This study compared the experiences of first-year students in different disciplines at York University (Ontario). Surveys of 336 students in the faculty of pure and applied science, 802 students in the faculty of arts, and 793 students in Atkinson College, the evening college of the university, were conducted during February-March of the first…

This study examined the effects of race on first-year retention at York University (Ontario). Data were obtained from student surveys conducted in 1993, 1994, and 1995, involving a total of 1,864 first-year students, along with administrative records. The study found that the number of black students who left the university because of poor…

A study in one private residential and one public commuter liberal arts college compared these characteristics in students whose parents had not attended college with those whose parents had: social integration, academic integration, external support, institutional context, satisfaction with college, role embracement, academic rewards, and…

Papers from the National Association of State Scholarship and Grant Programs/National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs conference on student aid are presented. They include: (1) "Keynote: Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Student Aid on Access, Choice, and Persistence" (Larry Leslie and Paul Brinkman); (2) "College Choice…

How can either private or public colleges and universities compete for students? Through what kinds of policies would they be most likely to encourage enrollment in their institutions? This study was designed to answer these questions, which have become relevant because of the near certainty that the majority of institutions will have a plethora…

Data were gathered from nontraditional (commuter, part-time) freshmen at a midwestern urban university. Dropout was a function of grade point average and credit hours enrolled, as well as the utility of education for future employment, satisfaction with the student role, opportunity to transfer, and age affecting dropout through intent to leave.…

Tinto's model of college persistence/withdrawal, developed for residential colleges, is tested at a nonresidential institution. Results indicated that the concepts of person-environment fit, social integration, and institutional commitment operated differently in the commuter institution. A reconceptualized model for explaining…

A study of 141 first-year science students at York University (Ontario) shows that integration/involvement variables are important in explaining a number of desired outcomes, including satisfaction with grades and program, social values, educational attitudes, achievement gains, and intent to continue in the program and/or institution. (MSE)

This study examined the academic and social experiences of first-year science students at "Big U," a large multi-cultural and multi-racial commuter university located in a large Canadian city. A total of 498 incoming science students were surveyed in September, November, and February-March of the first year. Response rates for the…

Student satisfaction with the environments of five commuter colleges was studied at an eastern university. A reliable instrument was developed to profile 2,392 students' perceptions of 30 aspects of the college environment. To determine how student characteristics relate to their evaluations of the college environment, eight regression analyses…

Factors contributing to the academic persistence of college students and those factors that may be amenable to institutional control were studied in 1980 at Georgia State University. The academic career of 4,481 students was studied for a 5-quarter period at this nonresidential, urban university. Multiple regression and multiple discriminant…

This report presents and analyzes data gathered as one part of a multi-phase, multi-method, comprehensive study of several aspects of the House Plan as it exists at Cypress College. All day (458) and evening (128) students, entering February 1976 and registered for six units or more, were surveyed. The survey instrument tested students' general…

This report is a preliminary study of the counseling aspect of the House Plan at Cypress College in California. For the study, all House counselors kept records of how many students they saw for a nine-day period in May 1976 and indicated why they felt students came to see them. In addition, three groups of students (graduation attendees, those…

This study examined the academic and social experiences of first-year female and visible minority group science students at "Big U," a large multi-racial and multi-cultural commuter university, located in a central Canadian city. In 1992, a total of 498 incoming science students were surveyed in September, November, and February-March of…

The influence of family background, including parental education, on college student attrition was evaluated with first- and second-generation American students. A total of 701 enrolled students and those who left before graduation were surveyed at a primarily residential private liberal arts college and at a primarily commuter state-supported…