Definition of Key Terms

Following is the definition of special terms used in this study:

Dropout: Dropout is used to describe students whose initial goal was to complete a

degree but did not complete it.

Full-time degree-seeking first-year student: A full-time degree-seeking first-year

student is a first-year student enrolled in an institution for at least 12 credit hours per semester

for a degree.

Persistence: Students’ “progressive reenrollment in college, whether continuous from

one term to the next or temporarily interrupted and then resumed” (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005,

p. 374). For the purpose of this study, persistence refers to a student who enters an institution as

a full-time or part-time student and remains in that same institution beyond the second semester.

Persistence is a student-focused measurement.

Retention: Retention describes students’ continued enrollment from term to term until

degree completion (Austin, 1993). Retention is an institution-focused measurement.

Standardized test: A standardized test is a test that is designed, administered, scored and

interpreted in a predetermined, standard manner. The most common standardized tests for

college admissions are the American College Testing (ACT) and the Scholastic Assessment Test

(SAT).

Traditional age student: A traditional age student is a college student younger than 24

years of age (Bradburn & Carroll, 2002).