Data from a National Collegiate Athletic Association survey indicate trends in graduation rates, length of time in school, and student financial aid for men, women, minority groups, and all colleges students. Graduation rates at 298 Division I institutions for all students and for men and women athletes are presented. (MSE)

The degree to which teachers' sense of efficacy and other hypothesized influences on commitment to teaching predicts responses to the question of whether they would enter teaching again was studied for 170 elementary school teachers. General and personal efficacy were the two strongest predictors of commitment to teaching. (SLD)

A study at a State University of New York community college investigated the effectiveness of an admissions/counseling process. Results suggest the program promoted more positive student attitudes toward the institution after two semesters, slightly higher grades, and significantly higher retention, with the results particularly apparent over…

A discussion of the transition from high school to college outlines three principles of program planning for this group: helping first-year students see college as the beginning of a discovery process; exposing them to intellectual issues and experiences; and helping them accept responsibility for their own future. (MSE)

A study at a small liberal arts college found grades earned in a required, interdisciplinary freshman year seminar (FYS) were better predictors of academic achievement and persistence than high school rank, Scholastic Assessment Test scores. FYS grades were found a useful substitute for cognitive and noncognitive variables that correlate with…

Discusses what has been learned about students in college learning communities, and their progress and problems in the programs. Addresses topics including student attitudes and characteristics, retention, achievement, intellectual development, what students value about the communities, developmental changes occurring during the program, and life…

A study of the effects of tuition discounting practices on European-American and African-American college students (n=42,793) found that differences in student price response to tuition helps explain differences in persistence rates in the two groups. African Americans were found to be substantially more responsive to tuition than were European…

Describes a research project that investigated: why preservice teachers in the United Kingdom withdrew from initial teacher training; how those reasons correlated with the views of schools where students completed student teaching; and measures administrators could take to reduce withdrawal rates (e.g., focus on how to change the interview process…

Equalizing college opportunities for the poor requires more fundamental, complementary strategies than just improving financial aid. There appear to be huge and growing disparities in the capacity of elementary/secondary school systems to prepare youth for the world beyond high school. Colleges cannot redress these inequities alone but must…

Preparation for rural medical practice is adequate in the areas of clinical knowledge and procedural skills, but to increase the retention of rural physicians, more curricular emphasis is needed in the areas of sensitivity to rural social issues, counseling, networking, and fostering self-confidence to function effectively in an environment with…

This study of 92 special educators and related service providers evaluated two interventions (a series of stress management workshops and a peer-collaboration program) on factors correlated with turnover (burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). The interventions showed promise as a means of providing on-the-job support for…

Examined the influence of faculty active-learning practices on student departure decisions in the context of Tinto's Theory of College Student Departure. Path analysis results of three surveys of 718 first-time, full-time, first-year students at a highly selective private research university found that active learning exerts statistically reliable…

Examines individual and household characteristics that affect the probability of a boy or girl attending and completing primary school in two regions of Ethiopia. Finds that school attendance was related to household wealth, parents' education, and child's nutritional status, while completion was affected more by economic constraints and, for…

Builds on the assumption that colleges and universities are organizations and subsequently that the organizational perspective provides important insights for improving retention on campuses. A review of existing organizational studies of undergraduate persistence serves as the basis for ten empirically-based recommendations for practice that are…

Examines five shibboleths (common ideas) about the relationship between campus culture and student persistence. Describes a six-step approach for using the peer group and classroom as key elements in cultivating a success-oriented institutional culture. (Author/EV)