In 1989, a survey was conducted of Cumberland County College (CCC) students who enrolled in fall 1988 but did not return in spring 1989. Questionnaires were mailed to all 718 nonreturning students, requesting information on their educational goals, enrollment patterns, ratings of college services, reasons for not returning, and personal…

Effective schools provide at-risk students with a community of support that encourages school membership and educational engagement. This study describes effective dropout prevention programs, develops a generalizable, theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between at-risk students and their schools, and suggests local and state…

The conceptual model for institutional change presented in this report was developed within the context of the University of Hawaii's Native Hawaiian Vocational Education Project (NHVEP), a systemwide initiative for increasing minority student persistence at community colleges. Chapter 1 discusses the problem of low retention among Native Hawaiian…

A study was conducted in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to identify changes in student retention rates since a marketing and retention initiative was undertaken in 1985. The study also sought to determine factors that may have affected retention and colleges that showed exceptionally high, low, or improved retention rates. The…

A study was conducted in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to determine the retention rates and academic achievement of part-time, degree-seeking students. The enrollment files of the VCCS colleges were examined to identify each individual enrolled in the fall quarters between 1985 and 1987, to determine full-/part-time enrollment…

A study examined the learning strategies and attitudes of college language students and their relationship to success in language learning. Three research questions were asked: (1) Which self-reported language study strategies were associated with achievement as measured by classroom or other proficiency tests?; (2) Which attitude and motivational…

Full-time, degree-seeking students who transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), in fall 1983 and whose fall semester grade point average (GPA) was less than 2.0 (N=244) were invited to participate in a diagnostic and prescriptive program designed to help them figure out why their grades were low and how to prevent such…

A study was conducted to document the progress of students who entered Napa Valley College (NVC) in fall 1984 with the educational objective of earning a degree or certificate. Persistence rates, changes in enrollment status, grades, and withdrawal patterns of 2,319 first-time college students were monitored from fall 1984 to spring 1986. Study…

The impact of the college core curriculum at Banning High School, Wilmington, California, was assessed by comparing the secondary and postsecondary experience of its June 1980 graduates with that of alumni who graduated in 1976 before the program began. The college core curriculum at Banning, which serves a predominantly low-income, ethnic…

This guide for migrant farmworker youth was based on the experiences of the BOCES Geneseo Migrant Center's Project CHOICE (Comprehensive Help on Individualized Career Education) whose main thrust was to work with migrant out-of-school youth to encourage and assist them in continuing their education. The larger portion of YOURS addresses students…

The U.S. Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), offered through host colleges and universities, requires enrolled midshipmen to complete all institutional requirements for the baccalaureate degree in a technical or scientific field or an academic major of interest to the Navy, and to complete specific naval science courses. This study…

Enrollment and retention trends during 1977-1981 for undergraduate nontraditional (age 25 and older) students at West Virginia University (WVU) were studied. During the 5-year period, the number of nontraditional undergraduates increased over 23 percent, while total undergraduate enrollment remained relatively stable. Nationally, females represent…

The status of blacks in U.S. higher education was studied as part of an investigation of four disadvantaged minority/ethnic groups. Attention was directed to: rates of educational access and attainment and factors influencing educational outcomes; trends in choice of college majors and careers; representation in various fields; personal and…

Trends in beginning freshmen attrition were studied at the University of Tennessee, Martin, for the fall quarters of 1977, 1978, and 1979. One part of the attrition study used the American College Testing (ACT) program's withdrawing/nonreturning student survey, while a second approach was based on the computerized People Oriented Information…

Comments and recommendations to promote excellence in the Pennsylvania state system of higher education are offered for the consideration of policy shapers and decisionmakers. The following topics are addressed: setting priorities and determining system goals; building public confidence; clarifying roles and responsibilities of the state system;…