For this study we identified factors exerting significant influence on homesickness and explored the impact of the homesick experience on students' academic performance and retention in the first year in college. The findings reveal 2 constructs underlying the homesickness scale: homesick separation and homesick distress. Demographic variables…

Using 1,400 survey responses collected from two large urban community college systems in Texas, this study examined how students' financial habits, stress, and well-being influenced their enrollment behaviors. Working students, compared to their nonworking peers, reported significantly lower levels of overall financial well-being. After…

The authors advocate that community colleges have a wealth of data that are currently used for multiple purposes, with significant potential for understanding student success if coded, defined, and subjected to analysis. In the pages that follow, we discuss the research methodology of transcript analysis, and the benefits and usefulness of…

Examines Hawaiian students' persistence at the four community colleges on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Finds that cumulative grade point average, financial aid, and average credit hours were significant for both liberal arts and vocational-technical majors whereas reverse transfer and attending an urban high school were significant for liberal arts…

Attempts to address the dearth of research on Asian and Pacific-Islander community college students by exploring the predictors of persistence and retention, and the course taking patterns of Asian Pacific American students enrolled in urban community colleges. This correlational study utilized data collected for the Transfer and Retention of…

Examines a sample of 15 courses in relation to four variables of student characteristics: gender, ethnicity, age, and full- or part-time status. Presents findings from the transcript analyses of 6,196 first-semester students from nine urban colleges, which reveal the strongest relations between curriculum and ethnicity. (Contains seven tables and…

Perhaps the two most vexing measurement issues in higher education research are how to obtain true transfer rates from community colleges to four-year universities and the correct formula for the measure of college student retention, regardless of institutional type. All colleges and universities are required to submit retention figures to federal…

This study, conducted at an urban research university, attempted to identify those conditions valuable in recruiting and subsequently retaining older (over 35 years of age) female doctoral students. The study used data from a Spring 1991 survey of all graduate students which solicited information about experiences, accomplishments, and growth…

One of the goals of the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS) project was to understand how the community college fulfills its multiple missions. This article uses qualitative data collected through a series of focus groups with students, faculty and administrators held at the nine Los Angeles campuses during the Fall…

A study of 81 female graduate students over age 30 at a large urban research university investigated their experiences, problems, and demographics. Results indicate that variables important to persistence are marital status, quality of student/student and student/faculty interactions, and grade point average. Policy implications and possible…

This chapter uses data from the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students project to provide evidence of success among racially diverse students in the Los Angeles Community College District. Through interviews with student services personnel, it also describes the specific efforts that may be responsible for this success. In…