Success for 4-year universities is often measured by graduation and retention rates; however, gaps exist in understanding nonreturning students at private institutions. Recent research is helping to build the lexicon of drop-outs, stop-outs, opt-outs, and transfer-outs to inform strategic retention initiatives. Using an action research method, we…

High attrition rates in doctoral programs have long plagued the field of higher education. Over the past half century, approximately half of all students who enroll in doctoral program at North American institutions fail to earn their degree (Lovitts, 2001; OECD, 2020; Schneider & Yin, 2011; Sverdlik et al., 2018). The purpose of this study…

This study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latina/e/o/x first-year students' experiences at a public California State University and their decision to leave college between their first and second year, and how student support services professionals interpreted the role of the pandemic on their work with students and their…

A recent increased focus is being placed on college completion agendas, yet there is limited research on senior attrition. Examining why students leave school when they are so close to being done and what motivated them to return when they did, this exploratory case study analyzes several data sets at one public university where a degree…

This qualitative study aims to provide insight into why teacher candidates, interested in pursuing K-12 teaching, made the decision to leave their traditional teacher preparation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers utilized sociocultural theory as the framework to ground the research. The study finds the educational disruption…

The increased usage of computer-based learning platforms and online tools in classrooms presents new opportunities to not only study the underlying constructs involved in the learning process, but also use this information to identify and aid struggling students. Many learning platforms, particularly those driving or supplementing instruction, are…

Student veterans face many challenges when transitioning to college. This two-phase study first examined their retention and persistence through the use of archival data at one Midwestern public university. Results indicated a 50% graduation rate, comparable to the national average and above that for nonveterans at the same university. The second,…

Along with the massification of higher education and increasing costs, the pressure on institutions to retain all students to degree completion has been mounting. Early identification of students who are at risk of leaving an institution may help institutions to target and retain these students. This study investigated whether freshmen behaviors,…

Back-and-forth enrollment at different institutions--student swirl--and concurrent enrollment at two or more institutions--double-dipping--have become common experiences for students in the United States. However, empirical studies explaining student mobility are rather rare. This study examines how student departures from and returns to a single…

Studies of college attrition typically assume that all attrition is permanent. We use data from the 1990/94 Beginning Postsecondary Survey to distinguish between long-term dropout and short-term stopout behavior in order to test that assumption. We find significant differences between those who stop out and those who drop out in the first year.…

Existing research demonstrates a strong relationship between the prevalence of irregular enrollment patterns among community college students and their low rates of degree attainment (Adelman 2006; Bahr 2009; Berkner et al. 2000; Goldrick-Rab 2004, 2007; Horn and Nevill 2006). However, very little is known about the features and processes that…

This study reports how an institutional research office at a large public research university has taken the lead to call attention to retention problems, describe attrition/retention predictors, and influence policy. Building on existing retention theories and previous institutional research studies, the institutional research office began…

Studies of 1-year retention commonly use a binary outcome (retained after 1 year, yes/no) as the dependent variable. This paper examines the use of alternate specifications of 1-year retention that include information about spring semester stopout behavior. Different types of discrete choice models are first described, Next, the multinomial logit…

One particular campus of the California State University system is a comprehensive metropolitan university located in the center of California's agricultural heartland. This campus is one of many universities incorporating approaches to better address the needs of their students. Throughout the article the campus will be identified as the…

The methods and formula developed by the National Center for Education Statistics for the collection of dropout counts and the formula have been topics of some discussion among various states, including Nevada, and especially Arizona. This paper highlights, from a state's perspective, some of the conceptual, methodological, and statistical…