Research Guides: Student Success &amp; Retention: Academic Rigor/College-Level Expectations

First Generation Students

Academic Preparedness of First-Generation College Students: Different Perspectives
- First-generation students
- Student attitudes
- Surveys
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Keywords: academic preparedness and retention
Are College Faculty and First-Generation, Low-Income Students Ready for Each Other?
- First-generation college students/li>
- Low-income
- College readiness
Communication With Friends and the Academic Adjustment of First- and Non-First-Generation Students in the First Year of College
- Academic self-efficacy
- Communication with friends
- School connectedness
Conceptions of a good college student, parent-student communication about college, first-year grades, and college retention among first- and non-first-generation college students
- Academic achievement
- students
- retention
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Keywords: first generation students AND retention
Examining Retention and Transfer in Relation to Incoming Student Data for First-Generation and Continuing-Generation Students: What Differences Exist?
- Retention
- First-generation
- Incoming student information
An Exploration of Parental Support in the Retention of Rural First-Generation College Students
- Family/parental support
- Rural students
- Social capital
Exploring the Links Between Parent–Student Conversations About College, Academic Self-Concepts, and Grades for First-Generation College Students
- Academic self-concepts
- Conversations about college
- First-generation college students
Game Plan for Success-A Case Study
- First-generation students
- Stdents' developmental needs
- Summer gateway program
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Keywords: academic rigor college-level and retention
Is First-Gen an Identity? How First-Generation College Students Make Meaning of Institutional and Familial Constructions of Self
- College transition
- Familial influence
- Social class
The Role of a Skills Learning Support Program on First-Generation College Students’ Self-Regulation, Motivation, and Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Study
- First-generation college students
- Self-regulation
- Motivation
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Retention in First-Generation College Students
- First generation students
- Educational financial assistance and strain
- Retention
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Keywords: college and employment and retention and students
Similar Patterns, Different Implications: First-Generation and Continuing College Students’ Social Media Use and Its Association With College Social Adjustment
- Social networking site
- College adjustment
- First-generation
Strengths and Struggles: First-Generation College-Goers Persisting at One Predominantly White Institution
- First-generation college students
- Predominately White institutions
- Retention
A study comparing motivation and self-efficacy of first generation students and non-first generation students in their first year of post secondary studies
- First generation students
- fist year students
- Motivating factors
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Keywords: first generation students AND retention
Supporting First-Generation Students’ Adjustment to College With High-Impact Practices
- First-generation college students
- High-impact practices
- Social cognitive theory

General Articles

Curricular and departmental characteristics influencing satisfaction, retention and success of undergraduate students: A review of literature
- Academic achievement motivation
- Satisfaction
- Student attitudes
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Keywords: college-level expectations and retention
The role of entry exams on higher education: a case study on reforming qualifier exam policies to improve student success while maintaining program quality
- Student retention
- Engineering programs
- Exam policies
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Keywords: academic rigor and retention and higher education
Supporting students' transition to higher education
- Student motivation
- Workshops
- Learning strategies
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Keywords: reading and retention and higher education or college
Students as Stakeholders: Understanding Expectations Can Increase Student Retention
- Nontraditional students
- Online retention
- Minority student retention

First-Year Students

Addressing the Stressful First Year in College: Could Peer Mentoring Be a Critical Strategy?
- Freshmen
- Peer mentoring
- Undergraduate stress
Findings From a Pilot Study Examining the Positive and Negative Achievement Emotions Associated With Undergraduates’ First-Year Experience
- Achievement emotions
- Urban university
- First-year experience
First-Year, Nontraditional Student Retention at Four-Year Institutions: How Predictors of Attrition Vary Across Time
- Nontraditional students
- First-time students
- Persistence
First-Year College Students’ Behaviors and Characteristics of Those Who Stay and Those Who Go
- Retention
- Student engagement
- Persistence
Identification of Skill-Appropriate Courses to Improve Retention of At-Risk College Freshmen
- Retention
- Expectation for success
- Freshman
An Investigation of Probationary At-Risk Freshmen’s Future-Oriented Motivation and Future-Oriented Self-Regulated Learning
- At-risk freshman
- Academic probation
- Future-oriented motivation
Predicting Successful College Experiences: Evidence from a First Year Retention Program
- College success factors
- First-year students
- Retention program
Reading Strategies and Academic Success: The Case of First-Semester College Males
- Reading strategies
- Males
- Survey
Resilience, Academic Self-Concept, and College Adjustment Among First-Year Students
- First-year students
- College adjustment
- Academic self-concept
Time Perspective and Grade Expectations as Predictors of Student Achievement and Retention in the First Year of Community College
- Time perspective
- Expectation for success
- Community college

Online Learners

#WedontWantDistanceEducation: a thematic analysis of higher education students’ social media posts about online education during Covid-19 pandemic
- Distance learning
- student attitudes
- online instruction
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Keywords: "physical health" and retention and higher education
Behavioral intention of “digital natives” toward adapting the online education system in higher education
- Online learning
- Student attitudes and behaviors
- Educational technology
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Keywords: online education and retention and higher education
Dropout, stopout, and time challenges in open online higher education: A qualitative study of the first-year student experience
- Open online higher education
- First-year students
- online learning challenges
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Keywords: online education and retention and higher education
Returning after taking a break in online distance higher education: From intention to effective re-enrollment
- Online learning
- Re-enrollment
- Distance education
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Keywords: online education and retention and higher education

Summer Bridge Programs

Building College Readiness: Exploring the Effectiveness of the UNC Academic Summer Bridge Program
- Student retention
- High school to college transition
- Summer bridge programs
An Empirical Evaluation of a Summer Bridge Program on College Graduation at a Small Liberal Arts College
- Summer bridge program
- Equal opportunity program
- College graduation rate
Performance and Persistence Outcomes of GEAR UP Students: Leveling the Playing Field in Higher Education
- GEAR UP students
- Performance
- Academic achievement

Additional Resources

Increasing Retention Rates for First-Generation Students
This webpage shares data and characteristics of first-generation students, the obstacles they face, and support structures that fit their needs.

Additional Articles

Links to Full-Text ERIC Articles
This PDF contains a list of links to full-text articles. Due to their varied contents, they have been incorporated across this guide on appropriate pages.

Student Success & Retention: Academic Rigor/College-Level Expectations

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First Generation Students

General Articles

First-Year Students

Online Learners

Summer Bridge Programs

Additional Resources

Additional Articles