This study attempts to deal with the pressing issues now confronting junior colleges through an investigation of the student's perception of his college experience. One hundred forty-one withdrawees who enrolled in fall 1967 as full-time, first-time freshmen in three Florida junior colleges were interviewed. They were found to be pragmatic,…

This paper argues that, when trying to calculate the success rates of community college students, the criteria used for reporting graduation rates should differ from those used at four-year institutions. There is no known national standard time-to-degree data available. The reporting window of 150% of minimum time to degree has been arbitrarily…

This 2003 study was designed to collect data on the outcomes of short stay students, or former students who leave British Columbia's colleges, university colleges, and institutes after completing between 9 and 23 credits. Out of 2,273 former students eligible for surveying, 871 completed the survey, for a response rate of 38%. The survey collected…

Synthesizes the literature on community college student retention programs to develop a definition and typology of dropout prevention programs. Classifies programs and strategies based on whether they attempt to sort, support, connect, or transform students. (61 references.) (MAB)

Uses data from a national study on student aid to examine the influence of student subsidies on within-year persistence for nontraditional college-age students enrolled in two-year colleges. Finds that tuition charges had a negative effect on within-year persistence and that student aid subsidies were insufficient to mitigate this effect. (19…

Three studies were conducted at San Jose City College, in San Jose, California, to measure the persistence of new college students enrolled in entry-level English courses (i.e., English 321, English 322, and English 330) in fall 1988. Specifically, the studies examined students' persistence from their initial English course through Transfer Level…

Over the past decade, retention studies at Hudson County Community College (HCCC), in New Jersey, have consistently placed the college at or near the bottom of a group of 19 New Jersey community colleges in terms of retention. In an effort to determine why students were leaving and develop responses to student attrition, a presidential task force…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to develop a profile of students who withdrew from courses between summer 1986 and spring 1988 and to compare this profile with the results of a 1982-1986 withdrawal study. For the past 4 years, each degree credit student who has officially withdrawn from a course has been asked to…

In the last 10 years community college enrollments have leveled off, bringing a new urgency to institutional efforts to retain current students. Obstacles to academic persistence include external factors such as insufficient funds, work demands, social demands, family obligations, housing or transportation problems; and internal problems such as…

In fall 1985, a study was conducted at Broome Community College (BCC) in Binghamton, New York, to determine whether students who added a class on or after the first class meeting (i.e., late admits) were at greater risk of withdrawing or failing than students who registered on time (i.e., regular admits). Final grades awarded to students in ENG…

A study was conducted of the retention patterns of students enrolled in the Peralta Community College District (PCCD) in fall 1984 using college reports on withdrawals and grade distributions. The study focused on successful retention (i.e., all students who received a passing grade) and on total retention (i.e., all students who received any…

A study was conducted in the San Bernardino Community College District to discover why some students who were enrolled in the spring 1984 semester did not reenroll in the fall 1984 semester; and to determine to what extent the new enrollment fee affected students' ability to enroll. A sample of 1,011 students was randomly selected from the target…

In spite of difficulties in analyzing student retention in community college programs and courses, certain facts about student attrition are known. First, students who drop out of class or school tend to have lower grades than students who persist. Second, the ability of students to drop in and out of community colleges at will has negative…

A study was conducted at Harford Community College (HCC) to assess the effects of a recently implemented set of more stringent academic standards. The new policies included placing students on academic restriction (i.e., restricting the number of units they may take) if their quality point index fell below a certain level. The study sought…

This report provides an analysis of student performance, in the areas of student persistence, withdrawal, and achievement, in transfer and occupational courses offered by Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC) at Graham Correctional Center (GCC). First, background material provides information on LLCC's teaching system at GCC which began in 1981…