Community College Retention: the Role of Late Registration Policies
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Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 8-2007 Community College Retention: The Role of Late Registration Policies Kay L. Keck Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Community College Leadership Commons, and the Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Recommended Citation Keck, Kay L., "Community College Retention: The Role of Late Registration Policies" (2007). Dissertations. 881. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/881 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COMMUNITY COLLEGE RETENTION: THE ROLE OF LATE REGISTRATION POLICIES by Kay L. Keck A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology Dr. Sue Poppink, Advisor Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COMMUNITY COLLEGE RETENTION: THE ROLE OF LATE REGISTRATION POLICIES Kay L. Keck, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2007 Issues of retention and student persistence have been of concern for institutions of higher education for decades. The retention of community college students is greatly affected by open admissions policies and practices designed to address the needs of a student population which greatly varies by academic and social preparation as well as in their understanding of the purpose, value, and need for a college education. Of particular interest to researchers in the community college realm are registration policies which are theoretically designed to assist students in the short term which may inadvertently hinder their success in the long term. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between policies intended to remove banders to enrollment and student persistence at an open admissions institution. Specifically, the study explored the policy of late enrollment at community colleges, the affects of the policy on the students’ academic persistence and success, and how students experienced the phenomenon. The mixed-research design for this study was planned sequentially to first quantitatively examine the relationship between late enrollment policiesand student persistence and second to qualitatively explore the experience and perceptions of students in regard to late enrollment; in a final analysis the qualitative results were used to further explain the quantitative findings. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The study provided for a clearer understanding of the impact of late registration on community college retention and student persistence. Of particular interest were the results of the examination of the course-specific side of late registration. The most significant findings of this study were: (1) Students who registered and began a course on time had a greater likelihood to successfully complete the course. The consequences students associated with late registration included missing critical first class day information and feeling rushed and unprepared to begin the class; (2) A majority of late registrants were successful in the late registered course, and late registrants were satisfied with their performance. Students perceived their individual backgrounds, strengths, academic abilities, and determination to complete a course as important in their success in the course; (3) The course subject area had a significant impact on the successful completion of the late registered course, and students expressed their reluctance to late register into a course subject area unless they had completed coursework or had experiential learning in the course subject area. Students would avoid registering late into a course delivered in an online format. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3275960 Copyright 2007 by Keck, Kay L. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3275960 Copyright 2007 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright by Kay L. Keck 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As a high school student I had not been encouraged to go on to college until the end of my senior year when one counselor, Gini Kuhn, suggested I enroll at the local community college. What would I study? Since I had spent my entire high school career on secretarial studies, it was decided that was the best career option and course of study for me to pursue in college. Upon graduating from the community college, I remained at the college working as a secretary. My career path seemed set at a young age. Fast forward 10 years and I was fortunate to work for Dr. Ed Haring, then Vice President of Instruction at the community college. He encouraged me to go on for a bachelor’s degree and my career changed drastically and became focused on student services. After I completed a master’s degree, Dr. Haring asked me, “what about a doctorate?” And, so, I begin my acknowledgements with Dr. Ed Haring, President of Kellogg Community College. You are about developing people holistically, and you provide an atmosphere conducive to taking risks and meeting challenges. To the professors who have forever changed me professionally and personally: Dr. LouAnn Bierlein-Palmer, Dr. Andrea Beach, and my advisor, Dr. Sue Poppink. You each have pushed me, stretched me, and made me think when I didn’t want to think anymore. Thank you! And to my long-time mentor,Dr. Alice Marie Jacobs:You hired me for my first position at the community college, and you encouraged me not to remain status-quo yet to reach for my greatest potential. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgements—Continued I acknowledge my classmates beginning with Connie Schwass. We have shared projects, co-authored papers, made it through comps, and supported each other endlessly. You are a forever-friend, and I am better for having experienced these past four years with you and with other significant classmates: Dr. Daryl Delabbio who has remained my support during this past year; Colin McCaleb and John Hoye, my co-workers and stats buddies; and Kim Hayworth, my faith friend from our first class in Battle Creek to our endless hours studying at the Marshall Public Library. For me, God brought together just the right combination of people and influences to have made this a wonderful experience. I acknowledge the expertise of my co-worker, Jerry Mueller. Thank you for the time spent to program the retrieval of data and your attention that the data fit the study. My acknowledgements continue with family. To my mom, Opal Adams, who passed on to me her analytical sense; thank you for cooking countless Monday-night family dinners. To my mother-in-law, Dr. Virginia Keck, who has read my writing for years and supported me in each of my educational endeavors; and my father-in-law, Daniel Keck, who just supports me in everything. To my uncle, Larry Jeffery, for tutoring me in statistics. To my daughter, Danielle Keck, who is pursuing a degree in elementary education. Danielle, you have the heart to be a teacher and I love and respect you for who you are and for your potential. And to my husband, John Keck, for so much love and understanding of how important this work has been to me. It’s your time now.. .what would you like to do? Kay L. Keck iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Research Problem ........................................................ 4 Research Questions .................................................................................. 6 Research