To appeal to a larger student base, institutions have utilized current online technologies to provide courses to those students who would not otherwise be served. Unfortunately, the online learning experience has not been a positive one for a substantial portion of participating students. Thus, a key issue for postsecondary institutions is that of…

In July 1988, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) initiated the Systematic Assessment of Leavers (SAL), a 2-year, 2-phase research activity to develop and implement a monitoring process to identify the personal, demographic, institutional, and environmental factors associated with leaving the college. The target populations of the study were…

Drawing from a review of the literature, input from experts on student retention, and the opinions of educators throughout Alabama, this manual provides guidelines for conducting institutional research on retention, implementing programs to enhance the quality of the educational experiences of two-year college students in the state, and developing…

This document describes a study of 5,000 minority undergraduate students whose SAT mathematics scores were 550 and above. Background information, high school program, college experience, and the results of two questionnaires were analyzed. Other information was drawn from a national longitudinal database, High School and Beyond (HS&B). Results…

This paper describes the conceptual model of retention used as the framework for research on institutional effectiveness at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). First, an overview of the literature on student attrition is presented, followed by a specific review of research based on Tinto's model of student attrition. This model maintains…

In 1986, the Keep Youth in School Project, a joint venture of the Catholic University of America, the Family and Child Services of Washington, D.C., the District of Columbia Department of Human Services, and the Marriott Corporation, began a 3-year research and demonstration program to develop a practice model for helping minority foster children…

This paper explores the lack of vitality among community college mid-career faculty, arguing that this may be an even more severe problem at two-year colleges than at four-year institutions. Emphasis is placed on the role of community colleges and the institutional changes required to revitalize mid-career faculty. The problem of faculty vitality…

This newsletter reports research findings from 31 rural New York school districts on teacher recruitment and retention. Of 31 superintendents interviewed in September 1987, 55% reported rising elementary enrollment; 61% had difficulty filling positions; 84% had too few applicants; and 68% reported a scarcity of appropriately certified applicants.…

A study explored the policy process that led to the development and implementation of the Virginia Student Retention Program (VSRP--a program to facilite minority student recruitment and retention projects at Virginia colleges and universities), and examined perceived institutional impacts. The study attempted to determine whether the VSRP and the…

This guide to improving student persistence is the first part of a four-part series addressing the essential characteristics of effective instruction that have a positive impact on the academic achievement of Black and Hispanic students. Persistence is learned behavior, and lower-class students are more likely than middle-class students to observe…

In 1980, a study was conducted to determine the student dropout rate at the University of South Carolina at Lancaster and the characteristics of typical dropout students. Data were obtained for 99% of the 736 students enrolled during fall 1980 with respect to variables including race, sex, marital status, age, major, day/evening schedule,…

A meta-analysis of studies that have explored the effect of financial aid to undergraduates on persistence was undertaken. In addition to identifying such studies, research objectives were: to determine the magnitude of the effect of financial aid on student persistence in each study; and to compare the financial aid effect sizes in relation to…

The Utvardering genom uppfoljning (UGU) project was initiated in Sweden to follow individual students throughout their school career to understand their experiences and learnings during that time. Approximately 18,600 students from grades six and three comprised the survey population. This newsletter serves as an interim report highlighting key…

A bibliography of research on student attrition is presented. The 175 references, most of which are dated 1970 or later, are categorized under the following headings: research design, models of the attrition process, some historical perspectives, recent reviews of research--performance variables, empirical studies for 1970-1987, and intervention…

A study was conducted to compare the attrition rates at Vancouver Community College (VCC) with those of other British Columbia two-year institutions; to determine the effects of factors such as program duration and employment outlook on attrition; and to identify ways of minimizing the negative effects of attrition. Outcomes factors were…