New student affairs professionals are critical for higher education and yet institutions continue to suffer attrition rates as high as 60%. Using cross-sectional survey, this study measured relationships between wellness and intent to leave the profession. Results showed wellness levels were considerably lower than the general population and, as…

This study situates student attrition within the strategic framework of Australian public universities. It draws on organisational theory to describe higher education within a bureaucratic framework. The study uses a quantitative approach to undertake a content analysis of attrition and retention policy statements from all Australian universities.…

This brief summarizes Internet-based research into other industries that may offer useful analogies for thinking about student attrition in higher education, in particular for setting realistic benchmarks for reductions in attrition. Reducing attrition to zero or close to zero is not a realistic possibility in higher education. Students are…

While the use of the telephone has increased as a means of collecting research data in a range of areas, there are few examples of studies where telephone interviews have been conducted to collect qualitative data. The field of educational research is no exception to this. This paper focuses on a study carried out in Higher Education (HE)…

This paper presents a WWC (What Works Clearinghouse) Quick Review of the report "The Role of Simplification and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA Experiment". The study examined whether assistance in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) increases the likelihood of filing…

This longitudinal study of beginning teachers in Kentucky yields a number of characteristics useful in identifying persons most likely to obtain and retain teaching positions in secondary education. The Western Kentucky University Teacher Preparation Evaluation Program (TPEP), begun in 1971, follows careers of elementary and secondary school…

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scale scores from two samples of students were analyzed to determine their usefulness in moderating the prediction of college attrition. Scales that functioned as moderator variables were sample-specific and did not replicate. (Author)

Bias due to attrition of respondents poses a threat to the internal and external validity of research findings. Discusses methods of detecting attrition bias in longitudinal family research, and presents Heckman's procedure to correct attrition bias. Data from the University of California Longitudinal Study of Generations are used to illustrate…

Examined and compared community college transfer rates using various definitions of potential transfer students. Includes discussion of how these definitions relate to student background characteristics. Findings illustrate the trade-off between restricting the pool of potential transfer students and excluding substantial portions of the original…

Veterinary student attrition has declined from 14 percent in 1963 to 3.1 percent in 1974. The current attrition rate for academic reasons is ascertained and theoretical bases are explored. Also presented are some attrition data from allied professions. (LBH)

Reasons dropouts offer for withdrawal from college and differences between respondents and nonrespondents to a followup questionnaire were studied. During the spring 1980 semester, freshmen and sophomores completed a questionnaire describing their background and college experiences. A total of 156 dropouts (those who did not complete courses…

Self-referred college students registered for test-anxiety desensitization workshops. No difference was found in initial student participation based on assignment to groups led by same-sex or opposite-sex counselors. Continued student participation in the workshops was greater where the leader and student were the same sex. (Author)

A two-year study assessed the progress of 119 females and 368 males who declared premedicine as their major during their freshman and sophomore years at the University of Iowa. Data from follow-up questionnaires indicate that a similar number of men and women planned to apply to medical schools, contrary to expectations. (LBH)

Comparable groups of undergraduate students, withdrawers and persisters, were surveyed and compared in terms of their self-perceived parental expectations of academic success. Students who entered college directly from high school reported greater parental expectations of success than transfer students. Withdrawers reported less parental…

A nine-year summary of the academic performance of "high-risk" students at the University of Pittsburgh is presented. The subjects investigated were 1,770 students who entered the University-Community Educational Programs (U-CEP) from 1968 to 1976. The report focused on the following areas: student academic backgrounds; student…