This article presents a study that uses iterative searches of literature, guided by data from campus observations, interviews, and surveys, to locate and test a theory that can be used to strengthen institutional leverage over student engagement and outcomes. A review of literature was conducted to frame a preliminary theoretical framework for…

Pascarella and Terenzini developed five factorially derived institutional integration scales to operationalize Tinto's conceptual model of college student withdrawal. Some psychometric characteristics of these scales were estimated for disadvantaged students at an urban commuter college. The scales showed improved characteristics after item…

Tinto developed a model to predict the attrition process. The model respects a longitudinal perspective and regards persistence as a function of the quality of a student's interactions with the academic and social systems of the college. Tinto asserts that the two primary factors related to student withdrawal are the personal characteristics of…

Logic modeling was developed to explore the persistence of community college students. Independent variables included student demographic characteristics, purpose for enrolling, intention to return, frequency of informal interaction with faculty, and satisfaction with the college. Persistence was a function of sex, purpose for enrolling, and…

Two contrasting hypotheses about the effects of community colleges--the view that these institutions "cool out" those who might attend four-year colleges, and the view that they increase schooling for students who would otherwise have no access to higher education--are presented. A model of educational attainment is discussed. (Author/MLW)

Two prediction models using age and entry-level reading and math scores to differentiate completers and noncompleters were tested with 1,319 community college adult basic education students. Persisters and dropouts were not homogeneous groups; for example, General Educational Development completers differed from other completers, and early and…

In 1992, a practicum was undertaken to develop a student retention plan for use at Sue Bennett College (SBC), an independent junior college located in London, Kentucky. The college had a retention rate of 33 percent between the freshman and sophmore year in 1990 which was a decline from the 62 percent in 1985. The development of the plan included…

Presents a research-based model of student persistence. Concludes that high school academic achievement, needs for financial aid and employment, day/evening status, goal commitment, and expected student/college fit have primary effects on persistence, while background characteristics and academic self-confidence have secondary effects. Explains…

The Bean and Metzner Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition Model appeared to be a good model to address community college student attrition because it takes into account the environmental variables that colleges must consider to enhance persistence. A study was conducted to determine how well the Bean and Metzner Model fit with community…

This literature review considers the theory and practice of retention efforts in higher education, with special focus on community college programs. Introductory material looks at the conditions (e.g., tighter budgets and decreased enrollments) that have brought the issues of attrition and retention to the forefront. The next section reviews…

This paper summarizes the first year of research at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dryden, New York, to develop an alternative process for determining characteristics of graduates and leavers from the college, and to uncover attitudes of those students about their college experience. The paper summarizes findings to date, although the author…

No studies have tested persistence models on Hispanic community college students in which financial aid have been included. This study tested a structural equation model of retention for a Hispanic student population (N=170) to determine the direct, indirect, and total effects of campus-based resources on minority retention rates. (Author/MLW)

Since 1988, South Carolina's Piedmont Technical College (PTC) has been engaged in a process to develop a functional model for calculating student retention. The college has defined retention as a series of levels at which students and the college persist and work to fulfill goals. This definition is based on the ideas that there is no single…

In order to help teachers and students assess the preferred cognitive styles of individual learners, Mount Hood Community College introduced and tested the use of cognitive mapping in its orientation program. A task force of managers, counselors, and instructors: (1) decided to use the Modified Hill Model to assess nine dimensions of student…

Arguing that retention research requires a sound theoretical framework and that retention planning takes place within a sociopolitical context, this paper presents an overview of the requirements and process of student retention research. Part I examines the role of research in a college's retention effort and establishes the general requirements…