To examine the impact of administrators' opinions on teacher quitting behavior, this document constructs a model using seven categories: (1) "actor traits," a teacher's personal characteristics; (2) "building characteristics," aspects of the work setting; (3) "investments/options," commitment factors such as years on the job and translatability of…

Information is presented on a study designed to learn how successful Mexican American students surmount the factors contributing to Mexican American student attrition at the University of Arizona. The subjects were from the 1985 entering freshman class. Intensive interviews were conducted with each student, and content analysis of the interviews…

Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians remain less likely to graduate from college than other Americans. This persistent and serious problem is solvable if concerned institutions use a comprehensive approach, implementing 10 principles in order to successfully remove race and ethnicity as factors in college completion. The principles listed are…

Ferris State University's (FSU's) Collegiate Skills Program assists academically underprepared students in their transition to college. The program was initiatied in fall 1985 in response to increasing numbers of entering freshmen with inadequate reading and writing skills and subsequent high rates of attrition. Focusing initially on students with…

A study tested a conceptual model of attrition, the Tinto (1975) model, on a group of General Educational Development (GED) examinees and on a comparison group of traditional high school graduates from a single public community college. The sample consisted of 198 GED students and 201 traditional high school graduates who entered Queensborough…

Trends in student characteristics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, are reported for day students. In most cases fall 1986 data are compared with historical data from fall 1981. Data and brief narrative analysis are provided on: headcount enrollments for fall quarters by collegiate unit, level, and registration status, 1977-1986;…

Predictors of attrition from the nursing profession among graduates of an associate degree nursing program at Lakeland Community College, Ohio, were investigated during 1970-1979, based on an earlier study that identified predictors of attrition from the degree program. Two groups were evaluated: 91 nursing graduates for whom both file record and…

The academic persistence of undergraduate students at Arizona State University was studied. Demographic and academic profiles were developed, and persistence rates were calculated for the overall population of 3,166 freshmen, and by gender and ethnicity. Additional demographic variables were residency status and age. The academic variables…

Two recent studies proved the usefulness of predictors of academic performance and conceptual models that were developed primarily from research on traditional college students for the study of retention among nontraditional adult students in conventional postsecondary programs. Some modifications and extensions were suggested. The first study…

This report analyzes the Participation and Equity Program's two objectives of reducing significantly the number of Australian students prematurely leaving full-time education and of fostering more equal education, and discusses strategies for achieving these objectives. Following a statement by the Minister of Education and Youth Affairs and an…

The applicability of Tinto's model of retention for first-year students attending church-related colleges and universities is examined. Data collected from entering freshmen at two Midwestern Seventh-day Adventist colleges were used to replicate studies of Tinto's model done in other settings. Based on Tinto's model, indicators of academic and…

A questionnaire was designed to explore various elements of job satisfaction, multiple employment behavior, and other variables affecting the lives and work of public school teachers in Texas. A final return of 70 percent was received from a randomly selected mailing. Results revealed that one in three teachers was considering leaving teaching. Of…

The graduation rates of the fall semester freshman classes that entered the Indiana University Bloomington (IU) campus between 1970-1977 (excluding 1973) were examined, and the results of a 1975 survey were extended. In addition, the current analysis examines the graduation rate of each class in relation to student race and sex, and new…

Retirement plans of older participants of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) were surveyed. Questionnaires were mailed to a random sample of 2,260 participants aged 59-69, and 1,438 returns served as the base for data analysis. This group was 62 percent male and 38 percent female; 48 percent…

A questionnaire was developed and tested in 1980-81 to determine any differences between University of Saskatchewan students who were required to discontinue their studies and students who successfully completed their first year. A list of factors considered to contribute to student failure was developed, and the format involved a personalized…