College student persistence and dropout have been studied for decades, but little inquiry has focused on community college or private two-year college students. Although about half of first-time postsecondary students enroll in a two-year college, researchers understand little about why only approximately a quarter of these degree-seekers complete…

Examines why some students, and not others, choose to drop out of college for a period of time. (HS)

If administrators are to reduce the rate of discontinuation by changing their selection, teaching, guidance, and support facilities, they must be guided by proper data. This study reports such data based on an investigation at Macquarie University. (Editor/LBH)

Asserting that graduation and stopout are "competing" or correlated events and that they often should be modeled as such, this study demonstrated that factors affecting timely graduation (e.g., financial aid) often have time-varying effects, and that ignoring these time-varying effects can lead to spurious conclusions that may result in…

A study of nontraditional postsecondary students revealed that Tinto's Model for explaining dropout was applicable to these students but that it could be made more comprehensive for nontraditional students by considering pressures external to the educational setting. (Author/MLW)

Some policy initiatives can be effective with some forms of dropout in some subpopulations. Reduction, rather than elimination of attrition, and transfer as a means of meeting student needs should be considered more seriously. (Author/MSE)

A model of drop-out from distance education is proposed. The longitudinal model is developed from Tinto's model. It includes components for background characteristics, goal commitment, academic and social integration, and a cost/benefit analysis. Issues inherent in testing the model are discussed. (Author/MLW)

This article offers a model of college student integration that emphasizes how students shape their college experiences by pursuing specific life tasks over others. A study of 311 first-year college students found that school persisters tended to focus more on academics during their first semester and social and personal needs during their second…

Examined the influence of faculty active-learning practices on student departure decisions in the context of Tinto's Theory of College Student Departure. Path analysis results of three surveys of 718 first-time, full-time, first-year students at a highly selective private research university found that active learning exerts statistically reliable…

A study with 652 community college students investigated whether the relationship between intention to stay in or transfer from the institution and departure is moderated by semester grade point average, commitment, and encouragement to stay. Results show the interaction effects of intention by commitment, and intention by encouragement to stay,…