An empirical study was conducted to gain an understanding of the motivations of undergraduate students in attending lectures. Students were highly heterogeneous regarding their reported lecture attendance motivations, with two segments representing prototypical extremes. The student group labelled "idealists" in this study reported genuinely…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue looks at the differences between students enrolled part-time, compared with those enrolled full-time, during their first term. The analysis addresses differences in developmental needs, as well as various outcome measures -- persistence, credits completed, and accumulated…

The study reported in this article investigated motivation and integration dimensions that influence college academic achievement of first-generation students compared to nonfirst-generation students. Participants consisted of 277 ethnically diverse students who were attending a community college. Bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses…

By examining American University's Washington Semester Program (AUWSP), this project analyzes the impact of intensive undergraduate experiential and active learning on subsequent student academic performance. In this article, we discuss the differences between traditional, active, and experiential learning methods to better understand the…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue examines the differing developmental needs and enrollment and persistence patterns of Achieving the Dream students by gender, with a focus on male students of color. The data show females in Achieving the Dream colleges, regardless of race, were less likely than males to…

Developmental Education programs are designed to provide assistance to students who are academically under-prepared for college-level coursework. Previous issues of "Data Notes" compared the outcomes of developmental students completing all of their required developmental courses to those not requiring developmental education. Using data…

Supplemental Instruction (SI) incorporates collaborative learning in small, peer-led, group settings in order to integrate instruction in learning and reasoning skills with course content. Several meta-analyses speak to the efficacy of SI but fail to address selection bias due to ability/motivation and gender. In this study, SI was paired with a…

Research has focused on four groups of factors and the achievement gap: (1) student characteristics (high school GPA, attendance patterns, courses taken in high school, participation in extra-curricular activities, etc.); (2) family characteristics (family structure, in home, parents' level of education, mobility, etc.); (3) school-based…

Assessed the freshman orientation program at Stephen F. Austin State University in terms of academic success of participants. Data were obtained for freshman classes from 1986 to 1994, and results of data analyses indicated a significantly higher grade point average for those who attended orientation. (SLD)

Analyzes the appropriateness of a 3.0 GPA standard for public relations internship eligibility at one university. Seeks to determine at what GPA cutoff faculty can feel confident that the student will gain from the internship without damaging the program's reputation. Finds students with a 2.7 GPA did as well as students with GPAs ranging from 3.0…

A correlational study was conducted to determine which of a number of variables derived from the admissions material were predictive of student success in the graduate program at Lehman College of the City University of New York. An objective measure of student success, graduate grade point average (GPA) was significantly correlated with GPA for…

The purpose of the study is to identify association of factors other than the GRE and GPA scores. The sample size is 50 students with age ranges from 22-45 at college entry ranges average age 27, 32 female (Majority), and 18 males with over-all grade points from 3.20 - 3.94. An on-line data base was utilized. Data will be analyzed by using…

This study explores working students' college experiences using the grounded theory approach. Focus groups were conducted to allow working students to elaborate on their college experiences, clarifying issues not easily addressed through surveys. Two theoretical propositions are offered to describe how working students are constantly searching for…

The current study examined the fit of a 2 x 2 achievement goal model among a diverse sample of nearly 700 10th-grade students, distinguishing between both mastery and performance goals and approach and avoidance orientations. Additionally, relationships between achievement goals and GPA and intrinsic value of school were examined, and adolescents'…

This study examined the impact of cooperative learning activities on student achievement and attitudes in large-enrollment (greater than 250) introductory biology classes. We found that students taught using a cooperative learning approach showed greater improvement in their knowledge of course material compared with students taught using a…