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Undergraduate minority retention and graduation rates in STEM disciplines is a nationally recognized challenge for workforce growth and diversification. The Benjamin Banneker Scholars Program (BBSP) was a five-year undergraduate study developed to increase minority student retention and graduation rates at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The program structure utilized a family model as a vehicle to orient students to the demands of college. Program activities integrated best K-12 practices and workforce skillsets to increase academic preparedness and career readiness. Findings revealed that a familial atmosphere improved academic performance, increased undergraduate research, and generated positive perceptions of faculty mentoring. Retention rates among BBSP participants averaged 88 per cent compared to 39 per cent among non-participant STEM peers. The BBSP graduation rate averaged 93 per cent compared to 20 per cent for non-participants. BBSP participants were more likely to gain employment in a STEM field or enter into a professional study. This paper furthers the body of research on STEM workforce diversity and presents a transferrable model for other institutions.

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Purpose – This chapter identifies the reasons why institutions need to undertake transformation to engage a diverse student population: it presents a model of student retention and success, which centres on student engagement pre- and post-entry. Methodology/approach – The chapter overviews the literature on student retention and success and utilises emerging findings from the meta-analysis of the 'What works?' student retention and success programme. Findings – The emerging model puts student engagement at the heart of student retention and success. Institutions should promote engagement by: provision of a range of opportunities for student engagement of different types, at different levels, across the institution in different sites (academic sphere, social sphere and professional services sphere), throughout the student lifecycle; developing students to recognise the importance of engagement and to have the capacity to engage in a range of opportunities; developing staff responsibility for and capacity to provide effective engagement opportunities; taking responsibility for engagement, including monitoring engagement and acting when there are indicators of lower levels of engagement; [and] creating a partnership between students and institutions towards a shared outcome of successful learners and graduates. Research limitations – This chapter draws on emergent findings from the 'What works?' programme. Practical implications – This chapter assists institutions to improve student retention and success by focusing on engagement and institutional culture. Social implications – The model assists institutions to critically consider transformation to engage a diverse student population and improve retention and success. Originality/value – The chapter previews original research about engagement, retention and success, which are international concerns.

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As the Australian higher education population further diversifies as a result of federal government policy changes, the collective understanding of effective university teaching in the Australian context will need to evolve to incorporate such shifts. The Australian Government has set clear targets for increased university participation of people from low socio-economic status (LSES) backgrounds. While their performance is comparable to students from higher SES backgrounds, many LSES students face particular challenges in undertaking university study. Using a 'success-focused' (Devlin 2009) methodological approach, this research documents the factors that a sample of 53 later-year, LSES students at one Australian university report have assisted them to manage and overcome the challenges of remaining at, progressing through and succeeding in their studies. The most helpful factors included teacher availability to help, their enthusiasm and dedication; and their effective communication with students particularly but not exclusively around assessment requirements.

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The He Vaka Moana research fellowship is a strengths-based project framed by Oceanic principles and methodologies - connecting us as Maori and Pasifika peoples to what sustains us - the ocean. We draw from our shared history of our tupuna who navigated the vast Pacific Ocean on purpose-built vessels using Indigenous methods of navigating to successfully reach their destinations. Based on an internationally proven model, He Vaka Moana seeks to develop a sustainable fellowship of interdisciplinary academic and professional staff in teaching, learning, assessment and research. Through using robust processes that test, evaluate and reflect on Maori and Pasifika students' success, our fellows constructed innovative pedagogical projects to advance students' success, whilst ensuring significant and positive changes occurred institutionally.

He Vaka Moana was a two-year project with three aims: 1. To examine, improve and evaluate multiple interventions that develop and advance Maori and Pasifika learners' success; 2. To develop research capacity and capability amongst fellows around projects focused on Maori and Pasifika student retention, completion and successful outcomes; 3. To develop an Oceanic methodology - an approach we named Va-ka methodology, that recognises the interrelated connections that Maori and Pasifika experience as Indigenous peoples.

