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Recommendations for Solving the Problem of Low Student Retention at Woodmont
College
Hillel Rudolph
School of Education, Liberty University
In partial fulfillment of EDUC 816
Author Note
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hillel Rudolph, 1971
University Blvd, Lynchburg, VA 24515. Email: hrudolph@liberty.edu
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Focus Group Questions Assignment
Central Research Question
How can the problem of low retention at Woodmont College be solved?
Focus Group Questions
1. What types of support services are offered to students while attending Woodmont College?
Student support services positively impact student retention (Muljana & Luo, 2019). Services
can include pre-enrollment, academic advisement, counseling, financial advice, and language
centers. These interventions can assist students in completing their studies and reduce student
attrition (Netanda et al., 2019). In a student-centered approach, addressing student needs
throughout the student lifecycle is one of the most vital factors in helping students remaining the
institution (Roberts, 2018). Therefore, Woodmont College should look for ways to enhance their
student services to support their students throughout the student experience.
2. What learning and teaching strategies are used to build the online curriculum at Woodmont
College?
Asynchronous learning can be tedious and unengaging. Online colleges need to employ
teaching and learning strategies that require students to engage in the content (Roberts, 2018).
Student interaction with different activities and resources can provide the students with
meaningful online learning experiences (Bolliger & Martin, 2021). Adding cognitive elements
that require deeper thinking has been identified as one strategy for retaining students (Seery et
al., 2021). As motivation is a crucial indicator of academic success (Francis et al., 2019), a
course developed with enhanced methods for student motivation can increase retention.
3. What is the orientation and new student onboarding process at Woodmont College?
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Online student orientations are needed to provide a solid foundation for new students. They
provide new students with tutorials on technology and study skills for the online user. Online
orientations help students overcome their anxiety and increase their self-efficacy, which impacts
retention (Abdous, 2019). Studies on particular online student orientations showed a drop in
withdrawal rates coupled with high levels of student satisfaction (Watts, 2019). Early contact
with the institution with orientation activities is essential to make the students feel welcomed and
valued (Stone & O'Shea, 2019). A robust and well-built student orientation could help
Woodmont increase student success and retention.
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References
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academic self-efficacy. Online Learning, 23(3), 161–187.
https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i3.1437
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student engagement strategies. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 13(2),
404–419. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-02-2020-0045
Francis, M. K., Wormington, S. V., & Hulleman, C. (2019). The costs of online learning:
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https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2017.1378632
Roberts, J. (2018). Professional staff contributions to student retention and success in higher
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Seery, K., Barreda, A. A., Hein, S. G., & Hiller, J. L. (2021). Retention strategies for online
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