A Model of Nursing Student Retention.

A model of nursing student retention was studied in nontraditional, associate degree nursing students. Student retention was defined as persistence, or choosing to continue in a nursing program, and successful academic performance, or meeting the necessary academic standards to continue in a nursing program. The model shows the interaction of background variables, internal psychological processes, and external supports, and their relationships to persistence and academic performance. Participants were 458 nontraditional associate degree nursing students. There were significant differences in background variables between students who persisted and those who withdrew voluntarily or failed academically. Perceived faculty support was related to both persistence and academic performance, such that students with higher perceived faculty support were more likely to continue in a nursing program until graduation and were more likely to be successful academically. Students with higher perceived faculty support also had higher outcome expectations of earning an associate degree in nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]