Why Student Drop Out Of Class-MLA

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Why Student Drop Out of Classes of Texas A&M Commerce

Introduction

The study analyzes why students drop out of classes of Texas A&M Commerce

University and if the implementation of some strategies could help inhibit it. There could be a

variety of reasons why a student would opt to drop out of classes either at the beginning of the

semester or at the end as it is the observed trend in class dropout cases. Some of these could be

personal, affecting the student only while some could be general, implying they would affect

several of them at the same time. Lack of adaptability to the environment generalizes the reasons

for these dropouts. This is a problem that the institution has to counter in its effort to sustain

students. It additionally needs to provide quality education, resulting into the variety of classes it

offers in order to diversify a student’s knowledge over various areas of study. Students dropping

classes would mean they will have to study it later in their course if the class is mandatory for the

particular course. Therefore, a student who drops some classes would stay in the institution for

long before finishing their course. The institution is affected too. It would resources to teach

some classes only for some students to drop along the way. Moreover, it loses its credibility by

offering an option that students take advantage of to shift between classes as much as they wish.

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Parents and guardians to students would have paid for the student’s fees only for them to drop

some classes.

Evidently, this is a problem that affects the stakeholders in the education field.

Disintegration of the unfavorable entire learning environment as a cause to these dropouts could

be done to know precisely what contributes largely to these cases. A research is done to establish

these, which further leads to knowledge on what can be done as the solution to this problem.

There has not been earlier study done on the issue despite its prevalence in the institution.

Several forms of information gathering are done. These involve visiting the university’s website

for relevant information as well as offering questionnaires to 500 students. Some interviews are

also done on two students to establish why they had dropped some classes. All the research is

done considering ethics as described by Belmont Report, which includes respect to people,

beneficence and justice.

Information illiteracy is another problem that is evident in many areas. It originates from

lack of its provision as students are being taught in various institutions. This results to employers

having to take the fresh from college people through a plan that trains them for the job

concerned. It is a problem that concerns students, teachers and the public. Information is gained

from these people through various means, where questionnaires are used for data collection from

students, the internet used for the public and interviews for teachers and lecturers. This research

would establish the prevalence levels of information illiteracy in the institution as well as shed

light on the ways through which this could be solved.

Location/Setting

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Texas A&M Commerce provides an incredibly reliable website. It gives details of all the

activities and facilities offered by the institution. The homepage is has several pictures that show

students in classrooms, social places, sporting, graduating, and the technically advanced teaching

techniques used in the institution. A variety of options are given on which details concerning a

specific area can be availed. The options involve academics, admissions, athletics, student life,

resources and research. These offer particular details that would be used to determine the causes

of dropouts in schools. A variety of reasons could be presumed compromising of unfavorable

student association subjected by the institution, lack of sufficient funds to cater for self needs,

inappropriate learning methods and low quality education (Texas A&M University Commerce

2012).

The ‘about’ section gives the description of the institution. This involves location, various

campuses that the university has, functions and information from various senior offices in the

organization, the mission statement and events calendar. The academics link leads to various

departments that include business and entrepreneurship, education and human services,

humanities, social sciences and arts, science, engineering and agriculture and graduate school.

Each of these has programs under them that specify the certain course. The graduate school

program offers graduate studies, graduate admissions, request information and apply online as

the subcategories. These are aimed at enhancing the relationship between students and

administration at large by offering online services that would relief the need to go to the

institution for the services. The admissions program gives the fees charged for various courses,

financial aid and scholarships and an undergraduate admissions link that offers orientation for

new students and an online catalogue. Athletics option displays various sporting activities in the

institution, community engagement, facilities and sporting calendar. Student life gives details on

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dining services, residential living and learning area, room and board rates, campus social

facilities and campus recreation programs. Resources offer information on career development,

student services and resources, children’s learning centers, academic assistance and programs

that incorporates international studies, online courses and faculty web pages, course registration

and payment, and the libraries the student could access. Research at A&M-Commerce gives the

website visitor an option to view various provisions for research offered by the institution. It is

evident that the website is comprehensive on the information it offers its visitors. This

information is relevant in analyzing the focus of study (Texas A&M University Commerce

2012).

