Social conditions that motivate student persistence in an undergraduate business program at a non-selective institution

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored the social factors that influence business student persistence at a less-selective undergraduate institution. While research has shown that ability to pay and academic preparedness strongly influence undergraduate students persistence decisions (Braunstein, McGrath, & Pescatrice, 2000; Bennett, 2003; Rovai, 2003; Kaighobadi & Allen, 2008; Madgett & Belanger, 2008), they are not the sole factors in student withdrawal decisions at less selective schools. Studies have shown that alternative factors, such as social conditions, play a major role in student motivation to persist throughout four-year undergraduate programs (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1979, 1980; Upcraft & Gardner, 1989; Wentzel, 1998; Shelton, 2003; Tinto, 2006; Davidson, Beck, & Milligan, 2009; Gray, Vitak, Easton, & Ellison, 2013). In an effort to better understand these alternative factors, this case study focused on third and fourth-year student descriptions of the social conditions that impact engagement, persistence, and degree completion within a four-year undergraduate business program at a non-selective institution. Findings from the data analysis showed that three major themes emerged from the data when linking social conditions to student persistence; Support Systems, Connected Learning, and Efficacy Expectations. These themes exhibit the various social factors that students find to be important and influential to their persistence decisions. With this data, educational leaders at four-year undergraduate institutions should be able to update and enhance their institutional strategies aimed at improving student persistence by acknowledging the relevance and importance of social conditions in student motivation and retention. Suggestions for practice and implications for future research are detailed at the conclusion of this paper.