Improving rates of honors program completion is a goal of virtually all honors directors and deans, and research can help identify and evaluate promising strategies. A number of recent empirical studies have investigated predictors of program completion, including students' admission credentials and honors program features. Though specific…

Based on Tinto's model of academic persistence, this study explored background and personal factors that theoretically impact the academic persistence decisions of college freshmen. The factors studied were (a) parental educational attainment, (b) parental valuing of education, (c) high school grade point average, (d) residential status (on- vs.…

Class attendance is directly tied to student learning and student-faculty satisfaction. Although learning style and attitudes have evolved in college students of the internet generation, the reasons why students skip classes and assignments, and measures to improve the situation have not been comprehensively studied. Increased numbers of students…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to provide a description of the student engagement of commuter students attending a large urban public university located in a mid-Atlantic state using the five National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) benchmarks of student engagement. In addition, the study examined the relationship…

One way students become engaged in their undergraduate experience is through place of residence. Factors associated with high academic performance suggest high levels of engagement in campus life. This study investigated the relationship between living arrangement and the academic performance of first-year, full-time undergraduate students. The…

Increasing freshmen student retention and ultimately increasing their graduation rates continues to be a critical matter for institutions of higher education. Therefore, colleges and universities are attempting to understand the student service expectations of freshmen students as a primary mechanism to enhance matriculation rates. University…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve colleges and universities committed to monitoring and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. While participating institutions receive detailed customized reports, the "Annual Results" series presents noteworthy aggregate findings from the…

In 2015, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) collected responses from more than 315,000 first-year and senior students attending 585 bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. This report presents selected NSSE results from students at 541 U.S. institutions or subsets of that group where…

In a study of new friendships and adjustment among 1st-year university students, students at six Canadian universities completed questionnaires that assessed the quality of new friendships and adjustment during their first academic year. In-depth, face-to-face interviews about students' new friendships were conducted with a subsample of these…

Based on Tinto's (1993) model of academic persistence, this study investigated the relationship of loneliness, social support, and living arrangements with academic persistence decisions of 401 college freshmen. Participants completed a series of standardized instruments during class time. Social support was negatively related to loneliness and…

This qualitative study explores the nature of undergraduate commuter students' social involvement with peers during the transitional first six months of their university experience. Focus group interviews with 46 participants provided a student perspective of the role of social interactions in students' transition to university life. Findings…

Describes an optional orientation program which provides a week-long live-in experience, along with a host of opportunities and experiences that support entrance into the university culture. (Author)

Describes and analyzes the communication perspectives of freshman as they adjust to the new environment and their role as university students. Focuses on how their communication perspectives might differ in conjunction with differences in residence arrangements (campus dormitories, greek sororities or fraternity houses, and at home with parents).…

This study examined the necessary elements for the development of a student orientation brochure for commuter students at Mount Vernon Nazarene College in Mount Vernon, Ohio. It reviewed nontraditional and commuter student literature and 10 commuter student brochures and orientation materials from other institutions. The orientation brochure that…

Used social network analysis to examine the role of social support networks in student persistence among residential and commuter students. Found that commuter students are less likely to persist, while residential students who reported making greater numbers of new friends with connections to the school also reported attaining personal and…