ProjectProject

The whole of university experience: retention, attrition, learning and personal support interventions during undergraduate business studies

Project Information

Year Funded:
2007
Grant (ex GST):
$219,877
Project Status:
Ongoing
Program:
Competitive Grants
Project Keywords:
Attrition, Business, Longitudinal, Retention, Student support
Project Discipline:
Business, Management and Economics

Institutions

  • University of the Sunshine Coast (Lead)
  • Griffith University
  • Monash University
  • Murdoch University
  • The University of Sydney
  • University of South Australia
  • University of Southern Queensland

Project Leader

  1. Dr Lesley Willcoxson
    University of the Sunshine Coast
    Lesley [dot] Willcoxson [at] usc [dot] edu [dot] au

Project Outcome

  1. Identification of the relative influence of varied factors on the decision to stay at or leave university, and how to address these.
  2. Better understanding of the characteristics of successful student support interventions and consequent changes to these within partner universities.
  3. A national community of practice, and faculty research concentrations, focusing on retention, attrition and student support.

Project Methodology

This project utilises both quantitative and qualitative research methods, namely, surveys and in depth interviews.  By surveying all undergraduate Business students (i.e. first, second and third year) at the partner universities in the first year of the project, the project will provide cross-sectional data on the factors underpinning retention and attrition and the impact of student support interventions.  Subsequently, to provide longitudinal data on retention, attrition and interventions, the first year cohort surveyed in the first year of the project will be surveyed again in the second year of the project (i.e. when they are in the second year of their university studies), and again in the third year of the project.

The information on this project's page was correct at the time of funding. Changes may have occurred since.

The information on this project's page was updated 1 April, 2009.

»