Book chapter
153Are You Experienced?: How College Environments, Programs, and Interactions Shape Student Retention, Persistence, and Graduation
Improving College Student Retention, pp.153-181
Routledge, 1
2023
DOI: 10.4324/9781003445258-10
Abstract
There is little question that students' college experiences affect their retention, persistence, and degree attainment, and yet two aspects of this relationship reveal a complex reality. First, there is strong evidence that students' experiences vary more within institutions than between them (Mayhew et al., 2016; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Some of this variation is the product of students' many choices, including where to live during college, which college major to pursue, and whether to be involved in clubs and organizations. At the same time, institutional agents shape students' choices directly through the opportunities that are made available and more indirectly through cultures and norms; moreover, student experiences are also a function of structural forces that extend well beyond the institution and that begin well before students enter college. Thus, recent theories of student departure have emphasized the joint responsibility of students and institutions in shaping students' engagement (see chapter 2). Second, students' experiences inform and are informed by their perceptions of themselves, their peers, institutional agents, and the institution. These perceptions then determine students' commitments and intentions. In other words, psychological processes explain the relationship between students' experiences and their attainment (Bowman et al., 2022; Braxton et al. 2004), such that the experiences themselves only influence persistence, retention, and attainment indirectly.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- 153Are You Experienced?: How College Environments, Programs, and Interactions Shape Student Retention, Persistence, and Graduation
- Creators
- K C CulverNicholas A. Bowman
- Contributors
- Robert D. Reason (Editor)John M. Braxton (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Improving College Student Retention, pp.153-181
- Edition
- 1
- Publisher
- Routledge
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003445258-10
- Alternative title
- Are You Experienced?
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2023
- Academic Unit
- Educational Policy and Leadership Studies; Public Policy Center (Archive); Center for Social Science Innovation
- Record Identifier
- 9984436457102771
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