A study was conducted at Broward Community College (BCC) to examine the academic achievement of students who scored below or just above college level on placement examinations and who did not take college preparatory classes. Students who entered BCC for the first time in fall 1986 or fall 1987 intending to obtain a degree or certificate were…

Papers from the National Association of State Scholarship and Grant Programs/National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs conference on student aid are presented. They include: (1) "Keynote: Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Student Aid on Access, Choice, and Persistence" (Larry Leslie and Paul Brinkman); (2) "College Choice…

A study was conducted to measure the student outcomes of academic (university transfer) programs and identify the factors related to those outcomes. Six British Columbia (Canada) community colleges participated in the study by surveying 5,770 of their former students. The survey measured four student outcomes, and the analysis tested several…

A study was conducted to investigate the validity of Tinto's model of college withdrawal in a public four-year college and a private two-year institution. The model consists of six sets of variables in a causal sequence; i.e., background characteristics, initial goal and institutional commitment, academic and social integration, subsequent goal…

Several factors associated with academic underachievement and high attrition of minority students are discussed, based on a review of the literature. A significant problem exists in undergraduate and graduate programs with respect to the lack of representation of minority students. The three factors identified as most critical are: (1) self-esteem…

Results of the 1986 Attrition/Retention Survey of the State University of New York are presented. After a brief narrative summary of the findings, extensive data on attrition, retention, and completion are provided for: full-time, first-time students and full-time transfer students at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels; and students in…

Factors that influence satisfaction and retention of nontraditional students in graduate programs of education were studied. The study participants attended a major, midwestern university and consisted of three groups: 10 Hispanic graduate students (26-58 years old); 10 Anglo graduate students (29-43 years old); and graduate faculty teaching the…

This first volume of the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) Student Affirmative Action (SAA) Five-Year Plan provides an overview of the plan and the planning process, lists campus SAA goals and objectives, summarizes campus SAA activities, and describes the research and evaluation components of the plan. Topics include: the historical context…

Characteristics and attendance patterns of persisters and dropouts from college and vocational/technical schools were studied, and a model of the persistence process was tested using data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS), which surveyed high school seniors in 1972, with followup surveys in 1973 and 1974. Student persistence was defined…

The design and development of a computerized student flow model at Eastern Montana College and its use in monitoring student enrollment are considered. In addition, guidelines are presented for adapting a flow model to the dimensions of a particular institution. Particular emphasis is given to reviewing the criteria that researchers should use…

This report describes a 9-month project, conducted in seven states, during which teaching strategies and teacher attitudes which successfully encouraged girls in science were observed, described, and analyzed. Biology, taken by over 80 percent of high school students, was the course selected for observation; if girls are turned off to science in…

Eleven recent reports related to excellence in education were examined, and their implications for vocational education were interpreted. Commonalities and differences among the studies were identified, and a selection of these was developed further with major emphases on teaching and learning. Topics were selected according to their immediacy and…

Results of the 1984 Attrition/Retention Survey of the State University of New York are presented. After a brief narrative summary of the findings, extensive data on attrition, retention, and completion are provided for: full-time, first-time students and full-time transfer students at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels; and students in…

A State Issues Clearinghouse was established by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Combined Task Force on Governmental Relations to monitor and track state activities that impact upon teacher education. This report presents the results of the first survey of the fifty states undertaken by the Clearinghouse. The nine policy…

University retention rates for minority students are low and no significant increase in minority attendance is occurring. Most universities are not open-door, and special admissions policies for blacks have been halved since 1969. Other problems are the lessening of recruitment efforts and differences between blacks' expectations of the university…