Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention

All Swirl Is Not The Same

Diane Elliott — 2024-06-21

Swirl, or the back-and-forth transfer across multiple colleges, has been the focus of policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers alike because of its empirical connections with retention and degree completion. However, one significant limitation in the existing literature is the treatment of swirl in a dichotomous manner, that is, students swirl or they don’t. Such a perspective ignores differences that exist across the spectrum of swirl, or gradients of swirl intensity. This study specifically explored differences in attendance patterns, student characteristics, and institutional structural factors across degrees of intensity of swirl (students who moderately and significantly swirl). Descriptive and inferential analyses highlighted unique attendance patterns associated with swirl and prevalent differences across degrees of swirl intensity. Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed. With the onset of COVID-19 which has propagated more serial transfer behaviors, a pressing need to more comprehensively understand swirl exists.

Who Works on Campus?

Christopher Burnett — 2024-06-12

On-campus employment is a high-impact practice for student retention, postgraduate success, and employability. This study engaged with twelve years (2007-2019) of student employment data from a large R-1 university to determine who has access to this high-impact practice and explore which types of students become on-campus employees. Aggregate totals suggest juniors and seniors, White students, and women access on-campus employment at far greater levels than men or students of Color. However, intersectional analyses by race and gender suggest students from certain racial and gender groups are consistently over or underrepresented in on-campus student employment. Implications for gender and racial equity in on-campus hiring practices and postgraduate support for students of Color are addressed.

Social Capital & Enrollment in College as First-Generation Students

Erin Stevenson — 2024-06-12

Young adults face major decisions as they complete high school, including whether to attend college. The steps needed to enroll in college can be extra challenging for first-generation students who may have limited support and resources at home or while in high school. This study explores structural, relational, and cognitive social capital indicators that enrolled college students used to support themselves in their decision to attend college. Comparisons are made between first-generation and continuing-generation students’ social capital. Ideas for areas where resources could be added or expanded to increase social capital for first-generation students are discussed.

How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind

Bram Stone — 2024-06-12

Book review of Clancy Martin's How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind by Bram Stone, Coordinator for Student Staffing & Leadership, Student Living, Syracuse University and Leadership Doctoral Student, University of Southern Maine.

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education

Benjamin Michael Dadzie — 2024-06-12

Book review of Stephanie Land's Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Benjamin Michael Dadzie from Clemson University.

¡Bienvenidos!: Committing to Diversity and Inclusion with College Orientations in Spanish for Parents and Family

Nancy Garcia — 2024-06-12

Incorporating families in the high school to college transition is important to increase the success rate of first-generation and low-income college students. Traditional institutional programming and student orientation processes often fail to consider the needs of diverse families, especially those whose main language is Spanish. By establishing a Hispanic community that better guides families with no prior experience or exposure to the college experience, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) can provide stronger support to incoming students and families. We present recommendations for practice from observations during two parent and family college orientation sessions in Spanish at our Texan institution, the feedback from attendees, and our experiences as committee members.