Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
4-28-2026
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Chandra Carter
Abstract
The high attrition rate in the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AASN) program created an opportunity to develop the enhanced Student Success Program (eSSP). This is a faculty-based quality improvement project designed to increase support for students at risk of withdrawal from the AASN program. The aim of eSSP is to reduce attrition rates, however, this project evaluated only short-term changes in faculty confidence. Using Lewin's Change Model and the Theory of Planned Behavior as a guide, this QI implemented a one-group pre-post experimental design to determine whether a short eSSP training program, combined with a 5-week implementation period, would improve faculty confidence in recognizing and supporting eSSP for at-risk students. Seven AASN faculty participants completed both their Confidence Scale (C-Scale) pre-intervention and post-intervention surveys. Paired-samples t testing showed a statistically significant increase in total confidence scores from preintervention (M = 13.29, SD = 4.61) to postintervention (M = 21.00, SD = 2.94), t(6) = −3.03, p = .023, t(6) = −3.03, p =.023, with a mean gain of 7.71 points and a 95% confidence interval for the difference that did not include zero, though findings are limited by the small, single-site sample and short timeframe. Overall, the eSSP is a feasible option for faculty confidence at the AASN program. Although high attrition rates (33%) motivated the project, student attrition rates were not analyzed in this five-week cycle. Future and multiple semester attrition rates will be analyzed using chi-square test. The eSSP also provides a model that could help reduce long-term nursing student attrition at this site and at other sites with similar programs.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Grigg, Jason, "Quality Improvement Project Reducing Attrition Rates in Nursing Students: Evaluating the Enhanced Student Success Program" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 343.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/343
