Surveys of the attitudes and intentions of 155 Australian agricultural students at the beginning and end of their freshman year in college were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results show that constructs in the model--self-efficacy, future orientation, and generic skills self-estimates--were key predictors of student persistence and…

Reviews the college completion/graduation rate thresholds developed by several states and discusses advantages and disadvantages of several statistical approaches, including use of the one standard deviation lower bound method, the logit prediction bound method, the linear regression method, and the logistic regression method. (DB)

Data from 1,243 vocational-technical college freshmen in Taiwan were used to construct a primary persistence model of 8 significant predictors (first-semester grade point average, gender, entrance examination, major, social integration, gym grade, occupational guidance, parent education, academic remediation); a secondary model added…

The dilemma of student motivation at regional university sites needs to be examined to expose peculiarities in regional areas that impact on the future sustainability of tertiary education programs in those areas. The focus of this phenomenographic study was the persistence and performance of 11 first year university students. Interviews with…

Administrative data from North Carolina are used to explore the extent to which that state's relatively sophisticated school-based accountability system has exacerbated the challenges that schools serving low-performing students face in retaining and attracting high-quality teachers. Most clear are the adverse effects on retention rates, and hence…

Utilizing data from the national administration of a Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) baseline and follow-up survey of the first-year experience during the 2002-2003 academic year, this study explores the relationship between three curricular interventions--first-year seminars, service-learning, and learning communities--and the…

Student violations of behavior norms affect the learning of others, the teaching of the instructor, and the atmosphere of the classroom.

The present study compares changes in job satisfaction and career commitment among Alzheimer's care staff participating in a two-phase, state-level training collaborative to improve dementia care. Results reveal an increase in extrinsic job satisfaction and a decrease in career commitment. Findings could be related to the effects of both the…

The importance of connections with peers to student development and retention has been highlighted in Astin's (1984) "Theory of Student Involvement" and Tinto's (1993) "Theory of Student Departure," which are two of the most widely referenced and validated models in student affairs literature. However, recent research has questioned the…

Students today are different from their counterparts of three and four decades ago. Women have outnumbered men for more than 15 years, and the participation rates for members of historically underrepresented groups have made impressive gains. Many of these "new" students are the first in their families to attend college. It is important that these…

Recent literature on faculty departure from community colleges has focused primarily on faculty retirement. Less research has been conducted on turnover related to stress and faculty burnout, particularly at the community college level. In order to shed some light on this subject, the citations in this annotated bibliography focus on the…

This study identified pre-entry variables related to course completion and noncompletion in university online distance education courses. Four hundred and sixty-four students who were enrolled in online distance education courses participated in the study. Discriminant analysis revealed six pre-entry variables were related to retention, including…

This article offers an exploration of the Asian Pacific American (APA) ethnic groups that show high rates of departure, and presents strategies and approaches to improving their persistence and graduation rates. A detailed examination of the APA population is presented to identify the subgroups that are underrepresented in higher education and who…

This paper explores the links between socio-economic disadvantage, non-completion in higher education and preparation initiatives. It does this through investigating the effectiveness of the Top-Up Programme, a preparation course for 17 and 18 year olds from schools that have low participation rates in higher education. The University of Glasgow,…

The concept of fitting in at a particular college has been linked to student persistence. Studies have identified habitus and cultural capital, psychosocial factors associated with a student's fit at a particular institution. This study examined the dimensions of precollege psychosocial factors, determined the extent to which those factors were…