Determinants of university students’ attendance

ABSTRACT

Background: Attendance of university students at their timetabled teaching sessions is usually associated with higher levels of educational attainment. Attendance is usually considered to reflect students’ level of engagement with their course and to be critical to student success; despite the potential for technological alternatives, lectures and other face-to-face sessions still tend to be the primary method of teaching at university.

Purpose: Here we review studies which have investigated these determinants of attendance in order to gain a better understanding of whether – and how – Higher Education Institutions are able to improve attendance rates.

Sources of evidence: Electronic databases (e.g. ERIC, Web of Science) were used to identify articles exploring attendance in Higher Education settings.

Main argument: Some of the most debated determinants of attendance are reviewed: teaching issues (e.g. quality, style and format); effects of university expectations and policy (e.g. mandating attendance, awarding grades for attendance); scheduling issues; provision of materials online; and the effects of individual factors arguably outside of the Higher Education Institution’s control (e.g. finance, student employment, student demographics and psychological factors).

Conclusions: It is suggested that, although some individual factors influence student attendance and are arguably out of the control of HEIs, it is possible for them to facilitate attendance through adjustments to aspects of degree delivery such as attendance policies and monitoring, timetabling and style of teaching. Implications for policies on the recording of lectures, curriculum design and student term-time working are also discussed. Future research on student attendance should include longer and larger studies which simultaneously consider a range of influences; examining both inter- and intra-individual variability and different types of teaching sessions.     

Transfer Student Success: Exploring Community College,University, and Individual Predictors

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates community college transfer success by exploring the relationship between individual and institutional-level characteristics at students’ two- and four-year institutions. Using statewide administrative data from North Carolina, this study employs a cross-classified multilevel model to investigate the impact that a student’s community college and four-year transfer institution have on post-transfer success. Our findings offer important and compelling insights into the relationship between transfer students, the community college they attended, the four-year transfer institution, and educational outcomes. While individual effects were small, we find several institutional factors associated with student success. Attendance at a large community college or having a public university in the same county as their community college is positively associated with student success, whereas size of the university is negatively related to grades during the first year and persistence to the second year. While the four-year institution’s selectivity is negatively related to many of our outcomes, transferring to a Historically Black College or University is positively associated with GPA, college persistence, and degree completion.     

EARLY TRANSFER: A CASE STUDY OF TRADITIONAL-AGED COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

The traditional 2+2 path no longer reflects the general practice of student transfer between 2- and 4-year institutions. However, students continue to enroll in and complete a substantial number of credits at community colleges. Studies related to transfer most frequently have focused on gathering statistics to measure posttransfer academic performance or student perceptions regarding the transfer process. It is important to talk with students to understand why they transfer before completing the associate degree. This article presents a qualitative analysis of interviews with 103 students who transferred from a public community college to a public state university. Findings indicated that many students enrolled at the community college with a specific intent other than earning the associate degree. Faculty members and students at both the community college and the university also influenced the number of credit hours students completed before transfer.     

The effect of articulation agreements on community college transfers and bachelor’s degree attainment

For more than a century, community colleges have provided a postsecondary education alternative to the traditional, 4-year university. Enrolling disproportionate numbers of both disadvantaged and nontraditional students, the community college sector has seen unparalleled gains in enrollment over the past few decades. Along with these increases in enrollment, there has been a shift in focus toward transfer to 4-year institutions, as well as the development of articulation agreements. Established in order to ease the transfer process from community colleges to 4-year colleges/universities—for those students interested in obtaining a bachelor’s degree—these agreements currently exist in more than 30 states. Via two-level, hierarchical linear modeling, this article examines the student and school level characteristics of community colleges that affect transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment rates. Also examined is the impact of articulation agreements. Ultimately, while articulation agreements are not found to yield a significant effect on transfer rates, they are found to have significant, positive effects on bachelor’s degree attainment rates.     

Can the performance effect be ignored in the attendance policy discussion?

