Increasing Persistence: Research-based Strategies for College Student Success - Tapa dura

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THE AUTHORS

WESLEY R. HABLEY is principal associate in educational services and coordinator of State Organizations at ACT, Inc. He is also coeditor of Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook??from Jossey-Bass.

JENNIFER L.??BLOOM is clinical professor and director of the Master's Degree Program in Higher Education and Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina.

STEVE ROBBINS is principal research scientist in the Center for Academic and Workforce Readiness and Success. Formerly, Robbins served as vice president of research at ACT, and as professor and chair of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

De la contraportada

Praise for Increasing Persistence

"What a gem! This is a requisite text for enrollment practitioners, higher education scholars, and progressive public policy makers dedicated to understanding the processes involved in increasing student retention and success rates. The authors' data-focused approach identifies many of the best practices and fundamental efforts that can make a positive impact at most colleges and universities. Increasing Persistence provides an ideal organizational framework for developing student retention plans. ?Jay W. Goff, vice president of enrollment and retention management, Saint Louis University

"Because community colleges have made student persistence to graduation or career certification a national priority, they will find this book an invaluable resource for identifying and implementing practices that have a documented impact on student success." ?James Hudgins, president emeritus, South Carolina Technical/Community College System; director, Community College leadership Alliance, University of South Carolina

"The authors have crafted a highly-readable and much-needed synthesis of the complex literature on college student persistence and completion, and present a fresh model for student success that will be of interest to applied practitioners. This book is not only critical reading for all stakeholders in higher education, but also an easily accessible required text for graduate students of the discipline." ?Toni Strollo Holbrook, associate dean of the college, Rollins College

"The authors provide a focused and contextualized view of college student success that tells us not only what matters but also reminds us why it matters to individual students, educators, and society as whole." ?Margot Saltonstall, associate director for assessment enrollment management and student affairs, Northern Arizona University

De la solapa interior

Increasing Persistence

"Of all the books addressing the puzzle of student success and persistence, I found this one to be the most helpful and believe it will be extremely useful to faculty and staff attempting to promote student success. The authors solidly ground their work in empirical research, and do a brilliant job providing both an overview of the relevant literature as well as research-based recommendations for intervention." —Gail Hackett, Ph.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; professor, counseling and educational psychology, University of Missouri, Kansas City

Research indicates that approximately forty percent of all college students never earn a degree anywhere, any time in their lives. This fact has not changed since the middle of the 20th century.

Written for practitioners and those who lead retention and persistence initiatives at both the institutional and public policy levels, Increasing Persistence offers a compendium on college student persistence that integrates concept, theory, and research with successful practice. It is anchored by the ACT's What Works in Student Retention (WWISR) survey of 1,100 colleges and universities, an important resource that contains insights on the causes of attrition and identifies retention interventions that are most likely to enhance student persistence.

The authors focus on three essential conditions for student success: students must learn; students must be motivated, committed, engaged, and self-regulating; and students must connect with educational programs consistent with their interests and abilities. The authors offer a detailed discussion of the four interventions that research shows are the most effective for helping students persist and succeed: assessment and course placement, developmental education initiatives, academic advising, and student transition programming. Finally, they urge broadening the current retention construct, providing guidance to policy makers, campus leaders, and individuals on the contributions they can make to student success.