Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
John A. Morgan, Jr.
Committee Member
Delores Smiley
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
accountability, associate dean, attrition, college students, developmental education, developmental courses, emotional intelligence, English, evaluation, failure rates, Florida, Fort Pierce, formative committees, higher education, high risk students, implementation plan, Indian River Community College, institutional effectiveness, learning style, literature review, mathematics, organizational change, Okeechobee County, part-time students, postsecondary education, remedial instruction, remedial courses, research and development, resilience, retention, retention plan, St. Lucie County, student success, summative committees, timetable, Treasure Coast, vice president of academic affairs, validation, workforce training
Abstract
Indian River Community College is a comprehensive two-year public postsecondary institution located in Fort Pierce, Florida. IRCC serves the career, training and cultural needs of the quad-county residents of St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River, and Okeechobee counties, on the Treasure Coast of Florida. The 2002-2003 IRCC enrollment was approximately 38,500 full-time and part-time equivalent students.
The problem addressed in this dissertation was that the college identified high attrition and failure rates of the students in college developmental courses as a major barrier to student success in their post secondary programs. Remedial courses are the gateway for over 70% of first-time in college students. Failure in mathematics and English remedial courses has created a roadblock for many students causing overall low completion rates within this population (Indian River Community College, 2002).
Preliminary research suggested that a comprehensive retention plan including strategies designed for the success of high risk college students would address this need. The development of such a plan with an implementation plan was the impetus for this study.
Seven research questions guided this project. This study utilized the research and development methodologies. Fifteen procedures, including a literature review, and the use of formative and summative committees provided advisement and feedback for validation were used to complete this study. Specifically, the study focused on retention strategies for high risk students, accountability in higher education, evaluation of current policies and practices, and identifying the specific characteristics associated with the students who have multiple barriers to their success in college.
The result of this project was the development of a retention plan for high risk students, with a plan for implementation including objectives, activities, a timetable, and recommendations for future research and evaluation. The suggested redesign of current practices will also be a quality enhancement for the Indian River Community College Developmental Education Department.
The validated product was presented to the Associate Dean of Developmental Education for approval and implementation. The product was also disseminated to the vice president of academic affairs for consideration.