Analyzing Student Retention: A Study Of The Effect Of Remedial Courses

The purpose of this research was to determine the rate of retention of collegeenrolled students that continued on to their sophomore year after enrollment in a freshman developmental course compared to students that were not enrolled in a developmental course. The population consisted of first time undergraduate freshmen (N=245) at a small Jesuit university in New Jersey.|It was hypothesized that remedial courses would have a statistical effect on second-year retention. Utilizing quantitative data and a t-test, no statistically significant difference was found between students being enrolled in remedial courses and retention to their second year.|It was also hypothesized that there would be a difference in the end of the first year grade point average (GPA) between students who took remedial writing, reading, and math versus students who did not take remedial writing, reading, and math. Utilizing quantitative data, and a chi-square test, there was no statistically significant difference in end of the first year GPA between students who took remedial math courses and those who did not, but there was a statistically significant difference in the end of the first year GPA between students who took remedial writing and reading courses and those who did not take remedial writing and reading courses.|Although there were limitations, this research provided initial support for further quantitative research. If institutions plan to continue offering remedial courses, the institutions should seek to substantiate the effectiveness of the programs. That may lead to restructuring the provision of the courses offered in effective and efficient means that meets the needs of both the college and students.

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• DeCapua, Nicole Helen

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hawkins, Peggy L.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/47220

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/47220