The Higher Education -- Students Speak II survey was developed by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) and the Educational Policy Institute to identify the types and breadth of work-based learning activities that four-year college students experienced during high school, and to determine the correlation of these activities on…

In the second half of a two-part study conducted by the Illinois Community College System, a fall 1990 cohort of first-time freshmen was examined for 6 years to determine the effectiveness of remedial/developmental instruction. Student characteristics of age, ethnicity, and gender for the entire cohort were compared with the cohort group of…

Researchers used cross-sectional survey research to reexamine the problem of adult persistence within undergraduate degree programs. They identified a variable--perceived stress--that permitted a richer explanation of the process of student persistence. A model was presented that examined the attitudinal and behavioral impacts of unmet need,…

Beginning in 1985, freshmen enrolled on a part-time basis in associate degree programs in Indiana postsecondary institutions were tracked for eight semesters to determine rates of retention and attrition. In 1985, associate degree-seeking freshmen with a declared major constituted 12% of the total undergraduate population in the state, and 74% of…

Results of an evaluation of the Individualized Study Program (ISP), a 2-year pilot program at the Learning Skills Center (LSC) of the University of California, Davis, are presented. The program target group were disadvantaged students who had not met the university's entrance requirements. The ISP, which is designed to improve retention of…

The TRIO/Special Services program at the University of Minnesota's General College (GC) is described, and 1981-1982 program evaluation results are examined. Federally-supported TRIO programs (also including Education Opportunity Centers, Talent Search, and Upward Bound programs) provide support services for disadvantaged college students. The GC's…

A study involving 199 private liberal arts college freshmen found a weak but statistically significant correlation between high school grade point average and freshman grade point average (FGPA) but not between Scholastic Aptitude Test scores and FGPA. For academically underprepared freshmen, motivation-related noncognitive variables significantly…

Survival analysis was used to model retention of 8,867 undergraduate students at Oregon State University from 1991 to 1996. Attrition increased with age and nonresident status; it decreased with higher high-school and first-quarter grades, and attendance in a freshman orientation course. Retention was also associated with race/ethnicity and…

The relationship between student persistence and types of financial aid at a Jesuit comprehensive university was studied. Three freshmen cohorts (134 for 1989, 171 for 1990, and 131 for 1991) of 436 students were tracked through fall 1994. Attention was focused on nine financial aid variables, five additional noncategorical and six categorical…

Developments relating to college admission standards, the quality of high school curricula, and academic achievement are discussed by a representative of the College Board. Attention is directed to College Board data on the following issues: the decline on verbal and mathematics Scholastic Aptitude Test scores; trends in the number of years that…

The 1997 fiscal year annual report on schools in the Illinois community college system focuses on student enrollment and completion. The demographic enrollment data reveals that slightly more than half the students are female, one third is of minority ethnicity, and 2 out of every 5 students are 31 years of age or older. Most of the instructional…

The effects of selected variables on the academic persistence of adult students were examined in a study of a random sample of 469 adult students aged 24 years or older enrolled in a four-year college. The survey questionnaire, the Adult Student Experiences Survey, collected data regarding 12 endogenous variables and 13 exogenous variables…

A longitudinal study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (Illinois) to observe the performance and achievement of all credit students entering the college from fall 1983 through fall 1993. Study findings included the following: (1) 77% of full-time students returned to school at a later date for 1 year or more; (2) the 77% retention…

The college preparatory curriculum (CPC) in Georgia, is a state-mandated curriculum required of all high school seniors seeking to enter a University System institution as a regular placement freshman. Students deficient in any of the five CPC areas (English, foreign language, mathematics, science, and social sciences) are required to make up the…

Minnesota has long prided itself on providing ample higher education opportunities for its citizens. However, there is a well-documented and growing disparity in Minnesota and nationally between various racial and economic groups' participation in college and technical college. This study's charge was to determine if participation in higher…