Student Retention

The Retention Team is continually trying to understand how best to improve student outcomes, particularly those from structurally disadvantaged equity groups.

Our work crosses multiple aspects of student life and university systems, and as such our research focus uses different lenses to view the challenges of understanding what helps students succeed.

These include the factors contributing to completely disengaged students, targeted support of disengaged students using learning analytics and non-submission of early assessment items to identify students, and assessment support with embedded tutors.

Research lenses

Our research can be placed in one of three areas.

Disengaged students

Disengaged students

Targeted support of disengaged students

Targeted support of disengaged students

Embedded tutors

Embedded tutors

Selected publications

Linden, K. (2022). Improving student retention by providing targeted support to university students who do not submit an early assessment item. A practice report. Student Success, 13(1), 67-73.

https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/informit.356405806663167

Linden, K., Van Der Ploeg, N., & Hicks, B. (2021, December). Ghostbusters: Using learning analytics and early assessment design to identify and support ghost students. In Back to the Future–ASCILITE ‘21.

https://2021conference.ascilite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ASCILITE-2021-Proceedings-Linden-Ploeg-Hicks.pdf

Hicks, B., Linden, K., & Van Der Ploeg, N. (2021, December). Opportunities to improve learning analytics for student support when using online assessment tools. In Back to the Future–ASCILITE ‘21.

https://2021conference.ascilite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ASCILITE-2021-Proceedings-Jocls-Linden-Ploeg.pdf

Linden, K., Van Der Ploeg, N., Hicks, B., & Locke, K. (2021, December). Increasing student grades in large online subjects: Combining tutorial support with technology. In Back to the Future–ASCILITE ‘21.

https://2021conference.ascilite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ASCILITE-2021-Proceedings-Linden-Hicks-VanderPloeg.pdf

Linden, K., van der Ploeg, N., Hicks, B., & Gonzalez, P. (2020). Peering into the crystal ball of the disengaged: What happens to students that do not submit an early assessment item?. In 37th International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the Use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education: ASCILITE 2020 (pp. 48-53). ASCILITE.

https://researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/peering-into-the-crystal-ball-of-the-disengaged-what-happens-to-s

van der Ploeg, N., Linden, K., Hicks, B., & Gonzalez, P. Widening the net to reduce the debt: Reducing student debt by increasing identification of completely disengaged students. In 37th International Conference of Innovation, Practice and Research in the Use of Educational Technologies in Tertiary Education: ASCILITE 2020

https://2020conference.ascilite.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ASCILITE-2020-Proceedings-van-der-Ploeg-N.pdf

Our team researchers

Kelly Linden

Kelly Linden

Research interests

Student retention, widening participation, learning analytics.

Email  klinden@csu.edu.au

Neil van der Ploeg

Neil van der Ploeg

Research interests

Student retention, student success and transition, learning analytics, causal modelling, data visualisation

Email nvanderploeg@csu.edu.au

Ben Hicks

Ben Hicks

Research interests

Student success, understanding impact of educational interventions, human-centred learning analytics, causal modelling, data visualisation and story telling.

Email bhicks@csu.edu.au

Noelia Roman

Noelia Roman

Research interests

Early Assessment Item design, assessment feedback/feedforward, first year subject development and delivery, course redesign, online technology development and implementation, student success and transition, student retention.

Email nroman@csu.edu.au

Sarah Teakel

Sarah Teakel

Research interests

Student retention, student success and transition, medical science and pathology, tutoring programs and initiatives in learning and teaching in higher education.

Email steakel@csu.edu.au

Wendy Rose Davison

Wendy Rose Davison

Research interests

Student success and qualitative research.

Email wdavison@csu.edu.au

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