This sourcebook describes methods of dealing with dropouts in Oregon school districts. "At-risk youth" and "dropout" are defined and survey results of 98 percent of superintendents concerning program offerings are summarized. Data suggest that medium-size districts require greatest assistance. Despite increases in single-parent…

In June 1990, a statewide telephone survey was conducted of 1,200 former full- and part-time Michigan community college students who had not returned for classes in fall 1989. The 29 colleges were classified as urban, suburban, and regional institutions, and a total of 200 former full-time and 200 former part-time students were contacted from each…

The New Zealand Technical Correspondence Institute studied the internal and external factors influencing adult students enrolled in a tertiary-level distance education management course to abandon their studies. A literature review afforded definitions of: (1) distance education; (2) educational technology; and (3) drop out. Although research has…

Data on enrollment trends and student characteristics in the Los Rios Community College District (LRCCD) are presented, along with an examination of the possible effects of the imposition of tuition in fall 1984. Following introductory comments on data collection and analysis, information is presented on district enrollment; day/evening…

Reasons for the lack of agreement among studies of persistence are considered, using a simplified causal model. Two major theoretical perspectives used in studying the educational careers of college entrants are summarized: (1) the Tinto or institutional persistence theory, which draws mainly on the discipline of education and applied…

Drawing from a review of the literature on issues related to student retention and attrition, and research on student attitudes toward the Community College of Denver (CCD), this report suggests four models for student retention programs for different two-year college student groups. Following introductory material on the project, a literature…

An evaluation of the Nuclear Skill Related Training Program at Memphis State University was conducted to identify possible motivational and attitudinal variables that may contribute to the retention-attrition rates of Job Corps students (40 percent) admitted to the program compared to non-Job Corps students who are migrant workers (2 percent). The…

Conceptual models developed from dropout research on traditional, residential college students were applied to the study of nontraditional students (older, mostly minority women on welfare) enrolled in a postsecondary, nondegree program (the federal Work Incentive Program). Factors that differentiate persisters from those who withdraw were…

During 1978-79, the third year of the three-district Cooperative Project in American Indian Development, three of six objectives were met and three partially fulfilled. On a $58,425 budget, planners successfully increased Indian parents' involvement in the project and conducted two pilot studies. The first, to research the dropout rate of Saginaw…

A telephone survey of 1,080 students enrolled in East Los Angeles College (ELAC) during the Fall 1977 semester, but not subsequently enrolled in the Spring 1978 semester, was conducted to determine the students' current activities and to ascertain their characteristics and opinions concerning ELAC. The former students, representing 10% of the Fall…

Student retention and attrition patterns of entering freshmen at North Carolina State University and a description of transfer student retention and attrition are presented. The status of freshmen entering the college from 1971-1976 is given in terms of: total freshmen, black freshmen, white freshmen, freshmen females, freshmen males, graduation…

To determine the factors that have contributed to persistence in successful Native American students, this study investigated student expectations, life experiences on campus, perceptions of support and lack of support for cultural identity, difficulties encountered, perceptions of how the Native American's college experience differs from that of…

A study explored behavioral factors to explain why non-completions were higher among trainees than apprentices. A survey of 797 apprentices and trainees who did not complete training and 462 of their employers was followed by focus groups with new apprentices, employers, and training providers. Findings indicated most new apprentices commenced…

This study investigated whether the one-year retention rate for the cohort of full-time, baccalaureate-degree-seeking, first-time freshmen could be predicted from institutional and aggregate cohort characteristics, including institutional type and control, institutional size, cohort size, average entrance exam score, percentage of part-time…

The school lives of culturally diverse young adolescents identified as potential dropouts were studied ethnographically. Data collected across two years indicated that teachers who students considered most successful in helping them learn used practices based on knowledge about students' home cultures and knowledge about the impact of students'…