Student Success in Higher Education

The research on student attrition, retention and success in the Netherlands is highly influenced by Tinto’s integration theory. In this paper, as part of my broader PhD research, I propose adjusting this theory to achieve a better fit with the present generation of students in the developed world. By measuring the best predictive variables of Tinto’s theory at an ordinal level it also fits better with the evaluation forms used in Dutch Institutes of Higher education. In contemporary society social media plays a crucial role and thus also in the lives of students. Earlier research has been inconclusive about the effect
of social media on students’ success, however, as it has focused on the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of social media use. In line with the above-mentioned pedagogical theory and using insights from recent studies on students’ social media use, I test the influence of various factors as well as the use of social media on student success. This paper provides insight into the potential uses of social media in education – especially by students outside of the classroom.