Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1040-4542

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

White, Carol Cutler

Committee Member

Coats, Linda T.

Committee Member

King, Stephine B.

Committee Member

Oswalt, Katie

Date of Degree

12-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Complete embargo 2 years

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design, and Community College Leadership

Abstract

Community colleges are pivotal in bridging high school education to four-year universities, especially in rural areas, and they play a critical role in economic and workforce development. In Mississippi, these institutions offer accessible education to diverse populations, many of whom are underprepared, which leads to lower retention and success rates. This study focuses on student retention and success in English Composition I courses at a rural community college in Mississippi. The study compares the retention and success of students who attended supplemental instruction (SI) sessions against those who did not. SI, a peer-led academic support program, aims to enhance student outcomes by offering additional, informal instruction outside the traditional classroom. There is limited research on SI's impact on retention and success in gateway courses like English Composition I. These findings address this gap by examining the influence of SI on retention and success in English Composition I, using administrative data from the fall semesters of 2021, 2022, and 2023. Grounded in Tinto’s student retention theory, which highlights the importance of student engagement and learning communities in retention, the study employs a chi-square test of independence to statistically compare the outcomes of SI participants and non-participants. The research questions focus on whether SI attendance leads to statistically significant differences in retention and success in English Composition I. The results provide insights for community college administrators to make informed decisions about academic support programs. This study used a quantitative evaluation approach through a comparative statistical design at a rural community college in Mississippi. The findings showed that students who attended at least one SI session were more likely to be retained in English Composition I than those who did not attend an SI session for the fall 2021 and fall 2022 semesters. This was not the case for the fall of 2023. The conclusions drawn from the examination of success and SI attendance showed that for students enrolled in English Composition I, attendance in SI sessions did not influence the students' success for fall 2021 and fall 2022. SI sessions' attendance significantly influenced success in English Composition I for the fall 2023 semester.

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