Institute/Session Summary:

Purpose:

Retention… retention… retention: this is the mantra for colleges and universities in the 21st Century.  Administrators, Boards of Trustees, Legislators, Parents and others are asking what the retention and graduation rates are of colleges.  This number, in turn becomes a bench mark of quality, revenue and ultimately impacts on our programs. 

Enhancing retention can be accomplished through a focused and deliberate First Year Program which responds to the needs of the individual student.  This presentation will provide attendee with a brief description of a newly developed instrument.  Both validity and reliability will be discussed and the results of the 4-year longitudinal study will be shared.  The instrument has been normed using the student population and as a result T scores [standard scores] can be used to understand how student are, in comparison to a peer group.  The instrument [Multidimensional Retention Questionnaire – MRQ] is easy to administer and can provide information on students affective and conative attributes which have an impact on academic retention.  The results of a 4 year longitudinal study will be provided along with workshop topics / content.

Learning objectives:

Attendees will gain information about instrument development, personality and Conative attributes that impact on academic retention.  Attendees will see a sample of the MRQ’s results and will [in work teams], problem solve and critically think about methods or strategies that can assist the student.  

Current theoretical basis:

The purpose of this study was to examine if there are specific characteristics (e.g. academic anxiety, academic self-efficacy, motivation for academic success, motivation to avoid academic failure, internal locus of control, external locus of control and academic self-esteem, etc.) differentiating the designated at-risk versus the non at-risk student. 

This study was conducted at a 2-year private college and a 4-year public regionally comprehensive institution. 

The factors studies include locus of control which has been studied by others such as Appel, Haak, and Witzel (1970) who studied factors associated with decision and indecision regarding career choices and the selection of a college major. Ability and Motivation has been studied in various settings and using a variety of instruments with results being inconclusive regarding desire, ability (primarily defined through grade point average) and vocational choice (declared or undeclared). Williamson and Darley (1937) found that there was no relationship between grade point average (ability) and career decidedness. In a study conducted by Baird (1969) involving 60,000 college-bound students.  Self-Esteem has been studied by Korman (1966) and others who conducted research at various state universities using the Ghiselli Self-Description Inventory, an instrument that determines congruence of self-perceived characteristics. Korman and others found that individuals who scored higher in self-esteem were more congruent than those who scored lower in self-esteem. Anxiety has also been studied very frequently by researchers such as Goodstein (1965) who hypothesized that a relationship existed between career indecision, being undeclared, and anxiety. Goodstein (1965) suggested that anxiety may occur as an effect on a person’s failure to develop requisite skills for making career decisions, and therefore, may cause career indecision. Other researchers (Spielberger, 1972; Walsh & Lewis, 1972) found that at-risk students were tense and high strung, had feelings of apprehension, and experienced state anxiety.

Significance to the field & relevance to CRLA members and other conference attendees:

This presentation will provide attendees with new information on retention and methods used to enhance it.  This is a first theoretical introduction to retention factors that can be ameliorated by workshops and contact with the student. 

Media used:

The instrument on scantron, Powerpoint and 4 years of hands-on assessment / development.

Bibliography:

Astin, A.W. (1991). Assessment for Excellence. New York: New York: Collier Macmillan.

Astin, A. W. (1993). Assessment for Excellence : The Philosophy and Practice of Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. New York: American Council on Education.

Astin, A. W. (1978). Four Critical Years: Effects of Colleges on Beliefs, Attitudes and Knowledge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Astin, A. W.  (1993). What Matters in College?: Four Critical Years Revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pascarelly, E T. & Terenini, P. T. (1991). How College Affects Students.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Terenzini, Patrick T. Assessment with Open Eyes: Pitfalls in Studying Student Outcomes. Journal of Higher Education (November/December, 1989) 60: 644-664. (L11.J78)

Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving College. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Presenter1 Name: Jack Truschel
Presenter1 Institution: East Stroudsburg University
Presenter1 Bio: Dr. Jack Truschel, Director and Associate Professor was born in Neubruken, Germany. He is married, with a son and two daughters. He holds a BA. degree in Psychology from King’s College, a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Marywood University, a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology from Marywood University, a Doctorate (Ed.D) in Educational Administration from Temple University and a doctorate (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
 
He was recruited to East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1989, where he held several administrative as well as his current faculty position.  He is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Academic Enrichment and Learning.  He serves as the Director of the advising center and serves as the primary advisor to all undeclared students.  He coordinates over 60 undeclared volunteer advisors and has over 18 years of academic experience with a focus in assisting students in their quest for academic enrichment. 

His research interests include student retention, best practices of academic advising, best practices of tutoring services, student personality traits and academic persistence, child & adolescent disorders, evaluation and treatment, developmental neuroscience and industrial / organizational best practices.  He has developed several instruments to include a Corporate 360 degree assessment, Multidimensional Retention Questionnaire, and the Oppositional Defiant Disorder Test. He has written and has been funded by various granting agencies.

Dr. Truschel has been actively involved in tutoring and is one of the founders and the President-Elect of the Association for the Tutoring Profession.  He also has served on the Board of Directors of several local, regional as well as national organizations.

Presenter2 Name: Germain E. Francois
Presenter2 Institution: East Stroudsburg University
Presenter2 Bio: Germain E. Francois received an AB. & an Ed M. degrees from Tufts University. Dr Francois earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Connecticut in Professional Higher Education Administration. He came to East Stroudsburd University as an Assistant Professor in 1979. Currently, he is a Distinguished Professor & Director of the University Learning Center. Dr. Francois has had extensive research experiences in the following areas: undeclared students, nontraditional/adult students, developmental education, at-risk& underserved & sometime underprepared students. Currently, his research interest  deals with self-efficacy, self-concept, self-esteem, academic self efficacy , self regulation skills and their impacts on persistence, retention & graduation of the underserved population  in our colleagues and universities.