15 to Finish: Examining a Preregistration Initiative and Its Influence on Student Academic Progress

• In Event: 60.084 - Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: 60.084-12 - Structuring Success: Institutional Initiatives and Strategies to Promote Student Progress and Learning

Abstract

This study reports on a public, higher education initiative seeking to increase undergraduate student retention and completion by encouraging incoming-freshmen to enroll in at least 15 credits each semester during their undergraduate years by participating in university preloading of course schedules versus constructing their own schedules. Taken together, results from the analyses suggest, first, that preloading students’ academic program produced positive, significant differences in number of credits attempted and completed per semester compared with nonparticipating students. Second, students participating in pre-loading/registration had higher GPAs during freshman year and were more likely to enroll in subsequent semesters than peers who constructed their own semester-by-semester schedules. Results therefore support the positive effects of the initiative on student progress and retention.

Author

• Ronald H. Heck, University of Hawaii - Manoa