This report provides an update on the Illinois public high school class of 2002 and its progress through the higher education system. Three years after graduation, who has persisted, who has stopped out, who has transferred, and who has completed a two-year program? (Contains 16 tables and 5 footnotes.) [This publication was produced by the…

A 1979 Paris workshop is summarized that included presentations and discussions on the causes of European and U.S. student dropouts and failures, methods for overcoming such failures and their specific applications in different institutions, and student selection problems. (MSE)

Describes how concern about Black male college attendance and retention has become a front and center public policy research priority in Georgia. (EV)

Investigated longitudinal effects of being a first-generation college student on attrition. Results indicated that first-generation students were more likely to depart than their counterparts over time. After controlling for factors such as race, gender, high school grade point average (GPA), and family income, the risk of attrition was 71 percent…

Examines the special challenges faced by low-income students, concentrating on those characteristics and behaviors that make it particularly difficult for low-income nontraditional students to persist and succeed in higher education. (EV)

Reviews literature on assessment and assessment of student retention programs, then presents a six-step conceptual model of assessment that is applicable to cross-cutting retention programs. Uses the literature to support the presentation of four simultaneously present retention paradigms of what is valued and can be stated as desired retention…

Background/Context: This review article draws on the growing body of literature at the interfaces of anthropology and education, as well as other educational studies outside anthropology that have relevance to social and cultural frames. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: Drawing together and analyzing anthropological and…

Discusses ways academic officials are making the task of retaining online students a top priority. (EV)

Describes how, at the University of Kansas, many students of color are excelling at a rate that has outpaced their peers. Campus officials credit the HAWK Link program and its comprehensive approach to retention. (EV)

Investigated grief issues in first-semester female students. Found that in-state students who had not visited home experienced more severe grief responses, that higher grievers earned significantly lower grades and returned for the spring semester in fewer numbers, and that high grievers, regardless of ethnicity, evidenced more pessimism and more…

Examined correlation between the variables of age, sex, high school class rank, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, family status, academic major, and out-of-class activities and the persistence of Black students at a predominantly White university. Found Black students' family status, sex, and academic major were factors affecting nonpersistence.…

"Policy Alert" is a publication series that summarizes important policy findings affecting the future of higher education. This issue looks at the benefits of increasing a state's "educational capital," and highlights four key transition points of the "educational pipeline" marking students' progress from high school to completion of a college…

Does student aid increase college attendance or simply subsidize costs for infra-marginal students? Settling the question empirically is a challenge, because aid is correlated with many characteristics that influence educational investment decisions. A shift in financial aid policy that affects some youth but not others can provide an identifying…

Examined factors influencing college persistence of men and women. Having children has a negative impact on men's persistence but a positive impact on women's persistence. Being Black raises persistence significantly only for women. Age, marriage, and hours worked have a negative impact; and family income, GPA, and being Asian have a positive…

High School and Beyond data show that blacks are more likely to continue high school and attend college than whites with similar test scores. Black school leavers had far lower employment rates than comparable whites. Multinomial logit estimates suggest fewer job opportunities for blacks as a partial explanation. (SK)