Content area

Abstract

Community colleges serve diverse student populations, including first-generation, low-income, and nontraditional students, yet retention remains a persistent challenge. Outreach programs such as Achieve a College Education (ACE), Hoop of Learning (HOL), TRIO, and No Opportunity Wasted (NOW) aim to improve student success through academic advising, early college exposure, and holistic support. The purpose of this quantitative correlational predictive study was to examine if, or to what extent, gender, traditional/nontraditional status, first-year GPA, race/ethnicity, recipient of disability resources, and completion of the First-Year Experience (FYE) course predict retention among community college students enrolled in an outreach program at the start of their second year in Arizona. Framed by Pascarella’s model of student-faculty informal contact, the study used archival data from 414 students and applied binomial logistic regression. The overall model was statistically significant, χ²(8) = 47.98, p < .001. Two variables emerged as statistically significant predictors: FYE course completion (Wald = 14.51, p < .001, OR = 2.73) and gender (Wald = 11.15, p < .001, OR = 2.25). Students who completed the FYE course and female students had higher odds of being retained compared to their peers. Race/ethnicity, traditional/nontraditional status, GPA, and disability resource status did not significantly predict retention. These findings suggest that structured first-year support and gender-responsive strategies may enhance retention, while challenging assumptions about the predictive value of demographic factors alone.

Details

1010268
Title
Analyzing Factors for Predicting Retention Among Community College Students in Outreach Programs
Number of pages
275
Publication year
2025
Degree date
2025
School code
1582
Source
DAI-A 86/12(E), Dissertation Abstracts International
ISBN
9798286443123
Committee member
Stimpson, Matt; Cicero, Brian
University/institution
Grand Canyon University
Department
College of Doctoral Studies
University location
United States -- Arizona
Degree
Ph.D.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
32118257
ProQuest document ID
3225294650
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/analyzing-factors-predicting-retention-among/docview/3225294650/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Database
ProQuest One Academic