Faculty Senate Resolution #08-22

Approved by the Faculty Senate: April 22, 2008

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 Faculty Senate to “consider matters related to undergraduate retention…and  recommend to the Faculty Senate policies and procedures governing undergraduate . . . retention,” and

 

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 Faculty Senate urge ECU to provide enhanced financial support to the Center for Faculty Excellence to provide faculty members with new services and resources that promote the use of best practices to advance student retention via effective teaching and learning environments.

 

BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention Policies Committee and the Faculty Senate urge ECU to provide additional staffing to the Center for Faculty Excellence for the provision of training at the departmental level to promote the use of best practices to advance student retention.

 

BE IT RESOLVED that the Admissions and Retention Policies Committee and the Faculty Senate seriously suggest that ECU provide enhanced financial support for the First Year Center and all other Academic Advising Centers at the university, college, and departmental levels. Such enhanced funding should aim to expand ECU’s resources for early-intervention programs and services for at-risk students (e.g., first generation in college students, transfer students, and underrepresented students to include African American, Hispanic, and Native American students).

 

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 Faculty Senate recommend that class attendance be promoted through the use of written policies in course syllabi that strongly encourage attendance for all face-to-face courses at ECU. The point of such policies is to encourage a consistent culture of class attendance across the entire campus from the first day of class.


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., Davis, D., Lauver, K., Le, H., & Robbins, S. B. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261-288.

Colton, G.M., Connor, U.J., Schultz, E.J., & Easter, L.M (1999/2000). Fighting attrition: One freshman year program that targets academic progress and retention for at-risk students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 1(2), 147- 162.

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., Fagley, N.S., & Miller, P.M. (1998). Correlates of college retention and GPA: Learning and study strategies, testwiseness, attitudes, and ACT.

Lee, W.Y. (1999). Striving toward effective retention: The effect of race on mentoring African American Students.  Peabody Journal of Education, 74(2), 27-43. 

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). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

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., Davis, D., & Langley, R. (2004). Do psychosocial and study skill factors predict college outcomes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 130(2), 261–288.

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. Cambridge, MA: Brookline.

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 United States. Journal of Reading, 36, 10-20.

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.