Describes a systemwide effort within the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System to develop a framework for improving student persistence and success. Highlights changes to the original Bean and Metzner retention model, the characteristics and needs of Colorado's two-year college student population, the campus-based…

Efforts to increase senior secondary retention rates and improve schooling for marginalized students have been influenced by the school effectiveness perspective. This paper outlines several problematic aspects of this perspective and proposes an alternative orientation centred around "care". Drawing on research with students and…

The nation's dropout problem has been making national headlines with more and more frequency and more and more urgency. Although certainly not a new problem, the failure to earn a high school diploma is receiving heightened attention because the causes and effects of dropping out have changed significantly. No longer is a dropout simply a young…

The Indiana Vocational Technical College (IVTC) is a state-supported two-year college with 22 campuses across Indiana. In January 1992, as part of a college-wide effort to improve institutional effectiveness, an eight-member Retention Committee (RC) was established, consisting of executive and instructional deans; directors of student services;…

Motivated by attrition in French immersion programs in Canada, a study was undertaken of the perceptions of French coordinators, helping teachers, school principals, and French immersion teachers in British Columbia (Canada) school districts regarding the attrition rate and students' reasons for leaving immersion. The research differed from…

This journal issue discusses student attrition and the major recurring themes regarding students withdrawing from college. It is revealed that less than 15 percent of student departures are as a result of academic dismissal, with the remaining students leaving voluntarily, even when their academic performance is clearly acceptable. The following…

The development of students should be the primary mission of higher education. The consequences of significant attrition in many universities are not trivial. This study identified relevant variables and appropriate methodologies for enhancing undergraduate retention at one university. By employing records analyses, system definition, and a…

Research may be divided into two types, "empowering" research and "academic" research. Empowering research seeks to determine how a particular individual or organization can produce a desired result, while academic research is concerned with why a particular condition exists. While academic research might ask "Why do students drop out of school?"…

The effects of student characteristics and remedial program placement policy on academic achievement and other outcomes were studied at 10 Michigan community colleges. The study population consisted of 3,448 students enrolled in remedial writing at colleges with a compulsory remedial placement policy and 2,669 students enrolled in remedial writing…

This research probes two questions: Does participation in alternative high school programs reduce the likelihood of students dropping out? Does participation enhance experience in the labor market after students leave school? Results showed lower dropout and higher subsequent employment rates among participants who had no doubt about finishing the…

The influence of an intensive two-day orientation to college on freshman voluntary persistence and withdrawal decisions was estimated with an explanatory causal model. Results suggest the major influence of orientation on persistence is indirect, transmitted through positive effects on student social integration and commitment to the institution.…

Ohio's Learning, Earning, and Parenting Program (LEAP) provides all teen parents who receive welfare with a substantial financial incentive to attend school. This is the fifth and annual report from a large-scale evaluation of the program, based on a study of 4,151 teenagers who were randomly assigned to either a program group or a control group.…

A study of eight successive freshman cohorts at the University of South Carolina found that both participating in a freshman orientation seminar and living on campus reduced freshman dropout rates. Students who both participated in the seminar and lived on campus had the lowest dropout rate, whereas those who did neither had the highest dropout…

A one-semester, credit-bearing course for parents of Wichita State University freshmen improves retention because parents can help freshmen adjust to the university environment. The course provides information about the institution through monthly articles and cassette audiotapes. Parents receive identification cards and parking decals and may…

Describes a study applying the Tinto Model to predict student persistence/exit in a community college setting. A questionnaire assessing background, environmental, and integration variables was administered to full-time students during their first semester, successfully predicting subsequent persistence/exit behavior and affirming the utility of…