Besides realizing students’ behaviors, the website is essential in reaching the students

through interactive options offered. Moreover, lecturers can easily be reached. They would give

their perspective on the observation, and suggest some remedies they would deem right.

Moreover, students’ database can be availed in an effort to contact some who have dropped

courses so that they give their reasons as to why they did it, shedding more light on the issue.

The option to drop classes is obviously provided for by the institution, without which students

would have to continue with a class till the end of a semester once they have picked on it (Texas

A&M University Commerce 2012).

Ethical Concerns

The Belmont Report played an extremely significant role in the research. Its goal was to

deliver a framework that would facilitate resolution of ethical hiccups arising from research

involving people. The framework involves boundaries between research and practice,

fundamental ethical principles and applications. There are three basic principles that underlie

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research are respect for other people, justice and beneficence. All these were considered in data

collection to avoid uneasiness in response that could result in wrong information being given as

well as invoking feelings that would affect the person’s thoughts (Sims, 173-174).

Respect to other people incorporation in the research involved two ethical assumptions.

The first included people’s desire to be treated as autonomous individuals. Each is expected to

make their own decisions regarding various issues. They were presumed to be judgmental and

have the capacity to determine things on their own. Respect was accorded by having each

person’s choices and views heard and considered equitably. Contrary, lack of respect could have

been shown by withholding information or denying individuals freedom to make informed

decisions. Secondly, it was presumed that not every person has willpower. The ability to self

inspiration develops over a person’s life. Some people having diminishing capacity to self

determination were considered. This could have been as a result of mental disabilities, physical

illness, or conditions such as being in the military or prison that would restrict personal freedom.

Beneficence, which is the practice of doing good actions by making efforts to improve a

person’s wellbeing, was also considered in data extraction. In order that this could be realized,

what can harm the individuals concerned was first established. This would help the research in

avoiding that and focusing using a friendly language on the things that would make the

respondents cooperative. The research itself was aiming at benefiting the society through various

ways, and so it was perceived positive by the society. It is common in research to occur ethical

dilemma in making decisions on what is appropriate to pursue to a certain degree. Some risky

subjects could be foregone despite the gains that could result from them due to their unethical

nature (Sims, 173-174).

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Justice, which is the third fundamental principle as described in The Belmont Report, was

also considered. It requires that an individual be treated equitably and fairly. There is similar

distribution of both benefits and burdens. Injustice occurs when someone is denied personal

benefits that they are entitled to, or when excessive burdens are imposed on them. Clinical

research requires being mindful of classes of people incorporating indigent, ethnic groups or

institutions that could be available, independent or easy to manipulate. The classes are basically

recognized as vulnerable populations. They require protection as human subject activities, which

include informed consent, analysis of risks and gains, and a range of research subjects.

These were applied to enhance research’s conformity with the society. Respect to other

people involved giving subjects an opportunity to decide what would have happened to them.

This involved an informed consent process that ensured the involved information,

comprehension and voluntariness. Information was presented in a way that subjects were

understood and that the study was meant for the people’s wellbeing. This was additionally done

to get information from respondents that could not have been availed if they did not understand

the concept of the study. Comprehension helped to ensure that there was no indistinctness in

either the question or the response given. Investigators should ensure the subject has appropriate

comprehension of information. Voluntariness implies a willingness to participate in the research

without being induced to do so by force. Force could involve coercion, which is threatening or

intending to harm someone in order to gain compliance. This could be a denial of something the

person needs, or subjecting them to torturing that could inflict pain referred to as unjustifiable

pressure. Additionally, undue influence is not necessary in a competent research. It results from

excessive or unwarranted reward in order to benefit from compliance from subjects. It may occur

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with the investigator or any member of the team. Respect for other people was, therefore,

adhered to by the research avoiding the oppressive things (Sims, 173-174).

