With the implementation of an open admissions policy in 1970-71, Bronx Community College undertook a study of students entering in the fall of 1970 to determine changes in levels of academic preparation, trends in attrition and retention for students differentially prepared for college work, identification of entry variables associated with…

Phase III, the development and testing of experimental programs to reduce the rate of student attrition, of the Northern California Cooperative Research Project (NORCAL) on Student Attrition is reported upon. Phase I of the program was the description and identification of characteristics associated with attrition among Junior College students…

In this report are described some current programs aimed at dropout prevention. The report focuses on programs that appear to be yielding results and that lend themselves to adaptation by other schools. The discussion comprises (1) new approaches to dropout prevention, (2) student motivation projects, (3) work-study projects, (4) schooling for…

A questionnaire was sent to 2,045 students who had entered Hawaii community colleges in fall 1975, continued their enrollment in spring 1976, but who did not enroll in fall 1976 for a third semester. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain data on reasons for non-continuance, to obtain information on the fall 1976 activities of…

Lack of money may not be the major factor in student dropout rates. Some studies indicate that attrition rates are more affected by learner attitudes and goals and a good "fit" between student and institution. Current theories about student retention and attrition are reviewed. (Editor/LBH)

A study is discussed that examined the role of student aid, gender, ethnic status, academic performance in high school, and age on attrition rates, showing how each of these variables affects attrition rates during each of the 3 successive years of undergraduate education. (MLW)

Describes a survey of 356 adult students enrolled in university-level courses at the Open Learning Institute which was conducted to assess the predictive validity of Tinto's theoretical model of student dropout. It was found that, overall, the Tinto model appears to be a useful framework for such investigations. (Author/LRW)

A longitudinal study of factors influencing the long-term academic persistence of 825 students beginning their postsecondary education in two-year colleges supports the importance of person-environment fit in persistence. Measures of academic and social integration most consistently correlated positively with persistence, while student precollege…

A model of institutional attrition was tested by comparing undergraduate dropouts and continuing students at Washington State University based on the constructs of individual attributes, past educational experience, goal commitment, institutional commitment, social integration, and academic integration. (MSE)

Studies investigating academic persistence compose one of the most widely reported areas of research in higher education. Tinto is most often cited in and associated with student persistence research. This paper details the origins of Tinto's theories, as well as subsequent criticisms and reformulations of those fundamental theories. The origins…

This is a study of the dropout rate during the 1998-99 academic year at Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST). A total of 1,025 of 7,174 students (14%) withdrew from their program of study before the end of the year. This report categorizes the reasons for leaving as follows: (1) exited by institute; (2) personal…

A study examined the issues and experiences of 89 women teachers, head teachers, and girls in and out of school in two contrasting Ghanaian cultural contexts. Data were collected via life history interviews, analyzed, and presented around three domains: culture of the home; relationship between culture and the economy, and culture of the school.…

This report offers data on 1999 high school dropout rates and includes time series data on high school dropout and completion rates for 1972-99. Besides extending time series data from earlier years, it examines characteristics of 1999 high school dropouts and high school completers. It begins by investigating event and status dropout rates: types…

The School District of the City of Saginaw (Michigan) has annually reported on the rate and nature of the dropout population; this dropout report is the eleventh edition of the state defined generation of dropout reports. One hundred and fourteen, or 5% of Saginaw's 2,292 students in grades 9-12, terminated their high school education between…

This study compared characteristics of students who persisted in undergraduate study and those who dropped out when matched on high school performance and Scholastic Assessment Test scores. Subjects were 747 full-time students at a major research university who entered in fall 1996 but did not return for fall 1997 (leavers) and a matched sample of…