American Colleges and Universities continually face retention issues, especially during students’ freshman years; meanwhile, students often face less than ideal experiences transitioning to college life. Society at large endures the costs of low college freshman retention rates. Just press play (JPP), a project being implemented at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Interactive Games and Media School, aims to address these problems head-on through pervasive gaming, in which students are presented with opportunities to become integrated into the community, receive support, excel academically, and achieve a solid social, personal, and academic balance, all while having fun gaming. Research efforts focus on addressing how well the program is working, possible improvements, the nature and quality of the relationships between JPP, students, faculty, and the RIT community, and determining associations among variables that present opportunities to strengthen JPP’s impact. Quantitative analyses focus on the JPP experience in regards to impact on student life and academics in addition to future considerations.
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