SLA to Stay: Confronting Struggles in Content, Calling, and Connection through Structured Learning Assistance as a Sustainable Student Retention Model at Resource-Limited Institutions
Location
Morgan
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
Student success at institutions serving associate-seeking students remains a pressing concern, particularly in the post-COVID landscape where persistence and completion challenges have intensified. Nationally, almost two-thirds of students at universities complete a bachelor’s degree within 150% of time (six years), while fewer than one-third of students at community colleges earn a credential within 150% of time (three years). Additionally, these disparities disproportionately affect at-risk populations—first-generation, low-income, and underprepared students—who enroll in these institutions at nearly twice the rate of their university peers.
This study examines the role of Structured Learning Assistance (SLA), a model adapted from Supplemental Instruction (SI) to address the realities of small, resource-limited institutions. Guided by Tinto’s (1993) framework of student departure, reaffirmed by the University System of Georgia in 2019, and later reframed by Braswell (2024) as content, calling, and connection, this analysis integrates national research with local implementation at South Georgia State College (SGSC).
Findings highlight that SLA: (1) supports underprepared students in high-risk courses, (2) embeds career relevance into instruction, (3) fosters belonging through micro-cohorts, and (4) aligns outcomes with institutional goals while underscoring the need for expanded qualitative research. Taken together, SLA emerges as a sustainable student retention model at resource-limited institutions by confronting struggles in content, calling, and connection.
Keywords
Structured Learning Assistance (SLA); Content, Calling, and Connection; Student Retention; STEM Student Success; Resource-Limited Institutions
Professional Bio
Sarah E. Braswell joined the faculty at South Georgia State College in Fall 2025 as Lecturer of Biology, after nearly a decade as Coordinator of Tutoring and Student Success. She holds an A.S., B.S., and M.S.(abt) in Biology and a M.Ed. in Higher Education. She is currently an M.S.A.P.S. student at Georgia Southern and an Ed.D. student at Columbus State. She has been awarded GES’s Master’s Researcher of the Year, INSIGHT Into Diversity’s STEM Programming Award, and SGSC’s Presidential Staff Scholar-in-Residence. A seven-time Student Choice “Staff Member of the Year,” she is also recognized for student programming, advising, and service.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Braswell, Sarah E., "SLA to Stay: Confronting Struggles in Content, Calling, and Connection through Structured Learning Assistance as a Sustainable Student Retention Model at Resource-Limited Institutions" (2026). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 71.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2026/2026/71
SLA to Stay: Confronting Struggles in Content, Calling, and Connection through Structured Learning Assistance as a Sustainable Student Retention Model at Resource-Limited Institutions
Morgan
Student success at institutions serving associate-seeking students remains a pressing concern, particularly in the post-COVID landscape where persistence and completion challenges have intensified. Nationally, almost two-thirds of students at universities complete a bachelor’s degree within 150% of time (six years), while fewer than one-third of students at community colleges earn a credential within 150% of time (three years). Additionally, these disparities disproportionately affect at-risk populations—first-generation, low-income, and underprepared students—who enroll in these institutions at nearly twice the rate of their university peers.
This study examines the role of Structured Learning Assistance (SLA), a model adapted from Supplemental Instruction (SI) to address the realities of small, resource-limited institutions. Guided by Tinto’s (1993) framework of student departure, reaffirmed by the University System of Georgia in 2019, and later reframed by Braswell (2024) as content, calling, and connection, this analysis integrates national research with local implementation at South Georgia State College (SGSC).
Findings highlight that SLA: (1) supports underprepared students in high-risk courses, (2) embeds career relevance into instruction, (3) fosters belonging through micro-cohorts, and (4) aligns outcomes with institutional goals while underscoring the need for expanded qualitative research. Taken together, SLA emerges as a sustainable student retention model at resource-limited institutions by confronting struggles in content, calling, and connection.
