Approved
by the
DENIED by the Chancellor: August 1, 2008 (link to response)
RESOLUTION
ON UNDERGRADUATE RETENTION
WHEREAS, East
Carolina University’s Admissions and Retention Policies Committee is charged
by the
WHEREAS, East
Carolina University (ECU) currently has a retention rate of 77% for first-year
students, and
WHEREAS, ECU is
committed to increasing first-year retention rates to over 82% by the fall of
2011, and
WHEREAS, ECU has a
four-year graduation rate of 30% and a six-year graduation rate of 54%, and
WHEREAS, ECU is
committed to increasing both the four-year and six-year graduation rates, and
WHEREAS, ECU is committed to implementing a
plan to address the ten points in the UNC-GA Template for improved retention
and graduation rates, and
WHEREAS, ECU recognizes that there is sound
scientific evidence to suggest that study skills training1 and class attendance2 improve student performance by raising grades,
increasing student retention, and raising graduation rates.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention
Policies Committee and the
BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention
Policies Committee and the
BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention
Policies Committee and the
BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention
Policies Committee and the Faculty Senate urge ECU to provide study skills
workshops for all entering undergraduate students during the Weeks of Welcome
and during the Freshman Orientation.
BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention
Policies Committee and the
Notes
1 The references below cover
literature reviews and studies with general evidence of positive academic
outcomes for undergraduate with good study skills and/or exposure to
study-skill training and workshops.
Generally, such training is found to increase GPAs and student
retention.
Abrams,
H.G., and Jernigan, L.P. (1984). Academic
support services and the success of high-risk college students. American Educational Research
Journal, 21(2), 261-274.
Carlstrom, A.,
Gettinger, M., & Seibert J.K. (2002). Contributions of study skills to academic Competence.
School Psychology Review, 31 (3), 350 – 365.
Hollister,
J.W. (1993). General chemistry
workshop attendance and improved student performance. Journal
of Chemical Education, 70, 1013 – 1015.
Kern,
C.W.,
Lee, W.Y.
(1999). Striving toward effective retention: The effect of race on mentoring
African American Students.
McKeachie, W. J., Pintrich,
P. R., & Lin, Y.G. (1985). Learning to learn. In G. D’Ydwelle
(Ed.), Cognition, information processing and motivation (pp. 601–618).
Metzner, B. and Bean, J.P. (1987) The estimation of a
conceptual model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition. Research
in Higher Education, 27(1), 15-38.
Naveh-Benjamin, M. (1991) A comparison of
training programs intended for different types of test-anxious students:
Further support for an information-processing model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 134-139.
Polansky, J., Horan, J.J., & Hanish C. (1993) Experimental construct validity of the
outcomes of study skills training and career counseling as treatments for the
retention of at-risk students. Journal of
Counseling and Development, 71(5), 488 – 492.
Rickinson, B., & Rutherford, D., (1995). Increasing
undergraduate student retention rates. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 23(2), 161-172.
Robbins,
S.B., Lauver, K., Le, H.,
Rowser, J.F. (1997) Do African
American students' perceptions of their needs have implications for retention. Journal
of Black Studies, 27(5), 718 -
726.
Saenz, T.
Marcoulides, E.J., & Young, R. (1999). The
relationship between college experience and academic performance among minority
students, International Journal of
Educational Management, 13(4), 199-208.
Scheid, K. (1993). Helping students
become strategic learners: Guidelines for teaching.
Sherman,
T. M, Giles, M. B., & Williams-Green, J. (1994). Assessment and
retention of black students in higher education. The Journal of Negro
Education, 63(2), 164.
Van Overwalle,
F., & Metsenaere, M. de (1990). The effects of attribution-based intervention
and study strategy training on academic achievement in college freshman. British
Journal of Educational Psychology, 60,
299-311.
Wyatt, M.
(1992). The past, present, and future need for college reading courses in the
Zinatelli, M, Dube,
M. A., & Jovanovic, R. (2003). Computer-based study skills training: The
role of technology in improving performance and retention. Journal
of College Student Retention, 4(1),
67-78.
