A government study of the tuition-guarantee programs emerging in the 1980s, promising college tuition to high school students persisting to graduation, has found the programs to be effective in retaining students. The most successful programs use adult mentors and offer tutoring, beginning as early as fifth grade. (MSE)

This report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project at the University of Rhode Island which paired specially trained native-speaking undergraduates with at-risk, linguistic minority classmates to study the content of courses that both were taking together. The native-speaking Fellow is trained in a 3-credit course and then…

Several retention strategies have been developed at Miramar College in San Diego, California, to reduce attrition and enhance institutional effectiveness. One of these, the PLACe tutorial center, is dedicated to empowering students to attain educational success. In spring 1992, developmental English students who did not use the PLACe Center had a…

A three-year longitudinal study of student support service programs prepared for the U.S. Department of Education indicated that peer tutoring during the first year of college has a positive and statistically significant impact on students in each of three outcome areas: grades, credits, and retention, and that participation in the first year has…

The purpose of this report is to provide information on the outcomes of the Intervention for College Attendance Program, a program of competitive grants awarded to postsecondary institutions, professional organizations, and community-based organizations. Prior to the 2008-09 biennium, the program focused on provision of college awareness and the…

The Supplemental Instruction (SI) program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City addresses attrition by providing academic support in courses that are high risk for students. The program contains a number of innovative features, for example: high risk courses are identified instead of high risk students, and everyone in those courses is offered…

Describes a new method of evaluating the Supplemental Instruction (SI) model as implemented in a high-risk biology course at an urban multicultural university campus. Examination grades indicated that the average grade of participants in classes that had SI sessions was significantly higher than that of participants in classes where SI sessions…

The Student Support Services Program, in the student affairs division, has been a counseling and tutorial program at Chicago State University since 1978. The program's goal is to increase the retention and graduation rates of the university's students. The program's focus is to monitor extensively each participant's first year at the university…

In a University of Central Lancashire (England) program, upperclassmen support learning of peers through small-group peer tutoring in study skills, earning academic credits for doing so. The program targets courses with difficult content, predominance of lectures, and low rates of teacher-student interaction. Evaluation indicates reduced course…

A project was implemented at Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC) in Florence, South Carolina to develop a retention plan for high-risk and probationary students. The project involved the following components: a literature review on retention strategies, visits to state-of-the-art model two-year college retention programs, studies of…

A federal program designed to reduce dropout rates in middle schools among limited-English-proficient (LEP) students is described. The program trains LEP middle school students at risk of dropping out as tutors for elementary school children. A demonstration project trained 101 Hispanic student tutors in two Texas school districts. Evaluation of…

The TRIO/Special Services Program at the University of Minnesota is described, and a national evaluation of TRIO programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Special Services) is briefly summarized. The TRIO/Special Services Program at the University of Minnesota is located within The General College, which is the open enrollment unit of the…

Project Engage is an after-school, weekend, and summer educational program geared toward minority and disadvantaged students to increase the number of these students seeking postsecondary education from the Erie, Pennsylvania area. It is funded mainly through Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, whose administration is strongly committed to…

Glassboro State College (New Jersey) has developed an institution-wide comprehensive, coordinated program based on the concept of early provision of quality services and programs to provide students with positive linkages to the institution. Persistence to graduation is the long-term goal of the retention program. Additional goals include…

Efforts of the General College of the University of Minnesota to increase student retention during the 1979-80 academic year are described. The target groups were high-risk students, especially representatives of minority groups from traditionally nonacademic populations. The college mounted a pilot education program (PEP) comprising three…