Retention of First Year Undergraduate Students in the Context of Mass Higher Education: a New Longitudinal Interactionist Model

This paper introduces a new model to explain the factors affecting the retention of first year undergraduate students in the context of UK mass higher education. This longitudinal, interactionist model maps the students' progress from the point of application for admission to a degree course to the point of possible progression to the second year of study. Vincent Tinto proposed the best-known interactionist model, recognising the importance of various interactions between undergraduates and other individuals and groups, in 1975. The context of mass higher education in the UK today is very different to the context in which Tinto developed his model. The new model results from a research project which used focus groups and in-depth interviews to explore the aspects of the student experience that help students to succeed, and those that militate against retention. The research took place in an institution that recruits a large number of non-traditional students. The paper was presented at the CHME Research Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, in May 2008.