Sixty-six descriptions of notable programs and promising practices related to specific problems, practices, and goals in American postsecondary education are presented in this study, a continuation of Volume I. The programs are the result of searches made by the staff of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, although neither the…

The implementation and results of the Virginia Student Transition Program at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Tech) are described. The objective of the 5-week summer program is to facilitate the enrollment and retention of black college students with slightly lower than average aptitude scores through the development of…

This paper summarizes the findings of a ten year study on a Pre-Engineering program aimed at dramatically improving both the recruitment and retention of under-represented students pursuing careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at The University of Akron. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate The University of…

Teacher retention has been of interest to educational researchers for over three decades. Various reasons for teacher attrition have been cited, including student discipline and motivation problems, working conditions, low salary, and a lack of administrator support. This descriptive survey research sought to determine the present status of…

Information was collected from 28 Chicano, 42 Chicana, 36 non-Chicano, and 52 non-Chicana students to identify reasons for Chicana attrition from the University of Southern Colorado. Information was also collected from 14 Chicanas who had already dropped out of college. Most of the data were collected at registration for spring semester, 1980. The…

A study examined the impacts of the Youth Apprenticeship Projects (YAPs) upon student apprentices and employers. Post-high school interviews were conducted with 845 student apprentices from 1978-80, 621 students in a control group, and 347 employers. Interview response rate for all students averaged 76%, for employers--92%. Students who…

The TRIO/Special Services Program at the University of Minnesota is described, and a national evaluation of TRIO programs (Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Special Services) is briefly summarized. The TRIO/Special Services Program at the University of Minnesota is located within The General College, which is the open enrollment unit of the…

A survey was conducted at Mercer County Community College to determine the demographic characteristics, number of credits, grade point average (GPA), academic program, reasons for not returning, current working and educational status, and opinions of the college of part- and full-time students who enrolled for the fall 1977 semester and did not…

A survey of 374 women students, who re-entered formal education at 13 community colleges in Northern California, was conducted to determine whether probability of persistence or non-persistence could be predicted on the basis of selected life antecedents, and which student services were perceived by persisting and non-persisting students as most…

Data from the seven Hawaii community colleges were examined to determine the persistence patterns of students entering the system in Fall 1974, Fall 1975, and Fall 1976 after six semesters. Students were classified as: (1) non-persisters, i.e., those who attended one semester only; (2) moderate persisters, i.e., those who attended two or more…

Retention research and action programs are reviewed, and findings from the 1979 national survey entitled "What Works in Student Retention" (WWISR) are examined. The WWISR survey was designed to identify, analyze, and compile information about campus efforts to improve student retention in higher education. Questionnaires on retention were analyzed…

The need to examine college student attrition as an approach to the expected demographic decline in the 1980s, and case studies that demonstrate retention improvement and successful techniques are considered. Information is presented on the progress of typical freshmen (graduates, transfers, and dropouts) and patterns of interrupting studies.…

Attrition rates at the State University of New York at Oswego are investigated in this paper. In 1975-76 51 percent of the students who entered as freshmen failed to graduate. The major objective of the study was to isolate and describe the differences that exist in the rates and modes of attrition among students who entered the college as…

Findings are presented for each of five surveys conducted by North Harris County College using the Texas Student Information System (TEX-SIS). The report first presents and discusses the results of an educational intent survey, based on responses from approximately 7,395 students registered in credit hour courses during 1977-78. Results of a…

The third in a series of four monographs, this study focuses on Black engineering students at Purdue University who persisted, withdrew, or transferred. A survey of the students was conducted to determine factors that influence retention and attrition of Black American students in engineering. A comparison of the pre-college and college…