Beyond the Numbers: Qualitative Analysis of Open-Ended Responses for Identifying Student Success Indicators

This study examines Student Success indicators and coded themes from open-ended responses completed by college students at Stanislaus State. The purpose of this study is to examine whether Student Success indicators will provide researchers with evidence-based insights into identifying best practices for improving graduation rates and eliminating achievement gaps among our student body. The results of this study demonstrate that student-faculty relationships are a major concern among college students and that administrators should develop constructive interventions to facilitate and improve student-faculty bonding as a method for promoting Student Success initiatives.