Should universities require students to attend? Academics disagree. One side in the discussion of university attendance policies has tried to dismiss any association between attendance and student performance, insisting that students have a fundamental right to choose what and when to attend. By merging student record data and course attendance data for three cohorts of final year undergraduate students at a London‐based university, we are able to isolate attendance effects for 674 students, giving us a large sample, without the inherent weaknesses of more traditional survey methods. We provide fresh empirical evidence for the positive association between attendance and exam performance, and argue for a more balanced view in the attendance policy discussion. Politicians and Higher Education policies are increasingly focused on employability, student retention and completion indicators. Carefully crafted attendance policies can have positive effects on pass and completion rates, primary policy targets of Higher Education funders and policymakers. Attendance effects therefore cannot simply be ignored.     

“Do I Really Belong Here?”: The Stigma of Being a Community College Transfer Student at a Four-Year University

ABSTRACT

Students who begin their educational journeys in community college face many obstacles trying to complete their bachelor’s degrees. Much research has been dedicated to identifying academic factors that predict successful transfer and degree attainment, but relatively little research investigates how the community college experience affects these students once enrolled at the four-year university. Here, we present the results of a qualitative study that explored the challenges faced by 14 community college students during and after transfer. Specifically, we focus on student reports of a sense of stigma from having attended community college and how students overcame these feelings. Recommendations are provided for how community colleges and four-year universities can better equip their students with the knowledge and resources to combat this perception of stigma.     

The potential for student performance prediction in small cohorts with minimal available attributes

The measurement of student performance during their progress through university study provides academic leadership with critical information on each student’s likelihood of success. Academics have traditionally used their interactions with individual students through class activities and interim assessments to identify those “at risk” of failure/withdrawal. However, modern university environments, offering easy on-line availability of course material, may see reduced lecture/tutorial attendance, making such identification more challenging. Modern data mining and machine learning techniques provide increasingly accurate predictions of student examination assessment marks, although these approaches have focussed upon large student populations and wide ranges of data attributes per student. However, many university modules comprise relatively small student cohorts, with institutional protocols limiting the student attributes available for analysis. It appears that very little research attention has been devoted to this area of analysis and prediction. We describe an experiment conducted on a final-year university module student cohort of 23, where individual student data are limited to lecture/tutorial attendance, virtual learning environment accesses and intermediate assessments. We found potential for predicting individual student interim and final assessment marks in small student cohorts with very limited attributes and that these predictions could be useful to support module leaders in identifying students potentially “at risk.”     

Democratic environment in higher education: The case of a Turkish public university

This study describes the expectations of undergraduate students regarding the characteristics of a democratic university environment. It then goes on to explore whether there are any significant differences among the dimensions of democratic university environment, namely respect for ideas, participation in decision-making, and promotion of tolerance. Last, it examines the effects of certain variables (gender, student club attendance, newspaper reading, and home residence) on student perceptions of their university environment. The results showed that there was a significant difference among three dimensions of democratic university environment. In addition, gender, student club attendance, and home residence had significant effects on differing dependent variables.     

WILL THIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER STUDENT SUCCEED? FACTORS AFFECTING TRANSFER STUDENT PERFORMANCE

This study focuses on the academic performance of students who transferred from a suburban community college to a private, moderately selective urban university. The purpose was to determine if certain easily ascertainable student characteristics and academic behaviors at the community college would be associated with degree persistence and completion at the university. Results indicated that the best predictor of academic success at the university was community college grade point average (GPA): As a group transfer students who entered with a GPA of 2.5 or more were able to maintain a 2.3 at the university, whereas those who entered with less than a 2.5 had an average university GPA of 1.9.     

Present and Accounted for: Improving Student Attendance Through Family and Community Involvement

Abstract

Reducing student absenteeism and truancy is a goal of many schools across the country. Surprisingly little research focuses on what schools can do to increase and sustain students' daily attendance, and even fewer studies explore how family-school-community partnerships may contribute to this goal. In this longitudinal study, data were collected on schools' rates of daily student attendance and chronic absenteeism and on specific partnership practices that were implemented to help increase or sustain student attendance. Results indicate that several family-school-community partnership practices predict an increase in daily attendance, a decrease in chronic absenteeism, or both. The data suggest that schools may be able to increase student attendance in elementary school by implementing specific family and community involvement activities.     

