Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Sylvia Auton
Committee Member
DaJuane Anderson
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
Application for Federal Student Aid, family responsibilities, financial aid, finance, first-generation students, focus groups, follow-up letters, health problems, interviews, low-income students, persistence, postsecondary education, secondary schools, self-administered surveys, Student Tracker for Outreach Programs, student withdrawal, TRIO, TRIO Talent Search, work responsibilities
Abstract
This applied dissertation sought to identify possible causes of why some TRIO Talent Search program participants were successful in enrolling in postsecondary education and receiving financial aid, whereas others were not. Data-collection instruments that were used in this applied dissertation study included focus groups, personal interviews, self administered surveys, and follow-up letters. Other data sources included a Student Tracker for Outreach Programs and the Application for Federal Student Aid website.
The primary circumstance that temporarily impeded the persistence of TRIO participants was finance. Findings indicated that most of the reasons students had withdrawn from their postsecondary studies were out of the hands of the college or universities. These reasons were primarily finance, work responsibilities, health problems, and family responsibilities. A low survey response was 1 limitation of this study. Based upon the results of this study, recommendations were made for the TRIO Talent Search program to lower the non successful student rate and increase the successful rate of students enrolling in postsecondary institutions and receiving financial aid.