An Examination of Student Engagement and Retention in an Honors Program

Authors

Jessica A. Kampfe, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow
Christine L. Chasek, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow
John Falconer, University of Nebraska at KearneyFollow

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Spring/Summer 2016).

Comments

Copyright © 2016 by the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Abstract

Honors programs at colleges and universities provide academic and developmental opportunities for high-ability students. Learning communities, defined as a group of students who live together, are connected through membership in a common organization, and take classes together, are often a component of honors programs. Learning communities provide an academic and social community that complements curricular requirements. At the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), a higher education institution in the Midwest, ninety percent of the freshman honor students live together and ninety-five percent take an honors class in their first semester on campus. The honors program at UNK is classified as a learning community; however, the term has varying definitions based on the classification of upper- and lower-division students at different institutions. Most research on learning communities focuses just on first-year students and the first-year experience. Very little research focuses on learning communities that include upper-division students.