Offers an economics/business-management perspective on student attrition, focusing on the external macro-environment (including such factors as government funding of education, changing enrollment patterns, and the increased number of postsecondary institutions) and the internal micro-environment (exhibiting characteristics of intangibility,…

A study found that variables significant in predicting minority students with academic difficulty include science grade-point average, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) reading subtest score, and number of course withdrawals. For majority students, they include MCAT biology subtest score and number of incompletes taken in courses. (MSE)

A study of financial aid and persisters, dropouts, and stopouts at California State College, Bakersfield analyzed the relationship of 14 student variables (admissions eligibility index, degree objective, sex, age, ethnicity, Pell Grant eligibility, residence, scholarship award, grant award, loan awards, work-study award, financial need, marital…

Explored the relationship of time of withdrawal to students' academic enrollment and performance using a follow-up procedure with 469 undergraduates. Students withdrawing late had lower grade point averages, were more often on academic probation, more often withdrew because of academic difficulties, and had more previous withdrawals. (Author/MCF)

Statistics on the drop-add tendencies of undergraduates at Clemson University were compiled. Three semesters were compared collectively, and it was discovered that numerous students had dropped at least one course in two of the three semesters and others in all three semesters. Profiles were built on these two groups. (MLW)

This paper, the third in a series of Research Informing Practice Short Papers commissioned by the National TRIO Clearinghouse, reviews some of the recent literature related to student retention in higher education, with particular emphasis on factors affecting students from low income and first generation backgrounds. According to the paper, this…

A study of the persistence behavior of students who drop college courses included predictions concerning which students were most likely to drop courses, which courses were most likely to be dropped, and at what point in the semester students were most likely to drop courses. (Author/MLW)

The utility of personality measures as predictors of voluntary withdrawal from college was investigated. Four criterion groups were formed: high-achieving persisters and withdrawals, and low-achieving persisters and withdrawals. Two significant discriminant functions were found and interpreted as academic aptitude and social immaturity. (Author/GK)

Examined 600 student and 300 faculty perceptions of the environment at the University of Wyoming as it relates to student retention and attrition. Results suggest that perceptions of persistors and subsequent dropouts differ less than expected. (TE)

Assessed frequency and nature of mandatory psychiatric withdrawal policies at Kansas colleges and universities. Forty-five of 52 colleges and universities responded to survey; of those, only 5 had specific policy for dismissing students for psychological reasons. Most respondents relied exclusively on their behavioral codes of conduct and their…

A study explored 97 college freshmen's perceived stress and persistence as a function of attachment style. Students with secure attachment reported significantly less perceived stress than those with insecure attachment. Fewer students with secure attachment quit college than did students with insecure attachment. Stress scores and grade point…

Reviews legal education and student retention, particularly of minority students, from three perspectives: current trends in law school admissions, the role of undergraduate institutions in avoiding retention problems by preparing candidates for successful legal education, and the increased role of law school academic support programs in student…

This study examines student perspectives on their deferral and withdrawal from arts courses at Monash University during 2000. The research highlights a commonly unacknowledged difference between students in first semester and in second semester: it suggests that temporary and even permanent withdrawal in the early part of the academic year is most…

This article derives from local research at two UK universities as part of their institutional strategies to address retention and progression and enhance their students' experiences of higher education. In both Middlesex University and the University of Salford, research has been undertaken to identify factors which influence the retention and…

Information was collected in 1993 from students who withdrew from courses in mid-term at a community college either because they were dropping a course or departing from the college. This report documents withdrawal patterns of students during the calendar year of 1994. Self-reported reasons for course/college withdrawal were identified and…