Contingent Enrollment Initiative at a Highly Selective Public University

Authors

Sean Dufault, Purdue UniversityFollow

Abstract

When first-year students arrive on campus, they may face many challenges, such as insufficient academic preparation, conflicting obligations, social adjustment, and traversing the college landscape. This challenge is magnified for academically at-risk students leading higher education institutions to invest funds and retention efforts into student success programs. The current study was designed to investigate conditionally admitted at-risk first-year students at a highly selective public university (HSPU) concerning their perceptions of participating in the Jump Start program regarding their adjustment to the university, the program's requirements, and their sense of belonging to the university. The current study employed an inductive analysis design, utilizing qualitative interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to identify, analyze, and interpret patterns from the collected participants' interviews and code them into themes. The findings from the study suggest that students participating in the Jump Start program benefitted from transitioning to college in the summer when specific programmatic interventions took place. Providing support through the program's structure allowed students to make connections and gain confidence to succeed in college.

Recommended Citation

Dufault, Sean (2024) "Contingent Enrollment Initiative at a Highly Selective Public University," Journal of Academic Underperformance: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/jau/vol2/iss1/1