Open AccessPUTTING AND KEEPING STUDENTS ON TRACK: TOWARD A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF COLLEGE PERSISTENCE AND GOAL ATTAINMENT
Author(s) -
Burrus Jeremy,
Elliott Diane,
Brenneman Meghan,
Markle Ross,
Carney Lauren,
Moore Gabrielle,
Betancourt Anthony,
Jackson Teresa,
Robbins Steve,
Kyllonen Patrick,
Roberts Richard D.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ets research report series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.235
H-Index - 5
ISSN - 2330-8516
DOI - 10.1002/j.2333-8504.2013.tb02321.x
Subject(s) - persistence (discontinuity) , bachelor , extant taxon , psychology , community college , track (disk drive) , institution , mathematics education , higher education , value (mathematics) , bachelor degree , educational attainment , pedagogy , medical education , sociology , political science , social science , computer science , medicine , geotechnical engineering , evolutionary biology , machine learning , law , biology , engineering , operating system
Despite near universal acceptance in the value of higher education for individuals and society, college persistence rates in 4‐year and community colleges are low. Only 57% of students who began college at a 4–year institution in 2001 had completed a bachelor's degree by 2007, and only 28% of community college students who started school in 2005 had completed a degree 4 years later (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). To address this problem, this paper identified 3 goals. The first was to review the extant literature on persistence in higher education. The second was to develop a working model of persistence informed by our literature review. This resulted in a model centered on 3 basic categories of variables: those that put you on track towards persistence, those that push you off track , and those that keep you on track. The final goal was to outline a research agenda to develop student‐centered assessments informed by our model, and we conclude with a discussion of this agenda.