In 1989, staff from Rancho Santiago College's (RSC's) research office conducted telephone interviews with a random sample of 255 out of the 17,359 former students who attended RSC in spring 1989 but did not return for the next semester. The study was conducted to determine why students did not return, whether they accomplished their educational…

This survey analyzes the characteristics of students who dropped all of their classes at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) before the college's census date. The survey finds that students who drop all of their classes are similar to students who remain enrolled, yet tend to be older, to hold a college-level degree, and to hold at least one…

In spring 1987, a study was conducted at Monroe Community College (MCC) to determine the factors which influence attrition and retention, with particular focus on the reasons why students who have not graduated fail to return for succeeding semesters. Questionnaires were mailed to 452 former students, requesting information on students' rankings…

Responses to a survey questionnaire completed by 1,070 migrant students who returned to school after dropping out were tabulated and listed by response frequency to determine student characteristics that will help migrant educators predict dropout behavior and address its causes. Participating students were enrolled in 13 High School Equivalency…

To determine factors influencing attrition and retention at Pennsylvania College of Technology, a survey was conducted of the 767 students who were enrolled in spring 1992 but neither graduated nor enrolled in fall 1992. Study findings, based on responses from 373 former students, included the following: (1) only 11% of the minority non-returners…

Data were consolidated from 11 studies conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) between 1974 and 1981. The studies surveyed a total of 1,939 students, who left WRHC after attending at least one semester, to determine their educational objectives, current activities, employment characteristics, educational activities, and evaluation of…

In winter 1992, a survey was conducted by the Arrowhead Community College Region (Minnesota) to determine why nonreturning full-time students had failed to return to Arrowhead colleges. A questionnaire was mailed to all fall 1991 nonreturning students, followed by a second mailing two weeks later to all non-respondents. Of the 421 nonreturning…

In spring 1991, a study was conducted of non-returning students from the seven 2-year Regional Campuses (RC's) of Kent State University to identify demographic characteristics of such students, determine the reasons they did not continue their enrollment, and obtain their opinions regarding the academic and student services at the RC's. Of the…

On the basis of several surveys and a review of the literature, this report examines various aspects of student retention at Frederick Community College (FCC). Chapter I introduces the report with a summary of FCC enrollment data and a discussion of the characteristics of non-persisters nationwide. Chapter II focuses on course and college…

Characteristics and attendance patterns of persisters and dropouts from college and vocational/technical schools were studied, and a model of the persistence process was tested using data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS), which surveyed high school seniors in 1972, with followup surveys in 1973 and 1974. Student persistence was defined…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) of 400 students who had attended WRHC in fall 1990 but failed to enroll in the subsequent term. The sample was divided into two groups: students who had completed fewer than 16 credit hours and those who had completed more than 16 but less than 48 credit hours. All of the stopouts were…

In 1991, a study was conducted at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), in Kansas, of "leavers," those students who were once enrolled at JCCC, but did not graduate, transfer to another institution, or complete a career program. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,860 students identified as leavers who had been enrolled at JCCC during…

An investigation of the characteristics of the 2,969 students who attended Lakeland Community College (LCC) in Fall 1978 but did not return in Winter 1979 revealed that, compared to the average Fall 1978 student, the typical non-returning student was more likely to be a married woman in her early 30's, with little previous college experience and…

In response to declines in enrollment and average daily attendance since 1975, Ohlone College conducted a study of student attrition which involved: (1) a telephone survey of the 2,593 students who enrolled in Fall 1979 and dropped out or withdrew from classes before the end of the quarter; (2) a mailed survey of the 15 members of the California…

A two-phase study examined the incidence and nature of dropout and progression from basic skills programs in England and Wales. During the first (retrospective) phase, data about 1,920 students' attendance/dropout patterns and reasons' for finishing/leaving their basic skills programs were obtained from 82 tutors (of more than 300 contacted) in 8…