This study sought to examine student motives for participating in a residential leadership learning community for incoming freshmen using McClelland's Achievement Motivation Theory (McClelland, 1958(McClelland, , 1961. Eighty-nine students began the program in the Fall 2009 semester and were administered a single, researcher-developed instrument.Responses to an open-ended question that asked students what their primary motive for participating in the voluntary, residential leadership learning community were analyzed using deductive content analysis techniques (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009;Patton, 2002) and categorized according to McClelland's Achievement Motivation Theory as the need for Achievement, the need for Power, the need for Affiliation, or any combination thereof. Results demonstrated that while all three needs were found within the responses, the need
Success for 4-year universities is often measured by graduation and retention rates; however, gaps exist in understanding nonreturning students at private institutions. Recent research is helping to build the lexicon of drop-outs, stop-outs, opt-outs, and transfer-outs to inform strategic retention initiatives. Using an action research method, we characterized 1,091 students into designated subclasses and utilized exit interviews, advising notes, and university surveys to theme their departure intentions. Findings reveal transfer-outs to be the largest subclass, with departure reasons being summarized within themes of university experience and fit, health, academic, and financial. Recommendations are made for university administrators and retention offices related to exit survey questions, broadening success metrics, and to focus on specific student characteristic groups.
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