Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Major/Program
Higher Education
First Advisor's Name
Glenda Droogsma Musoba
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Prathiba Natesan
Third Advisor's Name
Janice Sandiford
Fourth Advisor's Name
Leonard Bliss
Date of Defense
3-31-2009
Abstract
The high concentration of underprepared students in community colleges presents a challenge to educators, policy-makers, and researchers. All have pointed to low completion rates and caution that institutional practices and policy ought to focus on improving retention and graduation rates. However, a multitude of inhibiting factors limits the educational opportunities of underprepared community college students.
Using Tinto's (1993) and Astin's (1999) models of student departure as the primary theoretical framework, as well as faculty mentoring as a strategy to impact student performance and retention, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a mentoring program designed to promote greater student-faculty interactions with underprepared community college students is predictive of higher retention for such students. While many studies have documented the positive effects of faculty mentoring with 4-year university students, very few have examined faculty mentoring with underprepared community college students (Campbell and Campbell, 1997; Nora & Crisp, 2007).
In this study, the content of student-faculty interactions captured during the mentoring experience was operationalized into eight domains. Faculty members used a log to record their interactions with students. During interactions they tried to help students develop study skills, set goals, and manage their time. They also provided counseling, gave encouragement, nurtured confidence, secured financial aid/grants/scholarships, and helped students navigate their first semester at college.
Logistic regression results showed that both frequency and content of faculty interactions were important predictors of retention. Students with high levels of faculty interactions in the area of educational planning and personal/family concerns were more likely to persist. Those with high levels of interactions in time-management and academic concerns were less likely to persist. Interactions that focused on students' poor grades, unpreparedness for class, or excessive absences were predictive of dropping out. Those that focused on developing a program of study, creating a road map to completion, or students' self-perceptions, feelings of self-efficacy, and personal control were predictive of persistence.
Identifier
FI14051141
Recommended Citation
Bharath, Deoraj, "Effects of student-faculty interactions on persistence of underprepared community college students." (2009). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1671.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/1671
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