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Academic persistence
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- Creator:
- Lane, Stephanie
- Description:
- Being a student athlete is an opportunity to gain college admission and participate in athletics at a competitive level as determined by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Student-athlete experiences in a university setting likely differ depending on the level of NCAA competition in which each particular campus participates. Unfortunately, many student athletes, despite their competitive Division, report experiences of being stigmatized by their peers and professors. The purpose of my project is to examine the educational and social experiences of Division II collegiate student athletes as it relates to their stigmatization. Drawing on existing 2011-2012 student census data from Humboldt State University, I analyze the collegiate academic experiences of NCAA Division II student athletes as they attempt to obtain their degree. I create an easy to read and cost effective report to show the persistence of Division II student athletes towards graduating despite their lack of mandated specialized academic assistance. This research seeks to break the negative stigma student athletes face on collegiate campuses. It is my goal that this project will educate staff, faculty, athletic donors and the public on the unique nature of student athletes rather than allowing speculation to determine the outcome of student athlete collegiate experiences.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Humboldt
- Department:
- Sociology
- Creator:
- Pierre, Sheila
- Description:
- In American institutions of higher learning all around the country, educators—teachers, counselors, and administrators have made significant progress in identifying and recruiting diverse populations. Despite these efforts, many students of color (e.g., African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans) are not faring as well as their white peers. A number of factors have been identified as important to the retention and success of minority students in American colleges and universities. Among these factors are academic and social integration. Some of these social and cultural obstacles (e.g., racial and ethnic prejudice, negative peer pressure, poor parental involvement, negative teacher and counselor expectations, etc.) that students of color face in educational institutions are also well known. The purpose of this thesis is to model the relationship between college experience and retention for minority students enrolled in American institutions of higher learning (using Humboldt State University as a case study). This thesis looks at two studies done at HSU that focus on the experiences and profiles of students. The first study conducted by the Humboldt State University Office of Student Affairs examines students who began as first‐time HSU freshmen Fall, 2006 but did not return for their junior year. The second study conducted by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion looks at a cross-section of ethnic/racial minority students, in order to discuss with these students a range of issues relevant to diversity on the HSU campus. The focus group project also aims to fill in the gaps in analyses (such as the information collected and statistical data that already exists on campus) and to help administration, staff, and faculty understand why some groups of students are doing so much better or worse than other students. Also, more broadly, this project collected student feedback on a wider range of issues, such as perceptions of HSU’s commitment to diversity, trends in student interaction across different groups, and the quality of different groups of students’ experiences on this campus. Primary findings are reported and a model of the college experience consistent with past research is proposed here. In order to improve minority student retention, it is clear that institutions must do more than implementing programs (student activities, clubs, college survival workshops, etc). Recruitment is an important component for increasing the number of minority students, but retaining our students is equally important and institutional programs are not enough. Using multiple frameworks, this thesis examines the notion of retention and its many challenges and offers recommendations for improving the retention of minority students.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Humboldt
- Department:
- Sociology
- Creator:
- Boyd, Marissa Ashley
- Description:
- Brief Literature Review: While environmental factors play a role in a student’s institutional retention, student attitude and behavior may be just as significant to retention and degree completion. Exposure and prior knowledge of the social conventions of academia can be instrumental in preparing students for achieving success in a higher education setting (Farkas, 1996). Students who do not have family or friends who have been exposed to higher education cannot pass down the key tools to be academically successful in college. Students identifying as first generation are often from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and encounter decreased levels of family support, lessened college expectations, and lower educational values among parents (McConnell, 2000; Terrenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996). Statement of the Problem: Institutions looking to promote the academic persistence of African American students may find that traditional retention practices may not work as well with students of color. Student retention is widely based on student engagement, including academic and social involvement with the campus community (Kuh, 2005). Identifying the ways in which academic and social supports effect attitudes of African American students towards academic persistence will allow colleges and universities to enhance existing programs or create programs to include support for students specifically through means of academic and social integration. Methodology: The study used a quantitative method to conduct research on all undergraduate African American students currently enrolled at a diverse university located in California’s capital. The study employed an electronic survey, and 103 students participated in the research. Conclusions and Recommendations: African American students’ most influential form of support came from themselves, indicating a high level of academic self-efficacy. The study revealed that African American students did not engage in academic and social activities on campus events with much frequency, but there seemed to be a slightly higher rate of academic engagement utilizing social informality than purely social activities between African American students and their peers. Understanding the influence of both academic and social support systems on student success, specifically African American student success, may allow institutions to foster or create support systems in alliance with academic programs.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Education (Higher Education Leadership)
- Creator:
- Molina, Miguel P.
- Description:
- Using a social justice and equity perspective, this qualitative research study focused on the California community college Puente project as a best practice and its influence’s related to transfer for Mexican-American students. The Puente project founded in 1981 by Patricia McGrath and Felix Galaviz is a three-component intervention consisting of writing, counseling, and mentoring. The two-semester long Puente program, supplemented by concurrent enrollments in career and transfer courses uses Latino cultural literature as class readings, as well as a team of Latino role models to help students persist and transfer. Puente programs are provided in 62 out of 112 California community colleges (CCC) (Puente, 2013). A policy report indicated that over a million future jobs with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree will need to be filled in California (Johnson & Sengupta, 2009). This fact, coupled with a forecasted demographic growth that the Latino population will reach 43% by the year 2025 (Johnson & Sengupta, 2009). These predictions are magnified by the majority of Latino high school graduates choosing to enter community college as their first choice of a higher education pathway at 69.4% (College Campaign for Opportunity, 2013). Latinos are the ethnic majority at 38.9% in California community colleges in 2014 (CCLC, 2014). The crisis is that Latinos are also among the lowest academic performers in key milestones for transfer and degree completion success (Moore & Shulock, 2010). The research on Puente provided a best practice needed to aid in CCC reform to help Latinos persist, transfer and complete their degrees. The purpose of this research was that it studied how the Puente project influenced Mexican-American students in their acquisition of “college capital” used to persist in community college, successfully transfer to a four-year university, and complete their bachelors’ degrees. The study further researched how Puente helped Mexican-American students to both balance and navigate between the cultural crossroads of two worlds: the academic world and their home communities. The research used theoretical frameworks of critical race theory (CRT) (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012) and Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) (Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001), funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff & González, 1992), and community cultural wealths (Yosso, 2005). This unique research study provided Mexican-American students who were success stories and had completed the year-long Puente program, transferred to a four-year university and earned their bachelor’s degrees. This research was unique because for every 100 Mexican-Americans entering schooling only 8 reached the level of a bachelor’s degree completion (Yosso & Solórzano, 2006). A phenomenological method of one to one interviews was utilized so that this research could provide reflective narratives of six Mexican-American Puente project alumni. The students were from a diverse urban, metropolitan community college in the Sacramento, California area. The findings from the research showed how the Puente program through its comprehensive services served as an entry point for campus resources and services. Puente also provided Latino role models, cultural pedagogy, a home/family setting, high standards for writing, road maps for transfer and degree requirements, and an element of care for these participants. Another layer of findings showed how the Puente interviewees brought with them to the community college experience inner motivations fueled by lifelong messages from their parents and funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff & González, 1992). Puente, by capitalizing on these two layers, structured a schooling environment that promoted cultural validation and a sense of belonging (Rendón, 2000). This structuring helped the Puente students to become empowered and persist, while gaining the self-confidence and motivations (college capital) to transfer and complete their bachelor’s degrees. These findings resulted in the researcher’s creation of a college capital model, and policy and recommendations regarding individual, institutional and future research were included.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership