Date of Award

Summer 8-6-2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling and Psychological Services

First Advisor

Erin Mason

Second Advisor

Franco Dispenza

Third Advisor

Catherine Chang

Fourth Advisor

Cora MacBeth

Abstract

Supporting student retention and degree completion has become a central goal of higher education. Many colleges and universities are recovering from a dramatic loss of enrollment and retention during the COVID-19 pandemic (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023). For Fall 2023, most 4-year colleges saw an increase in undergraduate enrollment of 1.2 percent and an increase of .9 percentage points in persistence, the first increase since the pandemic (National Student Clearinghouse, 2024). However, the effects of low enrollment and retention problems are still affecting college completion rates. According to the National Student Clearinghouse (2024), degree earners fell for the second year. This issue is particularly pronounced among first-generation students and those from systemically minoritized backgrounds and even more critical for students in those groups who intend to study in STEM disciplines – who fail to complete their degrees at more significant rates than other students (U.S. Department of Education 2011; Chen, 2013). Research about student-serving programs suggests that institutional integration and perceived belongingness may significantly increase student retention and graduation rates (Tinto, 1993, 2020; Strayhorn, 2018; Walton & Cohen, 2011). Students who feel connected to their peers, faculty, and staff members are more likely to remain in college and persist in their academic pursuits (Strayhorn, 2018; Tinto, 1993). The current study serves as a part of a program evaluation for a pre-orientation program serving first-generation students in STEM at a private, predominately white institution in the southeast. Students’ perceptions of belongingness and institutional integration are examined in relationship to program participation. The effect of these factors on end-of-semester academic performance (GPA) and students’ intention to persist to graduation is also investigated.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/37333909

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