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This report gives an overview of the literature on tertiary learners’ participation, retention and success in e-learning. It contains a large selection of research literature, consisting of both published research from journals, books and the internet and ‘grey’ literature that included project reports, unpublished theses and dissertations and reports commissioned by government agencies. The key findings of this annotated bibliography are that: (1) teaching practices and pedagogies, institutional support and student characteristics and attitudes are all critical in tertiary learners’ retention and success in e-learning; of particular importance are appropriate teacher-student interactions, and courses need to be designed to incorporate e-learning’s strengths; this includes selecting appropriate technology and ensuring that e-learning is linked to assessments and authentic learning experiences; (2) for best results, institutions need to provide ‘user-friendly’ systems, processes and appropriate pastoral and technical support; students also need motivation, self-direction and independence as well as having prior experience in e-learning; students with positive attitudes towards technology tend to do better in e-learning than learners with negative attitudes towards technology; (3) e-learning provides additional flexibility to traditional delivery by allowing students to study at a time, place and pace of their choosing; e-learning can also reduce isolation by better connecting learners to their peers, teachers and institutions, especially for learners studying part-time or through distance education; (4) e-learning can provide greater access to a wider range of resources and experts than is available through traditional delivery; the fact that all students can equally access these experts and resources is of benefit to non-mainstream learner groups e.g. disabled students; and (5) the evidence supporting younger learners being more successful than their older peers in e-learning is inconclusive; while some studies support the assertion that younger learners are more effective in e-learning, others do not.

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University students often work during their studies, and working is considered to be one reason for high dropout rates or slow progress in studies. Moreover, the nature of students' work experience varies greatly. The study aimed to explore how working while studying is related to study success, and took approaches to learning and the nature of the work experience into account. A total of 1023 students completed a questionnaire at the time of their graduation. The results showed that doing other academic work was related to a deep approach to learning, and non-academic work was related to a surface approach and unorganised studying. Moreover, the results revealed that organised studying has an important role in terms of study pace. The study suggests that by emphasising students' organising skills and supporting their deep-level learning, students have better possibilities to create links between work experience and studies.

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First year students' academic performance in three life sciences courses (Botany, Zoology and Bioscience) was compared. Pass rates, as well as the means and distributions of final marks were analysed. Of the three components (coursework, practical and theory examinations) contributing to the final mark of each course, students performed best in the coursework. Subcomponents of the theory examinations of each subject showed students performed more poorly in the essay section. As the highest frequency of students achieved a final mark in the 50-60 per cent category for all three subjects, it is clear that the weighting of the examinations to the final mark should not be increased as this would lower students overall performance and decrease pass rates dramatically. It appears that improvement of appropriate assessment tasks linked to learning outcomes, and appropriate development of learning opportunities need to be ongoing in both coursework and examinations for the three courses.

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This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of struggling students who identified as first-generation, low-income, and/or Students of Color (i.e., Historically Excluded Groups), and their beliefs about success, struggle, and characteristics of supportive instructors. Thematic analysis revealed student participants understood academic success and struggle in terms of identifying performance measures, developing a growth mindset, and integrating knowledge. Students identified supportive instructors by using one or more of the following themes, which were described using in vivo codes: creates more motivation for me, puts the joy into learning, doesn't make you feel dumb, not here to hurt your grades, makes material understandable, treats us as more than just students, and if I ever needed anything. Implications for practice include expanding the definition of academic success and engaging specific instructor dispositions and behaviors to better support these students.

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[This] is one of the first pieces of research to focus specifically on the factors which influence Maori students to stay on at school after the school leaving age of 16. While other research has concentrated on the negative factors which cause Maori to so often leave school earlier than their non-Maori counterparts, this study has taken the approach of focusing on those Maori students who have made an active decision to stay at school beyond the legal requirement. The other unique aspect of this survey is that it has asked students to say in their own words how they feel about school, why they have stayed on and how other Maori students could be encouraged to do the same.

What has emerged from this study is that these students, all of whom have stayed at school beyond the age of 16, tend to feel relatively positive about their schools and about education itself. They are well aware of the difficulties young schoolleavers typically experience in finding employment and that without qualifications opportunities are severely limited. However, rather than staying at school because they have nothing better to do, these students tend to focus on the positive things that school has to offer them. Many feel confident that if they stay at school and pass their exams, they will not become one of those with no hope of a job.

Overall, this research indicates a variety of factors may be at work in influencing decisions to stay on at school. Some of these are to do with a student's family background, some are to do with the school itself, some derive from the personal characteristics of the student, and others, such as financial barriers to education, are outside the control of any of these groups. It is clear from this study that it is possible to make school a place that Maori students value and want to be at. Increasing the numbers of Maori students who stay on at school, and improving their level of achievement, will require combined efforts from schools, families and Government. It is hoped that the words of the students who participated in this research will provide ideas and incentives to make these much-needed efforts into a reality.

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[This report] provides information on the educational experiences of foster youth attending a subset of community colleges and universities in California. [It] builds on the work of the California College Pathways (CCP) initiative, a public and private partnership that supports campuses and community organizations to help foster youth succeed in postsecondary education. This strategy is designed to increase the number of foster youth in California who earn a college degree or certificate. The report, presented in two parts - part 1: community colleges and part 2: universities - aggregates data across 31 CCP campuses and demonstrates how foster youth students are faring on a common set of key indicators of access and success in community colleges and universities.

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