Two theories concerning students' decisions to leave college are compared, and the convergence and discriminant validity of the two theories are examined empirically. The extent to which the theories could be merged to help researchers understand the role of institutional and noninstitutional variables in student persistence is discussed. (MSE)

A study was conducted to assess the impact of a career-planning course in terms of time taken to graduate, graduation rate, credit hours taken, number of course withdrawals, and cumulative GPAs. Student course participants (N = 544) were compared to a matched sample of non-course participants (N = 544) after 5 years. Results showed that the 2…

Multiple linear discriminant function analyses were performed using academic, performance, and personality variables to discriminate among groups of transfers, persisters, and dropouts two years after college matriculation. Analysis of all variables combined added no predictive power beyond that by either subset alone. The results held up on…

Student withdrawals were compared to course completers in two variants of a contingency-managed lecture (CML) course and a personalized instruction (PI) course. Within both CML sections, withdrawals performed 10-25% worse on unit quizzes and 20-30% worse on review exams than did peers who completed the course. Within PI, withdrawals had a retake…

This study was designed to examine the validity of the Cooperative Reading Comprehension Test (CRCT), Form 1A, for advisement purposes. During the period under study, February 1967 through September 1969, 1,020 people took the test, and 39 percent of those tested enrolled at Hofstra University. CRCT scores on the average differentiated those who…

Results of a survey of Kentucky State University students concerning their patterns of adding and dropping courses looked at the proportions and characteristics of students adding and dropping, the reasons for making those changes, and the types of classes added and dropped most frequently. (MSE)

This article briefly outlines possible causes for the prevalence of suicide attempts among college students and then discusses various options for handling such crises: whether to notify the students' closest relatives, whether to obtain medical evaluation and treatment (as opposed to psychological counseling), and whether to allow the student to…

Surveys of students at two Australian colleges (n=342 and 208) investigated their perceived stresses during the college experience. Respondents were more concerned with academic matters than a range of personal, interpersonal, and practical factors. Additional surveys of faculty indicate they are biased in their perceptions of student concerns.…

Notes that student services professionals manage a number of mental health crises as part of their job responsibilities. Examines some issues that arise from assisting foreign college students experiencing such crises, with special focus on psychiatric committal, withdrawal from school, and return to the home country. (Author)

Characteristics and perceptions of nonreturning students for the spring 1973 semester at Arkansas State University were determined by mailed questionnaires, and the College and University Environment Scales (CUES), Second Edition (Modified), and comparison data. The sample group of 585 academically qualified students, was compared to the fall…

Higher-education regents, administrators, and faculty often make decisions of inclusion and exclusion with regard to students and programs. There is abundant professional literature, opinions and/or research, related to college success. Specifically this paper includes summary statements and bibliographies of college academic achievement, college…

A study conducted at Florida State University attempted to identify the reasons for students' leaving behavior. Three models of leaving behavior are identified: discouragement, academic difficulty, and financial problems. Implications for advising are discussed. (Author/MLW)

Prerequisite courses are essential tools in many university curricula, but some educators have suggested that they may be detrimental if applied too stringently to exclude students from courses. A measure of the value of prerequisites is whether or not they promote student success. The strongest way to test the value of prerequisites is to compare…

Voluntary withdrawals did not differ from the persisters on precollege ability and achievement measures. The male failures had lower achievement in high school than the withdrawals, while the female failures did less well than the withdrawals on the precollege ability tests. No generalizable differences were apparent among the groups on…

The question of how to build a student body from a large applicant pool was addressed in a 1980 study of students at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Design from 1969-78. The results of the selection process are presented. (MLW)