Purpose Retention is one of the key performance indicators in university quality assurance processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes leading to low retention rates for first-year undergraduate computing students in a UK higher education institution (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The study applies Tinto’s student integration theory, and connects it with the behavioural patterns of students. Data were collected from 901 students using Pascarella and Terenzini’s questionnaire (integration scales). This data were combined with student enrolment information and analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study results indicate that Tinto’s student integration theory is useful in analysing student retention, but this accounts for only a modest amount of variance in retention. Nevertheless, important relationships amongst student’s initial and later academic goals and commitments have been identified through this new approach to analysing retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goals and institutional commitments, followed by later goals and institutional commitments. In addition, the results show that academic and social integration constructs can have an influence on the student retention processes. When all, or some, of these relationships are operating towards students’ benefits, appropriate services or programmes, such as student support systems, can have their maximum benefits. Originality/value The authors mapped behavioural-related retention factors using a learning community lens. The study explored students’ social and learning experiences within the context of a UK HEI by employing Tinto’s model. This is the first time the model has been tested in this context.

中文翻译：

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英国高等教育机构一年级本科计算机课程学生的Tinto学生整合理论分析

目的保留是大学质量保证流程中的关键绩效指标之一。本文的目的是找出导致英国高等教育机构（HEI）一年级本科计算机课程学生保留率低的原因。设计/方法/方法本研究应用了Tinto的学生整合理论，并将其与学生的行为模式联系起来。使用Pascarella和Terenzini的问卷（综合量表）从901名学生中收集了数据。将该数据与学生入学信息相结合，并使用结构方程建模技术进行分析。研究结果表明，Tinto的学生融合理论可用于分析学生的保留率，但这仅占保留率的适度差异。尽管如此，通过这种新的留住率分析方法，已经确定了学生最初和以后的学习目标与承诺之间的重要关系。对保留的最大直接影响是最初的目标和机构承诺，其次是后来的目标和机构承诺。此外，结果表明，学术和社会融合结构可能会对学生保留过程产生影响。当这些关系中的全部或部分关系朝着学生的利益发展时，适当的服务或计划（例如学生支持系统）可以发挥最大的利益。原创性/价值作者使用学习社区的视角绘制了与行为相关的保留因子。该研究通过采用Tinto模型在英国HEI的背景下探索了学生的社交和学习经验。这是第一次在这种情况下对模型进行测试。