2 The references below cover
literature reviews and studies concerning undergraduate class attendance. These studies generally find positive
academic outcomes associated with undergraduate class attendance; generally,
negative outcomes are associated with absenteeism.
Clump,
M. A., Bauer, H., & Whiteleather, A. (2003). To
attend or not to attend: Is that a good question? Journal of Instructional
Psychology, 30, 220-224.
Cohn,
E., & Johnson E. (2006) Class attendance and performance in
principles of economics. Education Economics, 14(2), 211-233.
Conard, M. A. (2006). Aptitude is not
enough: How personality and behavior predict academic performance. Journal
of Research in Personality, 40, 339–346.
Day, S. (1994) Learning in large
sociology classes: Journals and attendance, Teaching Sociology, 22, 151–165.
Devadoss, S., & Foltz. J. (1996)
Evaluation of factors influencing student class attendance and
performance. American Journal of
Agricultural Economics, 78, 499–507.
Durden, G. C., & Ellis, L. V. (1995)
The effects of attendance on student learning in principles of economics. American Economic Review (Papers and
Proceedings), 85(2), 343–346.
Durden, G., & Larry E. (2003). Is class attendance a
proxy for student motivation in economic classes? An empirical analysis. International
Social Science Review, 78, 42 – 46.
Friedman, P., Rodriguez, F., & McComb, J. (2001). Why students do and do not attend
classes: Myths and realities. College Teaching, 49, 124-133.
Gump,
S. E. (2004b) The truth behind truancy: student rationales for cutting class, Educational
Research Quarterly, 28(2), 50–58.
Gump, S. E. (2005). The cost of
cutting class: Attendance as a predictor of student success. College
Teaching, 53, 21-26.
Gunn, K. P. (1993). A correlation
between attendance and grades in a first-year psychology course. Canadian
Psychology, 34, 201-202.
Hancock, T. M. (1994). Effects of
mandatory attendance on student performance. College Student Journal, 28, 326–329.
Jones, C. H. (1984) Interaction of
absences and grades in a college course, The Journal of Psychology, 116, 133–136.
Launius, M. H. (1997). College student
attendance: Attitudes and academic performance. College Student Journal, 31, 86-92.
Martin ,
J. S., & Hanrahan K. (2004) Criminology freshmen:
Preparation, expectations and college performance. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 15(2), 287-309.
Park, K. H., & Kerr, P. M.
(1990). Determinants of academic
performance: A multinomial logit approach. The
Journal of Economic Education, 21(2),
101-111.
Petress, K. C. (1996). The dilemma of
university undergraduate student attendance policies: To require class
attendance or not. College Student Journal 30, 387–389.
Rodgers, J. R. (2001) A panel-data
study of the effect of student attendance on university performance. Australian Journal of Education, 45(3), 284 - 295.
Rodgers, J. R. (2002) Encouraging
tutorial attendance at university did not improve performance. Australian
Economic Papers, 41(3), 255–266.
Romer, D. (1993). Do students go to
class? Should they? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7(3), 167-174.
Rose, R. J., Hall, C. W., Bolen, L.
M., & Webster, R. E. (1996). Locus of control and college student’s
approaches to learning. Psychological. Reports, 79, 163-171.
Schimoff, E., & Catania.A.C.
(2001). Effects of recording attendance on grades in Introductory Psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 28, 192-195.
Schuman, H., Walsh, E., Olson, C., & Etheridge,
B. (1985). Effort and reward: The assumption that college
grades are affected by quantity of study. Social Forces, 63,
945-966.
Silvestri, L. (2003). The effect of attendance on
undergraduate methods course grades, Education,
123(3), 483-486.
St Clair, K. L. (1999). A case
against compulsory class attendance policies in higher education. Innovative Higher Education, 23, 171–180.
Thatcher, A., Fridjhon,
P., & Cockcroft, K. (2007). The relationship between lecture attendance and academic
performance in an undergraduate psychology class. South
African Journal of Psychology, 37(3), 656 – 660.
Van Blerkom,
M. L. (1992). Class attendance in an undergraduate course. The Journal of
Psychology, 126, 487-494.
Wyatt, G. (1992). Skipping class: An
analysis of absenteeism among first-year college students. Teaching
Sociology, 20, 201-207.