This paper reviews some of the ways in which student success can be predicted in conventional and distance education. Predicting such success is particularly important for new students where the pre-course start information available is sometimes slight and withdrawal often occurs very early in a course. It suggests that, in such cases,…

This study investigates the relationships between students' confidence in their generic skills on entry to university, their learning styles and their academic performance in first year. Research based on a large cohort of Scottish undergraduates found that students generally entered university feeling very confident that they already possessed…

Reviews the literature on course attrition relevant to: factors contributing to course attrition, non-punitive grading, open entry/open exit courses, lack of non-credit options, reasons for withdrawal, curriculum areas with low course completion rates, programs and proposals for reducing attrition, evaluating non-credit students, and student…

British research on adult student retention/noncompletion reached the following conclusions: clear, reliable data are lacking; funding models ignore nontraditional students; and reasons for withdrawal are complex and interrelated. Keys to better retention are good student-staff relations and personal and academic support for learners. (SK)

Research was designed to identify commonalities of personal, enrollment, withdrawal, and evaluative factors as they relate to student withdrawal from community college. The study sought to identify interrelationships between identified reasons for student withdrawal and the variables of gender, race, classification status, degree sought, plans for…

For schools to communicate that student retention is valued, a program must be instituted that communicates this to students. D'Aprix's model of communication is a planned, systematically implemented communications program aimed at distributing messages of genuine value. This proactive stance can be used to develop programs increasing student…

An argument that precipitated withdrawal of two adult learners from a class is used to explore themes of the voluntary nature of participation in adult education, authority and control issues in the classroom, anxiety and resistance, and the community context of the classroom. The teacher's responsibility for the classroom climate is highlighted.…

This paper addresses the views of students of blended language learning (BLL)--a particular learning and teaching environment, that combines face-to-face (f2f) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL). In this instance, the "blend" consisted of learners' independent self-study phases at a computer, with a CD-ROM, and traditional f2f…

Responses from more than 400 British adults who withdrew from part-time vocational and nonvocational further education courses revealed that withdrawal was due to a combination of reasons, more than 60% unrelated to the course or college. College-based reasons included the tutor or teaching methods. Students insisted that they not be labeled…

Of the 173 postgraduate adult students who abandoned their studies at Hellenic Open University, 108 were interviewed. Primary reasons for dropping out included difficulty balancing academic workload with employment and family obligations (mainly for female students), miscalculation of time available for studying, and underestimation of the effort…

A comparison of 24 Canadian aborigines who withdrew from college and 25 who persisted showed that withdrawers were often nonmatriculated, lacked time management skills, frequently missed class, worked over 25 hours per week, felt lonely and alienated, had family problems, and socialized excessively. (SK)

Responses from 165 of 552 noncompleting vocational students in Northern Ireland revealed that noncompletion was not a result of prior academic performance, social integration, or preentry factors. Rather, it resulted from a complex decision-making process influenced by a variety of factors such as cost, satisfaction with the college, obtaining…

Examined how the fulfillment of college expectations affects students' social integration. Path analysis showed that the fulfillment of social expectations for college positively affects both social integration and subsequent institutional commitment; the greater the degree of these, the more likely students will re-enroll in the university. (EV)

This article discusses the contents of the regulation issued by the Ministry of Education in March 2005 with respect on student management in higher education institutions. The issued regulation contains the following chapters: (1) General Principles; (2) Student Rights and Obligations; (3) Management of Student Status Records; (4) Withdrawal or…

This survey of Australian college students provides support for an alternative explanation of attrition for a specific group of university students: students who planned to withdraw from their original program of study after facilitating entry to another undergraduate degree. (EV)