Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Foundations & Leadership

Program/Concentration

Community College Leadership

Committee Director

Alan M. Schwitzer

Committee Member

Jill C. Dustin

Committee Member

Corrin Richels

Abstract

More than half of Native American higher education students choose community colleges as their institution of choice. However, when compared with other ethnic groups, Native American/Alaska Natives (NA/AN) students earn the second-lowest number of associate degrees and the lowest number of bachelor's degrees. Despite this substantive gap, few studies have explored the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist. With the projected population surge of NA/AN residents over the next 15 years, more research on the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist in college is warranted.

This ex post facto study of 2010 survey data from the Center for Community College Student Engagement examined the relationship between the following educational benchmarks and Native American community college students' intent to persist in college: (a) academic challenge, (b) active and collaborative learning, (c) student effort, (d) student-faculty interaction, and (e) support for learners. Student-faculty interaction and support for learners were found to be predictors of students' intent to remain enrolled in college.

This study also explored the relationship between students' participation in extracurricular activities and their intent to persist in college. The number of hours in which students participated in extracurricular activities was statistically significant to their intent to persist in college. The frequency at which students participated in student organizations was also positively associated with their intent to persist.

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DOI

10.25777/t9b6-4g58

ISBN

9781267109743

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