Date of Award
1999
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
Kathryn K. Franklin
Abstract
This study focuses on the effect of orientation upon the retention of transfer students at a metropolitan university in the mid-south. The study was longitudinal in nature and utilized both a chi-square test to evaluate the difference in retention between transfer students who did and did not attend a new student orientation program, and a logistic regression to control for the effects of other well known influences of retention. The predictive model developed accurately identified 81.69% of persisters and nonpersisters. New student orientation, age, previous college GPA, and declaring a major were found to be significant predictors of retention; however only declaring a major was found to be of practical significance. Those students who behaved contrary to the prediction formula — misclassified students — were the subject pool for the qualitative portion of the study. Interviews were conducted to discover why transfer students who were predicted to drop-out persisted, and why transfer students who were predicted to persist dropped-out. Evidence from interviews indicates that determination, assertiveness, and mentoring may play important roles in the retention of high risk students and may mediate stumbling blocks from becoming roadblocks for students.
Recommended Citation
Helm, Rebecca Norton, "The Effect of a Student Orientation Program upon Transfer Student Retention, and An Investigation into the Causation of and Potential Remedies for Transfer Student Attrition" (1999). Theses and Dissertations. 145.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/145
