Date Approved

12-7-2020

Embargo Period

12-8-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. Higher Education

Department

Educational Services and Leadership

College

College of Education

Advisor

Tinnin, Andrew

Committee Member 1

McCombs, Tyrone

Committee Member 2

Walpole, MaryBeth

Keywords

GPA, Retention, Sense of Belonging

Subject(s)

First-generation college students--Rowan University

Disciplines

Higher Education

Abstract

The purposes of this quantitative, correlational study were to (a) understand how the perceived sense of belonging in first-generation students impacts their academic success, as defined by GPA, and (b) to determine how the aforementioned factors impact the students' intention to persist. A survey was distributed to all reported first-generation students at Rowan University with questions including demographics, an adapted sense of belonging index, intention to persist, GPA, and co-curricular involvement (N = 285). Research indicated that 89.8% of students recorded moderate to high levels of sense of belonging. Regression analyses revealed that a positive relationship exists between sense of belonging and GPA. Retention showed no significant relationship with GPA or the student's sense of belonging score; however, retention was correlated with individual items within the sense of belonging index. Implications and recommendations for support and services to first-generation students are discussed.

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