Student Engagement (Retention)

The Importance of Timely College Intervention

The Importance of Timely College Intervention

One of the more devastating statistics in college admissions is the number of students who enroll and  never gain a degree.

Each student who fails to graduate is a tragedy in wasted time, money, and human resources. Worse, the psychological implications are devastating.  Fortunately, evidence is mounting that a timely intervention can circumvent many of these failures.

The Homework Dilemma

The Homework Dilemma

If you have ever tried to figure out what a homework assignment is trying to accomplish and why is it taking so many hours, then you’ve taken the first step in wrestling with the homework dilemma.

Motivating College Students

Motivating College Students

Successful students are motivated and engaged students; unfortunately, on many campuses, motivation is lacking.

The book Academically Adrift cited a nationwide sampling of 2,300 students who took the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA): more than 45% found no improvement or declines in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills over their undergraduate years.

In Search of High Achieving Low Income Students

In Search of High Achieving Low Income Students

Many highly selective colleges are in search of ‘smart students from poor families.”

These ‘High Achieving, Low Income’ students (HALI).are defined as students in the top 4% of their class who score in the top 10% on either the SAT or ACT.  A 2013 study conducted by Caroline Hoxby at Stanford and Christopher Avery of Harvard, entitled “The Missing ‘One-Offs’: The Hidden Supply of High-Achieving Low-Income Students” garnered data on every student who took the SAT during the prior year ensuring its findings were statistically significant.

The Value of Collaborative Learning

The Value of Collaborative Learning

Learning is more effective when done collaboratively. In generations past there was a taboo about working in groups; school work was supposed to be done individually. Research from Richard Light of Harvard unequivocally indicates that students working collaboratively learn more effectively, and are far more likely to achieve their academic goals (such as graduating from college and attending graduate school). His study, which consisted of in-depth interviews with over 1,600 college students, found virtually all struggling students shared one key trait: they tended to study alone. Collaboration can be the difference between a lackluster performance and a fully engaged student.

Secrets of Successful Students

Secrets of Successful Students

Richard J. Light, a professor in the Graduate School of Education and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, conducted a ten-year study, interviewing over 1,600 successful Harvard students, and tracking their answers to a very important question, “Did I really get what I came here for?” His findings were published in his book, Making the Most of College, Students Speak their Minds.