation is composed of three studies linking general education astronomy to student performance, course-taking, graduation, and identity. The first study examined demographic and academic predictors of astronomy performance among a cohort of N=1,909 community college students enrolled in astronomy courses in a large suburban community…

Community colleges are trending toward a decrease in full-time faculty and an increase in adjunct faculty. Using 2019-2020 IPEDS data from 853 community colleges, researchers explored the relationship between full-time faculty and community college student retention, and combined graduation and transfer rate. Results demonstrated that proportion…

This dissertation measures and describes the factors that impact doctoral student persistence. Using a mixed methods cases study design, I analyzed institutional student record data, survey data on caregiving responsibilities, and data from semi-structured interviews with PhD students at a STEM-focused, public research university in the American…

The study evaluated the relationship between female sophomore students' participation in campus recreational sports, retention at the university, and graduation rates. The purpose is to identify the potential influence of participation in recreational activities on persistence toward graduation. Alexander Astin's Theory of Student Involvement and…

Completing a program of study and earning a credential is a mark of student perseverance and success. Student completion rates can tell us how well colleges and universities support students in completing an educational program. A research study by the US Department of Education reported students who completed non-degree certificate programs had…

Military students face many challenges in the transition from military life to higher education. From psychological, mental health issues, career changes, and difficulties interacting and building relationships, many obstacles can delay or stop a military student's path to degree attainment. This study sought to determine if military students are…

The problem at the southeastern university study site is that adult nontraditional learners taking classes on campus are graduating at a low rate, which may indicate a lack of needed support services. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the learning support needs of adult nontraditional learners and institutional support…

The researcher designed this qualitative descriptive study to investigate the experiences of successful first-generation, low-income college students that contributed to their ability to complete a bachelor's degree. A strength-based perspective was used to examine successful students and their unique abilities, allowing them to overcome various…