How Can We Help Students Complete Degrees?

While this article may not be of interest to some in the field of accelerated programs, I think it does help with our continuing dilemma of retention.  In this article, Exploring Emotional Intelligence, Learner Autonomy, and Retention in an Accelerated Undergraduate Degree Completion Program the researchers look at why some students in a degree completion program complete all the "gap" credits (as they refer to them).  In degree completion programs, students usually have to transfer into the institution a minimum number of credits to start a degree program.  Within that degree program, a set number of courses and credit hours (usually equaling to a major in undergraduate studies) are offered.  The number of semester credits in these undergraduate degree programs range from 30 to 36.  This leaves a number of credits around 20 or more that the student still need to fulfill to graduate.  Anyone who works in academic advising or student services understands sometimes it is quite difficult to get these students to engage and complete those last credits.  I once tracked a student for a year, calling her at least once a month about the one credit hour she needed to complete a bachelor's degree.  As the Director of Student Services, I tried all sorts of motivations to try to get her to enroll in ONE credit.  I honestly think she would have never finished the bachelor's degree if I hadn't made it my mission to not allow her to give up.


Buvoltz, Powell, Solan, and Longbotham (2008) investigate emotional intelligence and learner autonomy (self-directed behaviors).  They were looking at students' ability to stay engaged with learning, to persist to completion.   Something I think all accelerated programs could learn from this study and keep in mind as they market the program as well as through the academic advising stage is this one nugget: "an adult's persistence in autonomous learning related more to the anticipation of future rewards of present learning than the choice to engage in learning activities over non-learning activities"(p 38).  Thus when we are counseling our undergraduate adult students, it might be good to keep bringing the issues of future rewards (e.g., new job opportunities, better employment possibilities, or life fulfillment) rather than talking about the important place education should take in their lives at this moment.  Just food for thought!