Welcome to the new AACRAO website. While the site is live, development is ongoing, visitors can expect updates and new features in the weeks ahead.

Mobile Nav
Log in
Join
Get Involved

You must be logged in to view this content. Please login or learn more about joining AACRAO. If you have any questions or experience any issues logging in, please reach out to us atmembership@aacrao.org.

Log In Join

Topics

,

Article Type

Professional Proficiency

Author(s)

bio-headshot-mcdevitt@2x

Daniel McDevitt is the Director of Student Success and First Year Experience at Saint Joseph’s University (SJU). His role focuses on the retention and academic success of all traditional undergraduate students. Prior to working in student retention, McDevitt worked as Assistant Director of Academic Advising, as a professional tutor, and as an adjunct professor. McDevitt earned his Ed.D., master’s, and bachelor’s degrees from Saint Joseph’s University. He has presented at several national conferences (NASPA, AACRAO SEM, EPI) on student retention and effective programming for struggling students. His current research interests focus on the social transition and sense of community of first-year college students and the collective impact these elements have on student retention.

bio-headshot-allen-stuck@2x

Kimberly Allen-Stuck is Assistant Vice President for Student Success and Educational Support at Saint Joseph’s University. She has worked in the student success field at SJU since 2007. During that time the first-year to sophomore retention rate has increased from 85.5 percent to 91 percent. This can be attributed to support programs for low-achieving students, targeted outreach to students who may withdraw, and institutional changes in response to exit interview feedback. Previously, Allen-Stuck served as Director of Student Success and as Assistant to the Vice President for Student Life, coordinating assessment for the division. She has worked at SJU and at the University of Pennsylvania in student life and academic affairs. She has both her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. in sociology from Shippensburg University.

References

Campbell, C. M., and J. L. Mislevy. 2012. Student perceptions matter: Early signs of undergraduate student retention/attrition. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice. 14(4): 467–493.

Cartmell, B. M. 2015. The retention challenge: Should we include parents? Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 3(2): 145–164.

Center for Collegiate Mental Health. 2017. 2016 Annual Report (Publication No. STA 17-74).

Davig, W. B., and J. W. Spain. 2004. Impact on freshmen retention of orientation course content: Proposed persistence model. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice. 5(3): 305–323.

Gray, R., J. Vitak, E. W. Easton, and N. B. Ellison. 2013. Examining social adjustment to college in the age of social media: Factors influencing successful transitions and persistence. Computers & Education. 67: 193–207.

Keup, J. R. 2008. New challenges in working with traditional-aged college students. New Directions for Higher Education. 2008(144): 27–37.

Laskey, M. L., and C. J. Hetzel. 2011. Investigating factors related to retention of at-risk college students. Learning Assistance Review. 16(1): 31–43.

O’Keeffe, P. 2013. A sense of belonging: Improving student retention. College Student Journal. 47(4): 605–613.

Pascarella, E. T., and P. T. Terenzini. 1983. Predicting voluntary freshman year persistence/withdrawal behavior in a residential university: A path analytic validation of Tinto’s model. Journal of Educational Psychology. 75(2): 215–226.

Richards, C. 2015. Learning to deal with the impostor syndrome. The New York Times. October 6.

Schultheis, S. 2015. Expanding admission’s mission to include retention strategies. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly. 3(1): 18–28.

Sullivan, A. S. 1997. Rites and passages: Students’ views of academic and social integration. College Student Affairs Journal. 16(2): 4–14.

Tinto, V. 1975. Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research. 45(1): 89–125.

———. 2012. Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Turner, P., and E. Thompson. 2014. College retention initiatives meeting the needs of millennial freshman students. College Student Journal. 48(1): 94–104.

Van Gennep, A. 1960. The Rites of Passage. (M. B. Vizedom and G. L. Caffee, Trans.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1908.)

Wischusen, S. M., E. W. Wischusen, and S. M. Pomarico. 2011. Impact of a short pre-freshman program on retention. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice. 12(4): 429–441.

Related Posts

See all Posts