Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…

There is no need for costly new state or federal dropout prevention programs because 87.1 percent of youth now complete a high school education by age 24, nearly achieving President George Bush's goal of a 90 percent graduation rate by the year 2000. Calculations of high national and urban dropout rates based on the number of students who do not…

Although concern about adolescent drug use has grown over the past two decades, strategies for controlling use have not kept pace. Project ALERT (Adolescent Learning Experiences in Resistance Training), a school-based program, specifically targets cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, the so-called gateway drugs. It is based on the social influence…

In October 1985, the Board of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) adopted a goal and extablished a plan to reduce child abuse 20 percent by 1990. With data collected through March 1990, this document reports progress made toward realizing objectives articulated in the NCPCA's 5-year plan. After an overview in Section…

Among 17 conclusions and recommendations of a study on current policies and procedures related to campus safety at Florida institutions of higher education are the following: (1) there is a need for an expanded definition or additional category of crime for recording incidents involving students, either as victims or perpetrators, that occur in…

A study examined the role higher education institutions play through their educational strategy in supporting student retention. Educational strategy was defined as patterns of institutional practices designed to support undergraduate education, and the question posed was: Do the practices a college implements at the institutional level to support…

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), in its efforts to improve the economy and quality of life in the Appalachian Region, has identified high school dropouts as a major stumbling block to the area's economic growth. Findings of ARC-sponsored research on dropouts include the following: (1) high school dropouts are a serious problem in…

A policy statement on substance abuse for Virginia higher education is presented by the Council of Higher Education in cooperation with colleges. Colleges and universities are advised to reexamine current policies for dealing with possession, use, manufacture, and distribution of illegal drugs on campus. Colleges should also review policies and…

The members of this task force adopted a broad approach to readiness so that issues relating to at-risk children and youth between the preschool years and graduation might be addressed. Two papers are presented: (1) "Readiness for the New Educational Standards" (Jean G. McDonald); and (2) "State Policy for At-Risk Children:…

In 1984 the Edgewood and South San Antonio Independent School Districts implemented the Valued Youth Partnership Program (VYP). VYP identifies Hispanic junior high and high school students at high risk of dropping out and gives them an opportunity to serve as tutors of younger children. As they tutor, the older students also learn basic skills,…

This booklet provides information about the Valued Youth Partnership (VYP) program for dropout prevention. Begun in 1984 with the support of the Coca-Cola Company and the collaboration of the Intercultural Development Research Association, the VYP program is being implemented in the Edgewood and South San Antonio school districts in San Antonio,…

In the autumn of 1983, a study was conducted of the needs of county public health unit (CPHU) nurses in Florida for additional training in health education. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to 136 persons, with a return rate of 68 percent. Most of the respondents were white female registered nurses with a mean age of 44 years, who were…

Teenage pregnancy has become a major public health problem in the United States. A study was conducted to assess an intervention based upon computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to avert teenage pregnancy. Social learning and decision theory were applied to mediate the adolescent environment through CAI so that adolescent development would be…

To generate information about the association between child care and child abuse prevention and identification, a statewide survey was made of a sample of program directors in child care centers, program coordinators in alternative payment programs, and directors of family child care satellite programs in California. Detailing the background,…

Of the 6,076 students enrolled at Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC) in fall 1985, 2,389 (39.3%) were "leavers," i.e., they did not graduate and they did not return in winter 1986. Because new students made up 33.8% of the total fall headcount, but accounted for 41.7% of the leavers, a study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of…