Date of Conferral

2-16-2024

Date of Award

February 2024

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Dr. Bob Hogan

Abstract

At a community college in the state of Florida, student retention has become a critical concern because more than half of the first-year first-generation students fail to graduate. That rate is four times higher than for other first-year students. Guided by Tinto’s Student Integration Model as the conceptual framework, this intrinsic qualitative case study was conducted to investigate factors that students, faculty, and staff perceive to contribute to the high dropout rates among first-generation students at the local site. Additionally, this study was conducted to identify strategies to reduce first-year, first-generation college student dropout rates. Data was collected from participants through one-on-one interviews. Participants included eight first-year, first-generation college students and nine college employees. The college employees included four advisors, two faculty, and three staff members. The analysis of the interview data revealed that most learners faced financial challenges, fell alone and unprepared, and perceived that they lacked support. These findings led to the development of a 3-day professional development workshop for faculty and staff at the local site. The goal of the professional development program is to share strategies to improve graduation and retention rates for this study population, which could benefit students and the learning institution. Such a program could have implications for positive social change by providing better support for first-year, first-generation college students, guiding them to successful degree completion, which is beneficial to the college and the community.

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