Exploring Student Retention Following Successful Completion of Co-Requisite Math Courses Using the Complete College America Model - An Exploratory Case Study

The decision to retain was explored using semi-structured interviews with 14 students who previously completed a MATH-131 or MATH-137 course with a co-requisite support course enrollment. A follow-up survey was then developed and disseminated to 32 students to determine if interview responses were shared by other students. Responses were coded, categorized, and themed, and results indicated elements of the self-determination theory framework led to increased retention rates in co-requisite students. Triangulation was then achieved using a motivation inventory that was disseminated as a pre-test and then repeated at the end of the course as a post-test to both co-requisite (treatment) and non-co-requisite (control) students. Elements facilitating autonomy and competency within the co-requisite program were shown to significantly influence (at the 0.10 significance level) a student’s decision to maintain enrollment for one year following the successful completion of co-requisite courses (p = .004 and p = .079, respectively).