Beneficence was applied in the analysis of benefits and risks. Risk refers to the

probability of a damage occurring. Benefit defines something positive from wellbeing. Analysis

of these two generally means considering the possibility of being harmful or having benefits.

Risks are weighed against benefits. Benefits should outweigh risks in the subjects being

interviewed for a research to be effective, which was noted in the current research.

Justice was applied during the selection of subjects. It occurred at both the personal and

the communal levels. The investigator needs to consistently demonstrate just procedures in

selecting respondents under individual justice assurance. Societal injustice is founded on

equitable selection of subjects across various classes such as ethnic, economic or gender. No

classes in the research bore the burdens of research specifically if restrictions, disabilities or

hostile social environment burdened them. These principles aided in conduction of the entire

study.

Research

The research involved collection of relevant data through various means like interviews,

internet and questionnaires. Questionnaires were used on 500 students considering that

interviews could be costly, and time consuming for all of them to be analyzed. It was established

that the administration allows for dropping classes, which means that this was not against the

regulations enforced by the school. There was a deadline set for this, beyond which a student

would be subject to other measures if they dropped classes. These measures were set to

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discourage students from dropping classes towards the end of the semester. Dropping classes in

time could not have any negative consequences.

An interview was conducted on two students namely Brenda Briones and Melina Montes.

These are some of the students who had dropped some classes. They both had a willing to join

the institution. There was no influence in deciding on joining the institution. They were observed

to be willing to come back if given another chance, with Melina adding that he was thankful for

having an opportunity to be in the school. Additionally, they agreed that the course was

challenging with Brenda adding that she passed them despite this while Montes adds that few

were the challenging ones.

However, some differences arise in the other responses to the questions in the interview.

Briones feels that the income she was getting was not adequate to cater for her needs, and it was

complicated for her to get a job to manage the tuition fees. She had severally applied for student

financial aid, but her GPA could not help her to acquire it because it was actually lowed. She had

applied for more than five universities, and she was still waiting for a response. She believes that

conditions were hard to adjust to. She lives with her friends. She continues to confirm that she

did not consult the student advisor before deciding on withdrawing. She thought of dropping out

of classes of Texas A&M due to lack of financial aid, and she believed that the city did not offer

activities she could do due to its small size. She was thinking of going back into the institution if

given a chance, and would focus on study skills (Briones 2012).

On the other hand, Montes did not apply for any financial aid since he is an international

student. He had applied to a school in Washington DC. He had had it difficult adapting to the

conditions, adding that the culture was the largest hindrance to this since he was from Honduras

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whose culture is different from that in United States. He worked as a Resident Assistant on

campus and had, therefore, been given his own room in the residence hall. He makes sure he

consults the student advisor before deciding on withdrawing from classes, which he does not do

often and ensures this does not have any negative consequences. He had not thought of dropping

hall the classes. He wanted to finish his undergraduate and did not wish to come back to the

institution, and would rather go to a big city (Montes 2012).

This results into many conclusions about the research. To start with, the size of the town

that the school is located is a discouraging factor due to the limited exposure it has. The two

interviewees believe that the town does not offer opportunities for them to develop both

financially and technically. Financial aid is seen as one of the contributing factors towards

dropping classes. Some students do not have enough money to cater for their financial needs,

requiring them to seek assistance from the school’s kitty. However, this is not necessarily

granted. They are left with no option, but to drop classes in order to minimize on cost they would

have undergone if they did the courses. Students have different views as to if they would like to

come back to the institution. Among the reasons offered by those who feel they would not come

back is the lack of exposure in the town. It has also been observed some various residential

options. Some students stay in the institution while some stay out of the institution. This creates a

difference in the amount of money used in daily accommodation, which further affects the

amount of money one needs for survival in the school. The courses were also found to be

challenging. This was an extra reason why some students dropped some classes. The institution

also seemed to be reputable. Students willingly came from the local and international countries.

Some recommendations could help in the limiting the drops observed in the institution.

