The Post-Education Employment Tracking System (PEETS), operated by the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges (CCC) in cooperation with the State of California's Employment Development Department (EDD), is an automated system for tracking the post-college employment rates and earnings of community college program completers and…

In validating tests for course placement in college, the criterion variable is usually defined in terms of the grade earned in a particular standard course. This study considers the issue of interpreting incomplete (I) and withdrawal (W) grades either as unsuccessful outcomes or as missing data. The effects of either type of interpretation on…

Focusing on student admission, academic performance, and persistence patterns, this two-part report examines transfer outcomes data on students who attended the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) and transferred to LaSalle University. The first section presents former CCP student application patterns to LaSalle day and evening divisions…

The effectiveness of a state-mandated set of evaluation criteria to identify potential dropouts is evaluated in this study. The selection criteria, based on unsatisfactory academic performance, excluded special education and limited language proficient students. Data analysis of school records and various test scores of 55,666 students in grades…

In 1981-82, a study was conducted to determine why students left LaGuardia Community College (LCC) before completing the requirements for an associate degree. Interviews were conducted with dropout students over the course of the study, and questionnaires were administered to entering and continuing students to provide a comparative framework. The…

In 1987-88, a study was conducted at Piedmont Virginia Community College to determine between-quarter retention rates for various student groups and to compare the characteristics of returning and non-returning students. The study used end-of-quarter data to determine retention rates based on headcount and full-time equivalency. Rates were also…

Three policy statements on self-regulation initiatives for colleges and universities were developed by the American Council on Education with support, in some cases, from other organizations. Policy statement number one concerns policy guidelines for refund of student charges. The guidelines summarize elements of fair and equitable policy in…

As a contribution to the statewide Mississippi Student Information System (MisSIS), Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (MGCJC) conducted two surveys to determine: (1) the reasons students cited for withdrawing from courses during Fall 1979, and (2) the reasons students cited for withdrawing from college during that semester. Survey participants…

A new, prevailing wisdom is guiding the thinking of policy makers and policy shapers throughout North America; its watchwords are "global competitiveness" and "economic restructuring." The preoccupation with viewing schooling and its role in society through the single lens of global economic competitiveness closes off other…

A study of 185 undergraduate students withdrawing from a publicly-funded Canadian university compared student characteristics and experiences (demography, academic performance, employment, financial support, social integration, personal circumstances, and perception of university learning experience) for three discipline areas (arts, education,…

Motivation for returning to higher education was assessed for 117 adult female college graduates with children and 118 students who had withdrawn before graduation. Motivation was found related to previous education, age, marital status, life cycle stage, employment satisfaction, family support. Interrupters and persisters were generally similar;…

In winter semester 1995, Schoolcraft College, in Michigan, experienced a 7% drop in enrollment and an 8% drop in credit hours, including 461 students who applied but did not enroll. To determine the reasons that the no shows had for not enrolling and how many planned to enroll in the future, demographic data were collected from application…

Graduation rates are often used indicators of the performance of institutions of higher education. How institutions are represented can be profoundly affected by different approaches used to develop the data for the rates. The impact of variations in how these rates are constructed is illustrated by the example of the City University of New York…

A study investigated factors in the dropout and progression of students from 33 programs in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in England and Wales. Data were gathered in student and teacher surveys. Results indicate a high level of student movement to and from ESOL classes. In intensive courses, more students were graded and more came…

This study looks at the evolution of the financial aid process as a function of higher education administration and its impact on the recruitment and retention of college students. It illustrates the effects on enrollment of differing financial aid strategies and recommends possible directions for meeting the challenges of the 21st century.…