In order to provide entry-level students with an opportunity to explore career interests while receiving college credit, Johnson County Community College implemented a pilot course in Fall 1979 incorporating an emphasis on career decision-making in an English composition course. The course, which had an enrollment of 49 students in two sections,…

A sample of students were surveyed who were enrolled at the University of Washington during the autumn quarter of 1977 but did not continue at the university the following quarter. Survey items included: reasons for not continuing, occupational status as of spring 1978, effect of not continuing on present occupation and plans for the future,…

The determinants of student attrition in institutions of higher education were investigated. A causal model was developed which synthesized research findings on turnover in work organizations and on student attrition. Questionnaires were distributed to university freshmen (N=1171). The data was analyzed using multiple regression and path analysis.…

As the first in a planned longitudinal series, this study examined the academic performance in the initial undergraduate year of a stratified, random sample of 100 students from Vancouver secondary schools who enrolled in September 1976 in a full-time academic program at the Langara Campus of Vancouver Community College (VCC), and measured it…

The research reported is a descriptive normative survey utilizing the data available from the required quarterly reporting of the high school districts in Cook County. In suburban Cook County there are 27 secondary school districts and two unit districts, including Chicago. The 28 suburban secondary school districts are comprised of 68 high school…

This document reports a study of students who had enrolled at Bucks County Community College (BCCC) from September 1965 to August 1973, had completed less than 12 credits, had grade point averages sufficient for re-enrollment, and yet did not return. Of the 8,605 students in this category, 20 percent were sampled; 30 percent (509) of those sampled…

A study of income flow patterns and individual decisions to undertake college-level study suggests that perceived income and other labor market prospects influence student decisions but vary with age and discipline. Although females perceive lower income, that lower income does not statistically affect the decision to attend college. (MSE)

A career framework is used to investigate the socially constructed knowledge that students use to make decisions concerning their preferences for further schooling. The decision-making process of students reveals attempts to assess the costs and benefits of the school experience for the maintenance of desirable self conceptions. (Author/MLW)

Looks at various influences on junior college student persistence (i.e., grades, family background, peer relationships, counseling services, study habits, and employment). Reports on a study conducted at Richland College to descriptively analyze individual social, demographic, and economic factors; preenrollment factors; and institutional…

Path analysis was used to examine the process of persistence in higher education among a sample of low-income Black youth attending a variety of institutions. The model explores the role of college experiences--academic and social integration and academic achievement. (Author/MLW)

This study examined the profile of community college dropouts, in an attempt to identify how this cohort differs from university-level dropouts and to identify reasons for community college students' withdrawal from school. The authors argue that the profile of a typical community college student--a person who has a full- or part-time job, lives…

This study examines within-year persistence of undergraduate white and African American college students, focusing on how this information can be used to inform initiatives on retention. Data was collected from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1996; the sample included 1,482 African American and 11,292 white four-year undergraduate…

This study examines the course shopping behaviors of approximately 5,000 community college students enrolled across the nine campuses of the Los Angeles Community College District in spring 2001. The sample students are representative of the district. For the purpose of this analysis, the authors define course shopping as: (1) cyclic shopping, the…

Results of a survey of graduates and inactive students of a nontraditional bachelor's program reveal differences in age and ethnic groups, number of reasons (although not primary reason) for seeking a degree or nontraditional program, and attitudes toward program variables, assets, and problems. Results are evaluated according to concepts of…

A study of 118 adult women students, with children, in 3 Australian universities found 3 major factors in withdrawal: socioeconomic class (lack of family support for mother's study, lack of money, domestic responsibilities, lack of needed skills); nontraditional major (economics, business, law); and age (younger students because of family or…