Attrition among students in adult basic and secondary education programs has been a perennial problem. Conducting research on this population is also problematic once they have dropped out of a program. A study surveyed 76 dropouts and 35 General Educational Development (GED) program completers from two large, multisite programs about factors…

In the last 10 years community college enrollments have leveled off, bringing a new urgency to institutional efforts to retain current students. Obstacles to academic persistence include external factors such as insufficient funds, work demands, social demands, family obligations, housing or transportation problems; and internal problems such as…

Vocational education has a significant role to play in dropout prevention because studies show a positive correlation between involvement in vocational education and school completion. Students involved in vocational education are more likely to be involved in school-sponsored activities that help them shape goals for themselves and the future.…

This document was developed to (1) help clarify the various concepts of retention and attrition within a unifying conceptual framework, (2) synthesize the research on retention and attrition, and (3) examine the implications of the research for postsecondary administrators and researchers. Retention and attrition research pertains to both the…

Two studies evaluated outcomes of a University Experience (freshman seminar) course to ease the transition to college and enhance student retention at the University of South Florida. In the first study, course evaluations of "typical" USF students (N=540) who completed the course in fall 1998 were overwhelmingly positive in support of…

In an effort to recruit and retain Hispanic students in higher education, some policymakers are advocating a program using Hispanic faculty as role models. It is argued that, as currently conceived, such programs cannot be successful, and that the ideological and structural factors in academe that relegate Hispanic faculty to second-class status…

Managed by the Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakotah Nation, O'Inazin provides culturally relevant inpatient counseling for troubled adolescents with antisocial and self-defeating behaviors. Of 290 adolescent inpatients in 1991-92, those who completed the program were more likely to remain in school and improve their grades than were noncompleters. Both…

A study investigated the effectiveness of intervention, by interview, with 111 first-year college students identified as at risk in their adjustment to college. Effects were analyzed in terms of score change on scales of adjustment, first-year grade point average, first-year course credits earned, and continuance of enrollment. (Author/MSE)

Effective student retention strategies involve creating a vision and committing to that vision, ensuring that processes are applied systematically, providing support, and offering high quality instruction. Creating an effective program means having a real sense of what "program completion" is, how the state and programs define and measure…

Given that faculty advising plays an important role in college level retention, this paper examines three possible forms of faculty advisor-student relationships--paternalism, agency, and contract--and found the contract form to be superior. The paternalistic model in which the advisor assumes responsibility and authority for decision making was…

The Special Needs Unit of the Career-Vocational Education Division, California State Department of Education, began sponsoring a secondary school project in 1985 to combat California's high dropout rate. Eight secondary school sites in six districts were selected to develop schoolwide, integrated, career-oriented curriculum that would use the…

Student attrition is a major problem for American colleges and universities because an increasing number of enrollees fit the demographic and socioeconomic profile of "high-risk" students, who consist in general of minorities, the academically disadvantaged, the disabled, and those of low socioeconomic status. Declining enrollments leave…

A study examined the role higher education institutions play through their educational strategy in supporting student retention. Educational strategy was defined as patterns of institutional practices designed to support undergraduate education, and the question posed was: Do the practices a college implements at the institutional level to support…

Evaluation of the Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (A.I.D.P.) program as it operated in 26 selected New York (New York) public high schools in 1986-87 raises serious questions about the effectiveness of the program. A minimum of 50 percent of the participants were to achieve the following objectives: (1) improve attendance; (2) pass at…

The effectiveness of the Plattsburgh Freshman Seminar program, which was designed to increase student retention, was evaluated. The 45 hour, three credit program was designed to help students clarify educational and personal goals, to increase faculty-student contact, to develop communication skills, and to familiarize the student with the…