ERIC Number: ED382285
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1994-Sep
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 1992-Spring 1994. Volume XXIII, No. 1.
Lucas, John A.; Meltesen, Cal
A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to develop a profile of students who withdrew from courses between summer 1992 and spring 1994. Between 1992 and 1994, 13.7% of the 175,000 course enrollments resulted in official withdrawals, representing a 0.4% decrease in withdrawals from the 1990-1992 cohort. An analysis of these withdrawals indicated the following: (1) one-fifth of course withdrawals resulted in complete withdrawal from WRHC, although nearly 75% of the students who withdrew planned to return to WRHC in the future; (2) 31% of those withdrawing gave reasons completely beyond WRHC's control, and only 7% indicated WRHC as the primary cause for withdraws; (3) the major reasons for withdrawal continued to be related to personal, family, or illness problems; (4) summer enrollees were less likely to withdraw because of falling behind on coursework or grades; however, inconvenient course times were often given as reasons for withdrawal; (5) close to 50% who completely withdrew from WRHC cited personal, family, or illness problems and job-related issues; (6) there was a lower percentage of withdrawals during the summer semester than during the spring and fall semester (11% versus 14%); (7) 32% indicated they had never consulted a counselor in the 2 years previous to withdrawal; and (8) 40% never talked to a counselor while at WRHC. Extensive data tables and the survey instrument are included. (KP)
Publication Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
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