Reaching Across the Institutional Aisle

Abstract

The challenge in the retention world is the one-size-fits-all approach, which negates the differences in student backgrounds, student choice, student preparation, and ultimately student motivation. The differences in student backgrounds, student choice, and student preparation seem to dissipate once students matriculate at the university. The dependence on predictive analytics, forecasting, econometric modeling, predictive modeling, data analysis, and other scientifically-generated methods tend to be the opposite extreme from humanistic-based initiatives. To address this dichotomy, we chose to pursue a path that combines academic empowerment and student success strategies for supporting our students and their goals. This study examines college students' self-reported successes and barriers that guide them to graduation or keep them from being successful. These differences in student motivation for persistence to graduation are seen from the perspective of African American students at a U.S.A. mid-western, predominantly white institution of higher education. These ideas can be applied to student engagement with academic excellence and social success in that involvement in a social community is key to being academically successful. This study, similar to other student support endeavors, can provide higher education faculty a better understanding of the motivation for college students, which can translate to academic success and not be another barrier to African American students.