A retention plan was developed to quantify and qualify the attrition problem and to establish action plans to improve retention for a regional university serving many nontraditional students. Cameron University, a state institution in Oklahoma, provides both associate and bachelor degree programs. The attrition problems were difficult to identify…

Student attrition at the College of Staten Island was investigated. The 2,786 students who left school from the spring 1979 semester to the fall 1979 semester were selected for analysis using a survey developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Services. Responses were obtained from 452 former students. Study variables were…

A model to distinguish persisters and nonpersisters at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, was developed. Persisters and nonpersisters differed in background characteristics, attitudes toward and interaction with the university, opportunities to leave, and intentions. Responses to a mail survey were returned by 86 first-time freshmen…

Accomplishments of St. Mary's University Student Retention Task Force are addressed. After reviewing the literature on the correlates of retention and approaches to improving student retention, statistical results of the 1982 administration of the Student Opinion Survey of the American College Testing program are provided. This survey explores…

Techniques for conducting student-attrition studies using the Student-Outcomes Information Service (SOIS) are outlined. General concepts to effectively guide an institutional research effort are discussed, with attention to better defining student attrition and a summary of results of recent research on the reasons why students withdraw from…

Reasons that students enter or leave the University of Montana (UM) were studied in fall 1983. Consideration was given to first-term freshmen of traditional age, slightly older students (under age 25), transfer students, dropouts, and students who persisted at the university for 1 academic year. In study phase 1, attention was directed to…

Reasons accounting for attrition of University of North Dakota (UND) students were investigated. UND students who were enrolled during fall 1976-1977 through fall 1979-1980 as new freshmen and who terminated their studies without earning a degree between spring 1978-1979 to fall 1979-1980 were surveyed. The 237 respondents represented a response…

Reasons for the withdrawal of 159 first-semester freshmen from Salem State College, Massachusetts, during the fall 1981 or 1982 semesters were studied. Questionnaire results supported the following assumptions: community problems contribute to student withdrawal, not getting into the dorm contributes to attrition for some students, financial…

Student withdrawal from the University of Iowa was studied using an exit survey. Students' reasons for leaving the university, their future plans, and possible interventions that would have assisted the student to remain in school were assessed, along with the validity of the survey. Although there was only 62 percent agreement between the exit…

Findings from a study of 1980-81 student attrition at Bethel College, Indiana, are examined, and new directions at the college for 1981-82 are reviewed. In addition, results of a survey of 120 small colleges regarding attrition efforts are discussed. Based on the study findings, four categories of grade point averages (GPA) of Bethel students are…

A model for the identification and analysis of student attrition within the North Carolina community college system was tested in 1980-1981.The three institutions selected to conduct the study--Beaufort County Community College, Edgecombe Technical College, and Nash Technical Institute (BEN)--named the project the BEN Student Retention Research…

Factors that influence voluntary withdrawal from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are investigated. A survey based on a cohort of students admitted for the first time in fall 1977 was conducted with a response rate of approximately 50 percent. Major and minor reasons for not returning to the university are tabulated for males and…

The findings are presented of a study of 309 students at the University of New South Wales who were granted a deferment in 1976 but did not re-enroll in 1977. Students replied to a questionnaire and were divided into three groups: students attending other universities, students attending any other postsecondary institution, and those not enrolled…

A student attrition research methodology and results of attrition research at Barber-Scotia College are examined. Questionnaire responses from 137 students indicated the degree of student satisfaction with academic and social services provided by the college. Data are presented on student enrollments by class during 1970-1980, and on student…

Undergraduate students enrolled in the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) or the Student Affirmative Action (SAA) program at the University of California (UC), Davis, who withdrew before graduation were surveyed in 1981. Attention was directed to the respondents' educational experiences after leaving, their current employment, and their…