A study was conducted at Shelby State Community College (SSCC) in Tennessee to determine the extent, causes, and solutions to the problem of student retention. The study involved: (1) a comparative analysis of headcounts to assess the extent of the dropout problem, which indicated that enrollments declined sharply from 5,289 in 1983 to 3,399 in…

Increasing dropout rates, marked decline in college preparatory enrollment, and reports of students' growing dissatisfaction with school prompted this exploration of the dimensions underlying teaching and the ways that microeconomics might positively influence teaching effectiveness. The literature review supports 10 advantages offered by student…

Minimum competency testing in American schools was examined for its effects on low-achieving high school students. Interviews with educators and results of a survey of more than 700 high school students were used. In the view of many educators, minimum competency tests were so rudimentary as to not be much of a barrier to completing school. Most…

Ten institutional research reports from Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) are presented in this collection. Three of the reports examine the educational objectives of students enrolled in fall 1987, spring 1988, and summer 1988. Two reports compare fall 1987 and spring 1988 students with those from previous semesters in terms of gender, age,…

A study was conducted in the Marin Community Colleges to determine whether direct mail and telephone contacts with college dropouts would be perceived as demonstrating a caring attitude on the part of faculty and staff, and positively influence their rate of return. The study measured the rate of return of four groups of students who were enrolled…

This book presents information about programs in Oregon that are successful in serving disadvantaged youths. Fifty-eight model programs are included in this directory and are categorized under the headings of: (1) early childhood intervention; (2) early childhood education/support; (3) teen parents; (4) juvenile justice; (5) dropout prevention;…

This paper is the third in an Education Commission of the States (ECS) series focusing on the problems of youth at risk of not successfully making the transition to adulthood. The topic of this paper is the use of both existing and new information to understand the magnitude, scope, and future of students who are educationally at risk. The first…

Enrollment management attempts to coordinate and monitor the programs and policies that influence college enrollment. A model is proposed that is designed to guide a comprehensive research framework that will inform enrollment management decisionmaking by including both student recruitment and retention as contributors to a common database. The…

The report of the National Longitudinal Transition Study presents initial findings on characteristics of school dropouts since 1985-86 among more than 8,000 youth (ages 13 to 23) with disabilities. The report also addresses characteristics of schools or programs that may affect the decision to drop out among disabled youth. The first section…

A survey conducted in May and June of 1987 sought the opinions of parents and teachers on how they view one another's role and performance in the education of children. The survey also measured the extent to which they were in agreement or disagreement about ways to strengthen home-school links. The resulting data are based on interviews with…

Three institutions effected agreements enabling students in all of the institutions to enroll in the same course, a six-credit introductory psychology course. The three institutions--Athabasca University (AU), The Open Learning Institute (OLI), and North Island College (NIC)--were distance education institutions with open admissions policies which…

In response to concern that some community college students were being denied access to courses because others had enrolled in more courses than they really intended to maintain, the California community college finance bill of 1983 mandated that the colleges charge students a $10 fee for each course dropped after the second week of the term (not…

Data from recently published analyses of past youth training efforts, together with demonstration programs for dropouts just getting underway, provide some clear indications of directions that must be taken to effectively treat the needs of seriously-at-risk youth. Furthermore, data on trends in youth unemployment among dropouts show that…

In spring 1984, a study was conducted of all students who first entered Howard Community College (HCC) in fall 1982, including those students who were still enrolled three semesters after initial entry (N=354) and those who were no longer enrolled (N=1,045). Two survey instruments were developed and distributed, soliciting information about…