Describes the Improving Access Through Technology (IATT) project conducted by the Florida Postsecondary Planning Commission which attempts to use technology to increase student access to courses, thereby decreasing time to degree. Identifies student difficulty with math and science courses as a primary cause of lengthening time to degree. (JDI)

An institutional model to measure effect of student financial aid on matriculation and persistence was found to be both workable and potentially useful for college planning. It examines first-time attendance, within-year persistence, and year-to-year persistence of the entering class at an urban, public university, factoring in student background,…

This study examined why Australian high school students decided to continue or discontinue their schooling, using a comprehensive theoretical model to examine the issue. Three surveys of 817 tenth-grade students over a 13-month period indicated that the theoretical model adequately and appropriately explained and predicted students' persistence…

An approach to fiscal accountability used at Emporia State University (Kansas) demonstrates how a student academic advising center can improve fiscal stability by increasing retention and graduation rates, thereby increasing enrollment-based appropriations. The method links retention and graduation figures and trends for each year and trends in…

Five studies examined personal continuity among Native and non-Native North American adolescents. Demonstrated that reasoning about personal persistence proceeds in an orderly and increasingly sophisticated manner over identity development. Failures to warrant self-continuity were strongly associated with increased suicide risk. Efforts to…

Teacher supply and recruitment, teacher pay and working conditions, institutional structures, and policy contexts are compared for England and Scotland. In Scotland, the fundamental approach to teacher employment and retention is based on rewarding teachers and improving conditions. The exaggerated centralization of English education policy, with…

Ten secondary teachers, enrolled in an induction program, participated in a year-long study to identify characteristics that can be viewed as important predictors of those teachers who will succeed and those who will not. Findings suggest that intellectual/academic achievement alone is not a sufficient primary predictor of teacher success. (IAH)

Reviews recent research on retention and achievement among Hispanic community college students, focusing on influences on persistence, transfer rates, and financial aid. Identifies needs for additional research, curricular reforms, and retention programs stressing counseling and advisement to promote the development of clear, concrete and…

Proposes a model of the vocational aspiration process and applies it to a national sample of Black high school seniors. Overall results highlight the importance of ability, educational plans, and family influence in determining the long-term commitment of Blacks to the pursuit of professional careers. (FMW)

A study (n=510) investigated students' cognitive and noncognitive variables predicting success and persistence in an undergraduate engineering program. Students performing well in science and mathematics and genuinely interested in engineering were more likely to persist and succeed. Predictor variables changed over the students' first two years.…

Describes a study to discover whether socioeconomic status, race, and gender taken independently and in combination were related to community college students being "cooled out" (i.e., ultimately graduating with a terminal degree after enrolling in a transfer degree program) after controlling for academic ability and age. Finds Clark's…

A study investigated the influence of a precollege seminar for high school seniors on freshmen's anticipatory socialization, grade point averages, persistence, and overall adjustment to college. Results suggest that such a course may be useful in easing the transition to college. Improved college-high school collaboration was a byproduct of the…

The 1987 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study was used to compare four alternative approaches for assessing the influence of price subsidies on within-year persistence by graduate students. Conclusions include tuition charge has a substantial negative influence on persistence; and comprehensive packages (grants, loans, plus assistantships)…

Sixty-two college students with learning disabilities were compared to 58 peers matched on gender and American College Testing composite score. Groups were compared on age, high school preparation and performance, college grades, grade point average at the end of each year of study, graduation and academic failure rate, and time taken to complete…

Discusses issues of equity, access, and retention for African Americans in higher education. African Americans continue to be underrepresented in higher level positions largely because they are underrepresented in higher education for economic and social reasons that an increasingly multiracial society may not be able to tolerate. (SLD)