Guess who’s (not) coming to class: student attitudes as indicators of attendance

A survey of 172 undergraduates, carried out during the fall 2002 and spring 2003 semesters at a large research university in the Midwestern United States, found, as expected, a statistically significant positive relationship (r = 0.174, p < 0.05) between the importance students attributed to attendance and the rates at which they subsequently attended class. Data are analysed by students’ gender and levels in school; and attendance rates of students who did not complete the optional survey question on attitudes are compared with attendance rates of students who answered the question. Although attitudes are but one of many complex factors that influence behaviours, university instructors can (and should) nurture and encourage positive attitudes towards the importance of class attendance as a means for minimizing the detrimental effects of student absences.     

Is class worth their time? College student perspectives on class structure and attendance

While prior studies have primarily relied upon quantitative methods to understand student attendance, the goal of this study was to extend prior research by utilizing qualitative data to gain additional insight into college students’ perceptions of class attendance. Data from five focus groups with undergraduate students revealed four primary themes impacting attendance: (1) students’ use of time, (2) class content and type, (3) the student-professor relationship, and (4) university and course policies. Overall, students believe they are the best judge of how to use their time, campus culture and overcommitment play a critical role influencing attendance, and there are practical strategies to promote student engagement and class attendance. Based on these findings, recommendations are provided to institutions and professors on how to promote class attendance and optimize the student learning experience.     

Moving on: A cooperative study of student transfer

With no statewide student tracking system in place for California's tripartite postsecondary education system, three of the state's leading institutions joined in a study of the effectiveness of student transfer—the bridge between community college and university-level education. Transfer success was measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance both before and after transfer. The study examined whether the need for remediation before transfer affected students' progress and degree attainment. The findings run counter to the traditional notion that few remedial students persevere and transfer. A comparison of graduation rates with other community college transfers and with native university students indicated these transfers performed better.Presented at the Thirty-first Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Francisco, May 26–29, 1991.     

College Counseling and Student Retention:

Although it is commonly believed that college counseling positively affects student retention and further, that there are convincing data and evidence to support such a belief, an extensive literature search found no objective evidence at all on the relationship of a counseling center's conventional one-to-one counseling and therapy activities with short-term student retention. Two program evaluations which attempt to relate one-to-one individual counseling and psychotherapy to student retention rates at an urban regional state university are discussed. Changes in attendance rates, such as dropping out or retuning between quarters are the criteria used to evaluate program effects for both studies. The first study searched for discernible statistically significant effects. Three-quarters of comparisons of upperclassmen found conceivable retention advantages of students receiving counseling center services over a base-rate group. Yet the freshmen results suggest that counseling may be associates with student attrition, not retention. The second study investigated the relationship between retention and possibly relevant presenting problems and demographic variables of students undergoing individual counseling. No attendance differences among counseled students were found due to age, gender, or presenting problem. Following a discussion of the results, suggentions for future research are presented. A longitudinal, quasi-experimental controlled study of the impact counseling on student retention is clearly needed.     

正确引导大学生亚文化积极推进大学生的研究型学习

由于学习化社会的发展和我国创新人才培养的需求,在大学生中开展研究型学习已经势在必行。本文首先论证了大学生研究型学习的本质,然后阐述了大学生亚文化将成为推进研究型学习的重要因素,最后提出了正确引导大学生亚文化的三点措施,即强化大学生的研究意识和社会责任意识;营造出学校平等、求实的学习氛围;实现大学生亚文化的相对稳定性与创造性的良性互动。     

The Relationship Between Undergraduate Attendance and Performance Revisited: Alignment of Student and Instructor Goals

We revisit the relationship between attendance and performance in the undergraduate university setting and apply agency theory in the instructor–student context. Building on agency theory propositions in the educational setting advanced by Smith, Zsidisin, and Adams (2005) , we propose that the student and instructor must align goals to promote the student's achievement of performance learning outcomes, and attendance functions as a behavior‐based alignment mechanism to encourage the convergence of faculty and student interests. Further, we propose that attendance does not equally affect lower‐ and higher‐performing students and that absences are also negatively related to students' cumulative grade point average. We test these hypotheses with data from undergraduates enrolled in management courses at a state university in the southeast. Our results show that attendance is positively related to exam performance, there are more pronounced negative effects of an absence for lower‐performing students than for higher performers, and absences are negatively related to a student's cumulative grade point average. We discuss the implications of our findings for students, instructors, and universities as well as practice in teaching and learning.     

