Based on a previous report comparing commuter and resident freshmen at the University of Maryland, College Park, the analysis of the similarities and differences of commuter and resident students is extended in the students' third year of college. Dependent commuters (defined as living at home or with other relatives) were compared to students…

This practice-application digest addresses what vocational education can do to reduce the almost 30 percent dropout rate among U.S. students. The first section describes factors that place students at risk, focusing on factors included in the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's definition of the term "at-risk." In the next…

Studies of student persistence in higher education often concentrate on members of ethnic minority groups who fail to persist. A study was conducted concentrating on the successes of persisting students and representing a preliminary effort to develop a model of student competency. The population consisted of 70 new first-time full-time Native…

The effects of economic and non-economic variables on college persistence are examined. An attempt is made to draw upon both economic theory and Tinto's Student Integration Theory in order to enhance the understanding of the role of finances on the process of persistence. The direct and indirect effects of ability to pay on persistence in the…

The Personal Learning Plan project described in this report was developed as a way to supplement the advising system at Rhode Island College by giving students a written document of their academic progress throughout their college careers. The overall purpose is to improve retention by advising students on the best way for them to be successful in…

This study explored the moderating effects of academic self-efficacy beliefs on the relationship of scholastic aptitude to academic performance (grade point average) and academic persistence (retention). Subjects, 105 students enrolled in a career planning course for science and engineering majors, were administered two measures of self-efficacy…

A study of attrition after the first year of college was conducted with the 1984 entry class (N=233) of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). A path-analytic model of nine factors affecting student persistence was tested. The nine factors were: cumulative grade point average, a composite academic performance index, ability in oral…

A 1983 survey of graduates with bachelor's degrees in education from the University of Lethbridge in Canada indicated that almost 3 in 10 had left or never entered the teaching profession. This pilot study examined test and questionnaire response data for 177 former students out of 1,809 who had received a B.Ed. degree since 1972. Of these…

A study examined the career and professional development activities of postsecondary and adult vocational teachers without degrees in education during their first five years in vocational education. Data were gathered five years after course completion from people who enrolled in a course required for licensure as vocational teachers. The primary…

Predictive models of persistence and success in baccalaureate engineering programs were developed by analyzing five intellective and nine nonintellective variables. The 1984 entering freshman class in the College of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University was studied. Usable data were obtained from 1,044 students, or 65% of the…

The central issues and processes of recruiting and retaining college faculty are examined in the context of managing human resources and the principles of fair employment. Although attention is focused on the needs of department or division heads, the analysis may be helpful to administrations with responsibility for recruiting faculty. The…

Recruiting and retaining qualified, competent teachers is an ongoing problem for small school administrators. The reasons for high turnover are numerous and complex, e.g., preservice preparation is presently more suitable for large, metropolitan schools than for small, rural schools; career orientations fail to recognize that experience in small…

The Swedish National Board of Education studied 7,095 youth (mostly immigrants) who were in grade 9 of compulsory school in 1978-79 and who spoke a language other than Swedish at home. The part of the study reported on here focused on the concern that young immigrants leaving compulsory school tend less frequently than Swedish pupils to go on to…

Faculty from 16 food service and hotel technology programs in New York two-year colleges were surveyed to determine the components of faculty decisions concerning participation in professional improvement activities aimed at updating knowledge, to explore the function and relationship of the components of a composite expectancy model which…

One question has dominated the research on televised instruction for many years: how well does it compare to on-campus, face-to-face instruction? The overall results of such studies show that broadcast instruction works; either no difference is found in comparative studies or televised course students are found to have a higher achievement rate…