The third component of our three-part series focuses on students who attained a bachelor's degree and what it took to get there. We used multiple regression analysis to determine the factors that seemed to matter on the pathway to the BA. The appendix of this report provides methodological details to this analysis. (Contains 2 footnotes and 7…

A study investigated whether determinants of college students' decisions to withdraw from an institution are similar to those affecting decisions to transfer to other institutions. Subjects (n=2,954) were entering freshmen at a state university. Results indicated different factors discriminated between persisters and dropouts and between…

A study integrated the major propositions of 2 theories of college persistence (Tinto's and Bean's) and used the resulting framework to survey a population of 466 first-year college students at 1 university. Findings supported most of the hypothesized links between the models and revealed a complex role for environmental factors in retention.…

Two theories concerning students' decisions to leave college are compared, and the convergence and discriminant validity of the two theories are examined empirically. The extent to which the theories could be merged to help researchers understand the role of institutional and noninstitutional variables in student persistence is discussed. (MSE)

A study using a national sample of 1,375 college students attending public 4-year institutions tested hypotheses concerning economic and noneconomic variables on college persistence. Findings indicate financial variables moderate the effect of goal commitment on persistence. Implications for theory and for financial aid policy are explored.…

The effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence are examined. An attempt is made to draw upon both economic theory and Tinto's Student Integration Theory in order to enhance the understanding of the role of finances on the process of persistence. The direct and indirect effects of ability to pay on persistence in the…

A study examined the role of career maturity in the college persistence of 307 freshmen at a public, residential, four-year college. Results indicate that the My Vocational Situation instrument is reliable and valid, although theoretical formulations should be reexamined. Career maturity was positively associated with several variables important…

This study tested the convergent and discriminant validity between two theories of college persistence: the Student Attrition Model and the Student Integration Model. The study examined conceptual similarities for each theory to explain departure decisions and examined how both theoretical frameworks enhanced the understanding of the processes…

A study is discussed that examined the role of student aid, gender, ethnic status, academic performance in high school, and age on attrition rates, showing how each of these variables affects attrition rates during each of the 3 successive years of undergraduate education. (MLW)

A study with 2,453 college students investigated the construct validity of the student commitment to institution as a factor in academic persistence. Results suggest factors such as institutional quality, practical educational utility, student-institution fit, and loyalty to institution were more predictive of persistence than similarity of…

The study empirically examines the effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence by presenting a causal model that relies on both economic theory and V. Tinto's Student Integration Model in order to enhance an understanding of the role of finances on the college persistence process. Analyses conducted upon a sample of 466…

A survey of 466 students in a large, urban commuter college investigated the relationship of student finances to academic persistence. Results suggest that financial aid (1) equalizes opportunities for students, thus decreasing attractiveness of alternatives, (2) facilitates academic and social integration, and (3) increases student commitment to…

This paper reports the results of an empirical study on the role of finances on college persistence. A quantitative causal model, that relied on several theoretical frameworks, was tested via structural equation modelling for categorical data that incorporated constructs from the financial aid literature as well as the persistence literature. The…

This report is one of a series of three reports on Latino students in the educational pipeline. The purpose of this series is to provide a sense of the challenges facing Latino youth compared to White youth on the pathways to postsecondary education and the baccalaureate. In researching Part I, our interest was in finding out what happened to NELS…