Psychological and demographic predictors of undergraduate non-attendance at university lectures and seminars

Absenteeism from university teaching sessions is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon and remains a major concern to universities. Poor attendance has significant and detrimental effects on students themselves, their peers and teaching staff. There is, however, a lack of previous research investigating demographic and psychological predictors of non-attendance alongside salient reasons students offer for their absence; it is this ‘gap’ that the present study attempts to fill. We approached 618 undergraduate university students from a single UK university studying various courses to complete a bespoke questionnaire assessing their estimated percentage attendance at lectures and seminars over the academic year. Students answered demographic questions, completed psychometric tests of perceived confidence (Perceived Confidence for Learning) and university belongingness (Psychological Sense of School Membership), and rated the degree to which possible reasons for non-attendance applied to themselves. Multiple regression analyses were carried out separately for estimated attendance at lectures and seminars. Results demonstrated that significant predictors of poorer attendance for both scenarios were experiencing a lower sense of belongingness to university; working more hours in paid employment; having more social life commitments; facing coursework deadlines; and experiencing mental health issues. Improving a sense of belonging to university and targeting interventions at students working in paid employment may be effective means of increasing attendance. Providing support for students with mental health issues, structuring courses around coursework deadlines and helping students to organise their attendance around social activities could also be advantageous.     

Degrees of co-creation: an exploratory study of perceptions of international students’ role in community engagement experiences

Increased competition for the international student market has motivated universities to modernize their marketing strategies. Community engagement is an important component of students' international university experience and represents a potential point of competitive advantage. Developing marketing strategies around university–student–community engagement (U–S–CE) requires an understanding of the perspectives of international students, the university and the community. We anchored our study in value co-creation which is a principle of the service dominant logic framework found in the marketing literature. With limited research in the area, a qualitative approach was appropriate. Interviews were undertaken with key university members (n?=?4) and community members (n?=?5) concurrently with focus groups of international students (n?=?22) at a single university. Based on the degree of co-creation by international students in U–S–CE, three groups emerged: consumers, collaborators and co-designers. This study offers theoretical and practical insight, providing a platform for further research into U–S–CE.     

美国关于流动儿童教育问题的研究与实践

美国学龄人口的流动率较高,美国学者对流动儿童的教育问题也给予了特别的关注.许多研究表明,学龄人口频繁的流动既不利于流动儿童自身的学习,也会对学校甚至学区的教育产生影响.为此,美国通过完善立法、利用网络传递流动学生信息、帮助贫困的流动家庭、加强学校(社区)与流动儿童家庭的联系等措施,力图做到"不让一个孩子掉队".美国关于流动儿童教育问题的一些研究与实践对我国有一定的借鉴意义.     

Effects of emotional intelligence and supportive text messages on academic outcomes in first-year undergraduates

An increase in the number of students entering higher education has intensified the need for targeted strategies to support a wider range of student requirements. Current research suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) may be associated with academic success, progression and retention in university students but the use of EI screening as a prospective measure of success requires further investigation. This study evaluates the utility of prospective EI screening to predict progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in a sample of first-year undergraduate students enrolled on the same degree programme (N = 358). A supportive text messaging intervention was employed during potentially stressful periods of the academic year with a subsection of participants (n = 60) who demonstrated low total EI scores relative to the cohort. Results showed no effects of EI classification on progression rates, mean grades, attendance or online engagement (all p > 0.418). Alternatively, the text messaging intervention was associated with significant improvements compared with a matched control group for progression rates (p = 0.027), mean grades (p = 0.026) and attendance (p = 0.007). The frequency of access to the virtual learning environment also tended to be higher in the intervention group compared with the control group (p = 0.059). In conclusion, this study did not identify any benefits of EI screening as a prospective indicator of student success but provides encouraging indications that a text messaging support intervention could help to improve progression rates, mean grades, attendance and online engagement in first-year undergraduate students. Further research is warranted to develop these proof-of-concept findings.