A study was conducted at Golden West College in California using data from the state-report management information system files to analyze course completion and course success data from fall 1991, 1992, and 1993. In addition to identifying trends, the study made comparisons among ethnic groups, between males and females, and between persons for…

This paper outlines results of three informal surveys identifying barriers that Native Americans face when trying to complete a college degree. For the first survey, 22 Native American students who had dropped out of Northern Arizona University indicated that family influences and responsibilities, lack of financial resources, campus attitudes…

An overview of Minnesota's Arrowhead Community College Region's (ACCR's) comprehensive student outcomes program is provided in this annual research report, reviewing activities and data for the 1990-91 academic year. First, introductory material discusses the national movement to measure institutional effectiveness, ACCR's efforts to assess both…

A case study was done to understand the possible obstacles to the transfer and retention of community college students who have moved to the university. The study focused on the perceptions of a group of community college transfer students about the transfer process and their new academic world. The students all transferred from a large, public,…

This paper briefly reviews the literature on the common factors in effective college student retention programs, then presents a study assessing the impact of the institution's mission effectiveness as distinct from other determinants of student retention. The assessment of retention predictors and the effects of the school's mission were…

The traditional definition of student persistence, advanced by Vincent Tinto in 1975, is that of attendance until degree completion. This model, however, does not adequately reflect community college student attendance patterns. To develop a conceptual model of community college student persistence, a study was conducted of the attendance patterns…

Prepared pursuant to new Maryland accountability requirements, this report offers information on access and equity; student goal achievement; transfer preparation; employment and economic development; and student involvement, community involvement, and cultural activities at Charles County Community College (CCCC). The report's preface provides…

This study examined the relationship between environmental factors of teaching climate for beginning teachers and the desire to remain in teaching. Data from 23,088 Public School Teacher Questionnaires from the Schools and Staffing Survey longitudinal database were analyzed to determine the effect of environmental demographic factors…

In the spirit of educational reform efforts, public schools have national goals for the first time and are under pressure to adopt a national curriculum, national testing, and parental choice of schools. School reform depends on upgrading teacher education. Only a more carefully recruited, better prepared, and more professionally rewarded teaching…

This paper provides initial results of a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of first-generation students, their college choices, their academic and social integration into the institution, their postsecondary persistence and attainment outcomes, and their labor market outcomes. The study analyzed data from the 1989-90…

This paper suggests that community colleges receive undeserved criticism as institutions that contribute to students' decline in college motivation. Rather, many college-bound youths underestimate college demands due to open-admissions policies and the ready availability of remedial courses, and fail to prepare adequately for this educational…

A survey was conducted to evaluate nationally the retention of undergraduates at institutions of higher education. In particular the survey sought to: determine the rates at which full-time students persisted in and completed higher education; identify factors that institutional representatives felt influence students to leave school; and describe…

A follow-up study of teacher education graduates was carried out for the purpose of evaluating, improving, and modifying programs for the preparation of educational personnel. An extension of a longitudinal study being conducted at Iowa State University, this component addresses the following basic concerns: (1) the quality of the program; (2) the…

Three studies were conducted at Evergreen Valley College, in San Jose, California, to measure the persistence of new college students enrolled in entry-level English courses (i.e., English 321, English 322, and English 330) in fall 1988. Specifically, the studies examined students' persistence from their initial English course through Transfer…

The under-representation of women and African Americans in engineering spurred the research documented in this study. This document reports the reults of a study investigating middle school (in a southeastern rural community) children's attitudes toward persistence, life goals and sex-stereotypes, as potential barriers to their pursuit of…