To start with, the administration should impose more conditions to validate the reasons to

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dropping a class. Some of the reasons, like a class being hard, should be scrapped off. If not so, it

could consider imposing a maximum limit of classes a student would drop in a certain amount of

time. This would ensure that students acquire relevant information concerning any class before

settling on it.

In addition, it could add financial aid to students. Since some students opt to drop classes

due to financial difficulties, they would be assured that the fees charged is available for the

needy, and continue with them. Some reason that could be associated with the classes being hard

is the lack of enough money that makes students dedicate a lot of time working for money to

sustain themselves. Assisting them would help them settle on their studies and perform well in

the classes.

The school could link with external bodies for various functions. To start with, the bodies

could provide the students from the school with job offers. Some students who would not wish to

come back to the institution would be greatly encouraged to join with an aim to be considered for

employment for these bodies. Secondly, the organizations would assist needy students as part of

their corporate social responsibilities. Students would have enough to see them through their

courses. This could be further enhanced by having the institution offer the organization some

services. For instance, the students in agriculture would assist in agricultural activities in a farm

of an organization as part of their practical skills acquirement while the organization reciprocates

by contributing to the financial aid kitty. Thirdly, these organizations would develop the area by

being allowed to participate in some of the schools affairs that could generate a profit to them.

For instance, they could be allowed to build accommodation facilities round the school.

Enlarging the school could mean an increase in vacancies, increase in population, and an

increase in business activities. Increase in these activities would lead to investments that even the

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students can involve in. The city around would grow, and opportunities would be more,

providing students with options where they can get additional money from. Finally, the linking

will augment information literacy, where students would have the actual experience in the

workplace even as they are in school.

Literacy Aspects

The study can be greatly linked with literacy. Literacy can be defined as the ability to

read and write after learning in a classroom or study group that leads to a person practicing the

reading and writing in both the formal and informal settings. This can be further sub grouped

into information literacy, which simply implies the ability to comprehend when some

information is needed, as well as locate, evaluate and effectively apply the information.

Information literacy is essential for both students and the public. Every position in the workplace

needs some level of information literacy in the field concerned. Among those who require

diversity in information literacy involve librarians, given their role in any institution. They need

to know the information available in certain research area, and the magnitude of the information

that could be sourced from there (Riedling, 98-103).

General literacy does not necessarily imply information literacy. The ultimate state of

literacy, which is defined by reading and writing, would be considered at a higher level as

information literacy, dictated by how well one’s understanding of information could be vested in

a person’s ability to reading and writing. Different forms of education and courses are offered by

schools. This does not mean students are information literate by just passing through the system,

necessitating the role of information literacy in an academic setting. Few among the students can

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display information elegance in tasks they undertake after the entire system (Wearmouth et al.,

67-71).

Literacy could be subjective, depending on the context. It can be classified as a particular

functional element. In a hospital setting, for instance, the one needs to understand the context in

which a doctor is found in order to identify one. Being around a hospital, however, does not

necessarily mean that one can identify a doctor. Literacy event in this case is the literacy level a

person has in the medical field that makes one a doctor. Current, adherent and retired doctors

could possess doctorial literacy, but that could not qualify all as doctors. The literacy event,

therefore, could be clearly observed as that activity that defines one as the professional they are

referred to as. Reading and writing could be basic, but advanced literacy could be enhanced by

specific application of the same. They extra qualification of these is what defines a doctor,

surgeon or clerk (Szwed, 3-17).

It has been evident that information literacy is not that automatic. Students may fail in

this. There are recommendations that would be implemented to counteract informational

illiteracy. Ways in which information is organized in the institution would be one of the crucial

recommendations towards curbing this illiteracy. Secondly, public awareness should be

promoted to inform people on this form of illiteracy. In addition, research should be conducted to

that will result into a conducive environment for students to acquire this literacy. Information

literacy concerns could be included in the teacher education. The relationship between overall

goals of literacy, democracy, productivity and information literacy could be relayed to the public.

