This qualitative case study explores how former Supplemental Instruction (SI) leaders experienced perspective transformation as a result of serving in a peer leadership role at a 4-year, private university through a blended theoretical framework based on the principles set forth by Mezirow and Nohl. Through their participation in interviews and graphic elicitations, former SI leaders offered valuable insights concerning the transformative nature of student leadership and its impact on the emerging sense of self in social and learning contexts. This study also assists in filling the void in research on how undergraduate students benefit by serving in a leadership role within a peer-facilitated academic assistance program in higher education.
Retention interventions focus on support programs, measures of success, and demographics. This study offers an alternate student-based narrative relative to student college preparation and self-diagnosed functionalities and compatibilities. We examine metrics that portray economic and environmental settings and social frameworks – as well as interactions, behaviors, and responses – that comprise first-year students’ experiences for the spectrum of engagement behaviors. We analyze the return on investment for student retention efforts at a four-year public university by applying a predictive and proactive retention model. We also discuss ensuring accessibility to services, diagnosing student intervention, and considering subsequent engagement behaviors.
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