The Neglected Case of the ‘W’: Waste or Wisdom?

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Published: Dec 26, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v16i6.19843
Keywords:
withdrawal, ‘DFW’ attrition, college students, retention, academic persistence, student success, drop out prevention, drop out research

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Sridhar Ramachandran
Indiana University SE
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3743-3104
Annette Wyandotte
Indiana University SE
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1926-3786

Abstract

Receiving a ‘W’ for a class withdrawal differs from earning a grade of ‘D’ or ‘F,’ yet studies typically combine these elements. This study focuses on the ‘W’: 1) to urge teacher-scholars to investigate its importance and 2) scholarly teachers to engage in methods that may avert student withdrawals as well as to facilitate students to make more informed decisions before taking a ‘W.’ The article addresses the scant literature on the ‘W’ to re-contextualize a student’s decision to withdraw from a course in the broader student success literature. Studies of retention, persistence, and completion of higher educational goals widely recognize both academic and non-cognitive influences that may move a student to withdraw from college. Results of the authors’ case study presented here suggest parallels in student decisions to withdraw from a course, hoping to raise awareness within the scholarship of teaching community of the need to probe this topic, in view of in their wisdom for teaching and learning their passion to educate students for a better quality of life and work.

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How to Cite
Ramachandran, S., & Wyandotte, A. (2016). The Neglected Case of the ‘W’: Waste or Wisdom?. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 16(6), 56–71. https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v16i6.19843
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Vol. 16 No. 6 (2016): Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
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Articles
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Author Biographies

Sridhar Ramachandran, Indiana University SE

Department Head of Informatics Associate Professor of Informatics Indiana University Southeast Office: 120 LF, Lab: 101 LF, Email: sriramac@ius.edu Tel: (812) 941 2193

Annette Wyandotte, Indiana University SE

Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Professor of English University South 152 Indiana University Southeast 4201 Grant Line Road New Albany, IN 47150 (812) 941-2614 awyandot@ius.edu

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