ERIC Number: ED364294
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1993-Nov
Pages: 27
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Study of Students Who Withdrew from Courses, Summer 1990-Spring 1992. Volume XXII, No. 6.
Lucas, John A.; Meltesen, Cal
A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) in Illinois to develop a profile of students who withdrew from courses between summer 1990 and spring 1992. For the 2-year period studied, each degree credit student who officially withdrew from a course was asked to complete a survey form, indicating withdrawal status, whether a counselor had been consulted, principal reason for withdrawal, method of registration, and general comments. Between 1990 and 1992, 13.4% of the 170,000 course enrollments resulted in official withdrawals, representing a 0.4% decrease in withdrawals from the 1988-1990 cohort. An analysis of these withdrawals indicated the following: (1) one out of every five course withdrawals resulted in complete withdrawal from WRHC, although nearly three-fourths of the students who withdrew planned to return to WRHC in the future; (2) nearly 30% of those withdrawing gave reasons completely beyond WRHC's control, and only 7% indicated WRHC as the primary cause for withdrawal; (3) the major reasons cited for withdrawals included personal, family, or health problems, too far behind/poor grades, inconvenient meeting times, or job pressures; (4) there continued to be a lower percentage of withdrawals during the summer semester than during the spring and fall semesters (11% versus 14%); (5) about 40% of the withdrawing students indicated that they had never consulted a counselor in the 2 years previous to withdrawal; and (6) overall, younger students continued to have a higher withdrawal rate than students over the age of 25. Extensive data tables and the survey instrument are included. (MAB)
Descriptors: Academic Persistence, Community Colleges, Comparative Analysis, Courses, Dropout Research, Dropouts, Enrollment Influences, Participant Satisfaction, Questionnaires, Student Attitudes, Student Characteristics, Trend Analysis, Two Year College Students, Two Year Colleges, Withdrawal (Education)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires; Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: William Rainey Harper Coll., Palatine, IL. Office of Planning and Research.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A