Retaining College Students: The Role of Student Readiness and Participation

Student retention has deep-seated consequences for students themselves at different stages of life, for institutions of higher education, and for other stakeholders. This research conceptualizes and empirically tests a model of relationships that begin with the effects of student readiness constructs on student participation, and continue with the influence of student participation on student satisfaction, grades, and retention. The empirical study undertaken to test these relationships combined self-report survey data with “objective” data about student behavior in online courses, and provided general support for the conceptual model. The findings, along with implications and limitations, are discussed.