From fall 2021 to summer 2022, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted virtual focus groups with administrators at 47 colleges: a nationally representative sample of 36 2-year and broad-access 4-year colleges and a purposive sample of 11 colleges selected for their track record with advising. The study identified four key findings…

Student retention and completion rates are challenging issues in higher education. In the academic domain, pressure exists for every institution to come up with strategies that support student success from enrollment through graduation without compromising academic or accreditation standards. This paper presents the findings from a review of…

This essay is a companion document to a statistical study of student dropouts conducted by the San Diego City Schools. Various definitions of dropout are presented, as well as a discussion of types of dropout or attrition rates: (1) annual dropout rate; (2) enrollment ratio dropout rate; (3) cumulative tracking dropout rate; and (4) estimated…

Much social science research proceeds as though ethnic self-identification (the ethnic category to which persons assign themselves) is a stable characteristic, as true at one time of measurement as another. The purpose of this study was to test this assumption using longitudinal data acquired from the provincial Ministry of Education for every…

With the dwindling of the traditional college applicant pool, retention has become one of higher educational institutions' top priorities. This study addresses the effectiveness of Western Psychological Services'"Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire" (SACQ) for providing early evidence of poor adjustment and potential attrition…

A survey was conducted to evaluate nationally the retention of undergraduates at institutions of higher education. In particular the survey sought to: determine the rates at which full-time students persisted in and completed higher education; identify factors that institutional representatives felt influence students to leave school; and describe…

This study focuses on school system characteristics that affect the dropout rate in the Chicago public high schools. Although the primary variable for investigation is attendance rate, other school system variables examined include type of school, percentage of low-income students in a school, and the overall level of student ability for a school…

Student departure from postsecondary institutions has been one of the central topics of concern discussed widely by policymakers, institutional personnel, and educational researchers at various levels. However, many existing studies have failed to address issues related to the timing of student departure from college. This article discusses the…

For more than two decades, the concept of student engagement has grown from simple attention in class to a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and further develop motivation for learning. Similarly, the goals of student engagement have evolved from dropout prevention to improved outcomes for lifelong…

Research may be divided into two types, "empowering" research and "academic" research. Empowering research seeks to determine how a particular individual or organization can produce a desired result, while academic research is concerned with why a particular condition exists. While academic research might ask "Why do students drop out of school?"…

Describes a study which examined relationships between academic persistence and turn-around time, feedback interval, and contacts between student and institution beyond assignment submissions at Allama Iqbal Open University, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education, Open Learning Institute of British Columbia, Tasmanian State Institute of…

This paper on postsecondary outcomes illustrates a technique to determine whether or not mainstream models are appropriate for predicting educational outcomes of American Indians (AIs) and Alaskan Native (ANs). It introduces a prominent statistical procedure to assess models with empirical data and shows how the results can have implications for…

Student departure is a long-standing problem to colleges and universities. Approximately 45 percent of students enrolled in two-year colleges depart during their first year, and approximately one out of four students departs from a four-year college or university. The authors advance a serious revision of Tinto's popular interactionalist theory to…

Examines factors associated with persistence to a second term for 796 first time, two-year college students. Demographic variables correlated with low persistence were taking nondegree courses only, enrolling part time, working full time, and being over age 40. The only academic factor related to low persistence was a first term grade point…

In 1978-79, a study was conducted of students enrolled in the Community and Technical College at the University of Akron to test for discriminative relations between male and female students, nontraditional (25 years of age and older) and traditional students, and persisters and nonpersisters. A questionnaire distributed to students who were…