“I DIDN’T FEEL ALONE”: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF UNIVERSITY BRANCH CAMPUS GRADUATES, HIGH IMPACT PRACTICES, AND STUDENT PERSISTENCE

• Main Author: Neimeyer-Romero, Jesse Raymond
• Format: Others
• Published: CSUSB ScholarWorks 2018
• Subjects: High Impact Practices; persistence; branch campus; student experience; student motivation; higher education policy; Curriculum and Social Inquiry; Educational Leadership; Higher Education Administration; Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/755; https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1845&context=etd

University branch campuses play a vital role in today’s higher education field. Branch campuses help facilitate the delivery of knowledge, development, and learning opportunities to populations that may not have any other prospect in regard to pursuing their educational goals. Branch campuses have also become a new way for institutions of higher education to collaborate and work together to serve students’ interests. Yet, despite enrollment growth across thousands of higher education branch campuses that exist in the United States, the literature on branch campuses is scant. Furthermore, branch campuses, like their main campus counterparts, have a responsibility to ensure that their students are successful and reach their learning objectives. One of the ways in which branch campuses are promoting student persistence is through the use of High Impact Practices (HIPs). HIPs have helped shape education policy at colleges and universities since they were first introduced a decade ago. While there is still active debate on their effectiveness, they have become an established part of the curriculum as colleges and universities invest in resources to implement and institutionalize these practices. Given the lack of literature examining HIPs at university branch campuses, this phenomenological study sought to examine what branch campus students experience in relation to HIPs, and how these experiences influence student persistence. Additionally, this study uncovered other experiences that influence the persistence of branch campus students and assists in providing a fuller understanding of the branch campus student experience.