Mentoring and retention at a commuter campus

Carol M Servies, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine whether a mentoring program offered to first-year commuter students at Purdue University Calumet could enhance their social and academic integration and whether this would positively impact student retention. The highest number of students drop out during the first academic year. Lack of social and academic integration has been theorized to be a major force in influencing dropout behavior among these students. Therefore, if both social and academic integration could be significantly increased, first-year students would be more likely to remain in college. In the present study, the perception of both social and academic integration were more positive among an experimental group of students who were offered a mentoring program than for the control group who were not. The beneficial increase of positive perception of social and academic integration did not, however, have a statistically significant impact on the retention rate of this sample. Tinto's (1975) theory was written at a time when fewer developmental and commuter students were attending colleges. Tinto's pre-entry factors, i.e. family background, individual attributes, and pre-college schooling, appear to be more problematic in relation to persistence in college for the type of students studied here than for the typical college freshman. This study also indicates that program assistance may need to be instituted earlier in the academic process, perhaps just after admission or the initial goal commitment and institutional commitment.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Hooker, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Higher education|Adult education|Continuing education|School administration

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