Academic Probation as a Dangerous Opportunity: Factors Influencing Diverse College Students' Success

Abstract

The number of minority, particularly Latino, students attending community colleges is on the rise in the United States. Such students frequently lack academic preparation and financial resources. These difficulties, when added to family obligations, often require that minority students attend institutions that offer the most flexible arrangements-typically, community colleges. Due to these issues, however, their successful transition to community college may be difficult. The authors found that up to 35% of first-time freshmen-with a disproportionate number of Latinosare on probation after their first semester at a large, urban, public community college. The authors developed and instituted a probationary student re-orientation program to both assist these students and understand how their background characteristics and perceptions of the college environment impacted their academic standing. Using Schlossberg's transition theory as our theoretical framework, this study assessed how students of different ethnicities differed along reported levels of academic motivation, general coping, and receptivity to support services. Results suggest that Latinos are more likely to experience academic difficulties, are more

A Conceptual Model on the Impact of Mattering, Sense of Belonging, Engagement/Involvement, and Socio-Academic Integrative Experiences on Community College Students’ Intent to Persist

“…As suggested in the retention literature, the direct effect of goal commitment on intent to persist was significant for all students as a whole, Latino/as, and Asian students. GPA was also correlated with persistence intentions for all student groups, but not for Latino/as, suggesting that no matter their performance in college Latino/as intend to carry through in their commitment to earn a degree (Tovar & Simon, 2006). Engagement/involvement in educationally purposeful and co-curricular activities directly and positively impacted intent to persist for White students and all students as a group.…”

“…Several recent studies have noted that the vast majority of students attending community colleges are in need of remediation in one or all areas above (Attewell, Lavin, Domina, & Levey, 2006;Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010;Snyder & Dillow, 2011). Taken together, the above characteristics place public community college students at greater risk of not succeeding academically (Tovar & Simon, 2006) or of increasing the probability of students dropping out of college before completing a certificate or degree, and thus require institutional assistance to support their success.…”

It Takes an Institution's Village to Retain a Student: A Comprehensive Look at Two Early Warning System Undergraduate Retention Programs and Administrators' Perceptions of Students' Experiences and the Retention Services they Provide Students in the Early Warning System Retention Programs

“…Even though many studies exist that support the claim made by Tovar and Simon (2006), that the CSI instrument is the most widely used instrument to gather information about student background and satisfaction, Ryan and Glenn (2002) caution against the use of such instruments and advocate for end of first-semester academic status, as the best predictor of one-year retention rates. In researching the CSI as a useful tool to identify students for the probation-prevention program described above, Ryan and Glenn (2002) (Entwistle & McCune, 2004).…”

“…According to Tovar and Simon (2006) Tovar & Simon, 2006, p. 552). Ryan and Glenn (2002), strongly agree with Tovar and Simon (2006) that it is imperative that at-risk students are identified early, in order to receive needed assistance.…”

“…In another study, in order to help Latino students who were on probation return to good academic standing so they are not forced to leave college or become discouraged and leave, Tovar and Simon (2006) (Sargent & Schlossberg, 1988;Schlossberg and others, 1985). In life, transition results in change in behavior and perception of one's self or the world (Dean & Eriksen, 1984;Schlossberg and others, 1985).…”