The assumed benefit: priority registration timing in higher education honors programs

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Date
2017
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Volume Title
Publisher
University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

This dissertation addresses the impact of organizational policy on student success by examining registration timing issues in higher education, specifically related to the development and implementation of priority registration for honors students. Priority registration exists as a mechanism for institutions to provide an intended advantage to certain cohorts of students by allowing them to register for classes ahead of their peers. Institutional adoption of priority registration as a policy directly relates to the growth of honors programs, as colleges and universities leverage the assumed benefit to attract high-achieving students. However, institutions adopted the policy without a critical examination into the impact, either for the students receiving the advantage or those without the benefit. Consequently, evaluating the relationship between priority registration and student success, through various metrics including degree completion, time to degree, honors program completion, student credit hour production, and grade point average serves as a mechanism for institutions to accurately understand the implications of adopting priority registration as an operating procedure. Using quantitative analysis of longitudinal population data at The University of Alabama from 2008-2014, this research serves to provide insight into a singular implementation of priority registration by following an incoming first-time, full-time cohort over six years and twelve registration cycles. The study found significant relationships between priority registration and all five markers of student success, which were moderated to varying degrees by a student’s academic ability. The research suggests that institutions should evaluate the impact of their registration timing structures to determine if the current structure disadvantages given populations of students and adjust the registration framework in a way to bolster campus-wide student success.

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Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
Keywords
Higher education administration, Higher education, Education
Citation