What do undergraduate students think about positive first-year experiences at Alderson Broaddus? 2.B). Student transition to college, first-year student success, and student retention at AB are central to our thesis, research questions, and final report.
Introduction
The same concept was applied to Affinity Bonding at Alderson Broaddus during its creation by getting into the heads of the 17-year-old students and giving them something to do outside of class. A unique aspect of our business at AB is the labeling and adoption of the “Affinity Bonding” model to recruit new student populations to the institution and grow enrollment.
Literature Review and Conceptual Framework
Knowledge of the role of a student's developing psychosocial processes provides a new opportunity for institutional support. This includes both formal and informal aspects of the institutional experiences, as well as the student's interaction with, and the effect of, both the academic and.
Data & Research Methods
Missing data were found on a number of variables and student cases with missing values were removed from the data set. The original sample provided included all first-year students who were admitted to AB in fall and 2017 and includes academic performance data during the spring semester of the student's sophomore year. Thirty-two percent of the students in the three-year data set are from West Virginia.
Looking at the fall semester of the sophomore year, 128 students are registered for zero credit and 111 of those students are freshmen. We can see that in the fall semester of the second year, 145 students are registered for zero credits, but then only 158 students. 30% of incoming freshmen in our data set commit to these athletic teams, and first-to-second year retention is consistently lower than varsity retention rates.
The dependent variable for the regressions is the binary variable enrollment or nonenrollment of students in the fall semester of the second year.
Results of the Data Analysis
In Model 1, the only significant predictor of students not enrolling in the second year was gender. We note that the only significant predictor of student nonenrollment in the second year for this model is student GPA. With a negative coefficient (beta), a single increase (1.0) in a student's high school GPA is associated with an 18% decrease in student dropout during the second year.
The variables considered in this model account for 32% of the variability (r2) in student failure to enroll in the second year. Since we observe a negative coefficient, with an increase in the student's high school grade (1.0), the probability of student dropout decreases by 8%. As a student's high school GPA increases (1.0), the probability of students dropping out decreases by 8%.
This model accounts for 32% of the variability (r2) in student non-enrolment in the second year. The result is a new model with six variables that are significant predictors of student non-enrollment in the second year. This model has a predictive value of 32% of the variability for student dropout in the second year.
Discussion of the Findings
Research on the role of pre-entry characteristics in the student retention puzzle identifies these characteristics as indicators of a student's readiness and commitment to the goal of higher education (Braxton, Hirschy, McClendon, 2004). In this context, the accuracy of the story told to students throughout the recruitment process is critical, as expectations left unfulfilled can contribute to a student's loss of motivation and self-confidence, resulting in poor academic and athletic performance and the decision to withdraw from institutions. A student's perception of student life at AB is influenced by the institution's academic and social environment, as well as the affinity they feel for the culture of the athletic teams with which they identify.
In addition, the student's expression of frustration with basic services, including security and residential life cooperative policies, spills over and contributes to a negative perception of the institution's values of student care and well-being. From this perspective, the consistent communication and actions of individual coaches, professors, and staff significantly influence a student's persistence and commitment to their time at AB. Student administrative data shows that 53% of entering freshmen in our study are Pell eligible.
Although efforts have been made to ensure that students selected for our focus groups are representative of the overall student population at AB, we cannot guarantee the ability to generalize our focus group data to the institution at large.
Recommendations
That said, the limitations of our study were such that we were unable to interview deceased students and therefore were unable to gather first-person input from the students who contributed to high dropout rates at Alderson Broaddus University not. Rather, we used quantitative data to fill in the gaps as we also relied on currently enrolled students while inquiring about positive and negative experiences on campus in an attempt to identify factors that may contribute to retention problems on the AB campus. to understand better. Furthermore, we relied almost entirely on self-reported data provided to us by the executive team at AB when designing our research questions, methods, protocol, and design.
While they collectively have a vested interest in supporting our work and benefiting from the results of our project, we must keep in mind the context in which this data was collected, as we relied on it to capture a snapshot of A.B. and its current practices that contribute to the retention and attrition of their students. Define the AB Student and develop recruitment practices and academic support that address holistic student success. Develop ways for students to see that their investment in education at AB is valuable and will have a positive impact on their future selves and professional careers.
Express Commitment to Student Identity and Welfare
These are the result of the social bonds of loyalty that students form with each other that support not only how to persevere, but what behavior is acceptable and how to fulfill obligations. The goal at AB is to create a mutually informative and supportive environment among academic, athletic and social priorities and needs.
Reframe Affinity Bonding as Social Bonding
Create an Environment for Excellence
Define the AB Student
Finally, a large part of the success of this recommendation lies in the marketing, messaging and communication between AB staff and students employed on the AB campus. When students engage with this culture, they seek a well-rounded college experience. The student administrative data we analyzed answered the first question of our study and also allowed us to address some of the issues raised in the leadership team interviews revolving around impact
At AB, the culture of the student experience is defined by an academic, athletic and social triangle. Paper presented at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference. How much contact do prospective students have with the coaching staff before the start of the new academic year.
Did your experience of college life outside the classroom live up to the expectations you had before coming to college.
Develop Ways for Students to see that their Investment at AB is Valuable
Conclusion and Discussion
Student-athletes now make up nearly 80% of the incoming student cohorts we studied, but they leave no more often than non-athletes, and being an athlete increases their commitment to staying at AB. Students we interviewed whose expectations were met in all three areas of the triangle tended to express higher levels of satisfaction with their overall undergraduate experience at AB. We heard students talk about both academic demands and commitment to athletic expectations, and it became clear that AB students face a unique set of student life challenges that are the triad of academics, athletics, and social spheres.
Students also spoke about the nature of housing facilities and expressed concerns about their safety, along with frustrations over the most basic features of room and board. The student's ability to perceive the institution's consistent and ongoing commitment to their success, care and welfare is critical to their persistence and commitment to the institution. Significant to our study and to the development of research on student retention is the role that institutional behavior plays in meeting student expectations and supporting their college experience and persistence to graduation.
Often these expectations were poorly informed, due to inaccurate messages they received during the recruiting process, such as that their tuition would never increase, or that the athletic team's winning record was too high, or that the amount of competitive playing time was being maximized. .
The impact of active learning on the dropout process of college students: toward a revision of Tinto's theory. Student Athlete Engagement in Student Engagement in Higher Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Practical Approaches for Diverse Populations, Second Edition. Family and high school experiences influence ninth graders' postsecondary educational plans.
Exploring the Influence of Selected Demographic, Academic, and Athletic Variables on Student-Athlete Retention. Learning better together: The impact of learning communities on the persistence of low-income students.
Appendices
What do you think the impact of the "affinity bond" is on recruitment, retention and the overall strategic plan of AB. What do you think are the goals and objectives for recruitment initiatives in AB. What do you think are faculty attitudes toward the recruiting plan's focus on athletic teams.
What types of programs currently exist that support the transition of student-athletes as they begin their first semester at AB. What are the ties to American Baptist Churches and how do they affect programming, academic and student life at AB. What you see is the relationship between AB and the local community of Philippi.
If you are an upperclassman, how has your academic experience at AB changed since your freshman year?