All the stakeholders in literacy application who include teachers, students and the public would

be information literate upon employment of these recommendations. It reduces scenarios of

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students having to undergo extra training after finishing their education in order to fit in jobs

before they are entrusted with the jobs designated to them (Dumbleton and Ken, 130-134).

There are other forms of literacy that is beyond writing and reading. This involves codes

used in a certain area. For instance, sports would have gestures that imply something to be done

without conveying the message to opponents. Words could be used without their literal meaning

in some disciplines in order to relay messages that could have expressed in many more words.

Biology and chemistry, among other sciences, would use some words to express a large process

that would have required several words to explain. Dancing is another area where this form of

special language is applied. Students dropping units greatly affects their information literacy.

They would not be competent in some areas that they dropped. This implies performance that is

less expectation due to lack of knowledge in some area. These are the areas that need to be

trained on before a person could be entrusted with their duties. Therefore, limiting on dropping

of units could assist in competence in the workplace by improving information literacy (Moore et

al., 115-123).

Conclusion

Dropping of classes is a common phenomenon in Texas A&M Commerce University.

Students drop classes and either pick others or remain with few than they had in the first place.

This is provided for in the school’s features. Despite the high rates of classes drop out, the

institution has not done anything towards stopping this. It implies that it is either in support of

the dropping, or it has not become aware of this rate. The study has analyzed the reasons as to

why students drop classes. It has considered ethical issues that would help it in getting the right

information without implying that the study is targeted to specific people from who data is

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collected, but rather reflecting on all students who have experienced this. Confidence is inflicted

into these subjects in order to let them be honest. Further, they are first given information on the

entire research so that they would know its relevance. They are only allowed to contribute out of

their own free will, and not forced by any external factor.

There is a range of reasons that could result into a student dropping classes. Lack of

sufficient funds is one of them. Some drop them because they think the classes are too hard for

them to handle. Others feel that they think certain classes are not relevant to the course they

study. The criterion for dropping has been noted to be in two ways. One would opt to get

guidance from student advisor to do so, or decide themselves without any assistance and

continue with the dropping process. Further, there is a period granted for dropping without

someone having to face any negative consequences, and a period when one might be faced by

negative consequences like lack of refund for money and poor grades. There have been

recommendations to reduce these rates of drop outs.

The study has continued to study literacy offered by institutions. Information literacy has

been one of the relevant and advanced forms of literacy that most educational institutions do not

offer. Information illiteracy has been increased by having a high drop out in classes. It has been

evident from the process of recruitment of fresh graduates into the job market, whereby they

have to undergo a training process to be competent in the job they have presumably been

learning to perform in the educational centers. Conclusively, students, teachers and the public

have been ascertained to have an essential role in the attainment of information literacy.

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Works Cited

Briones, Brenda. Personal Interview. 2

December 2012

Dumbleton, M., and Ken L. Addressing Literacy in the Arts: A Middle Years Resource. Carlton

South, Vic: Cirriculum Corp, 1999. Print.

Montes, Melina. Personal Interview. 3

December 2012

Moore, M. T., David E. M., Silva, T., and Judith A. A. Addressing Literacy Needs at Work:

Implementation and Impact of Workplace Literacy Programs: Final Report. Washington,

D.C: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, 1999. Print.

Riedling, A. M. Information Literacy: What Does It Look Like in the School Library Media

Center? Westport Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Print.

Sims, J. M. “A brief review of the Belmont report.” Dimensions of critical care nursing DCCN

29.4 (2010) : 173-174. Print.

Szwed, J. F. “The Ethnography of Literacy.” Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing.

1st Ed. Tabeth Adkins. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead Press, 2010. 3-17. Print.

Texas A&M University Commerce. Texas A&M University Commerce. (2012). Viewed on 6

December 2012 from http://web.tamu-commerce.edu/

Wearmouth, J., Soler, J., and Reid G. Addressing Difficulties in Literacy Development:

Responses at Family, School, Pupil, and Teacher Level. (2002). London: Routledge

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