This speech describes Chicago State University's (CSU) model for encouraging student retention and success and the organizational changes that were necessary to implement the model during a period of fiscal constraints. A description of the institution and its context notes that CSU is a comprehensive, urban, commuter university serving a…

Papers from the National Association of State Scholarship and Grant Programs/National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs conference on student aid are presented. They include: (1) "Keynote: Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Student Aid on Access, Choice, and Persistence" (Larry Leslie and Paul Brinkman); (2) "College Choice…

In 1989, a profile was developed of the full-time students attending New Brunswick community colleges (NBCCs), using demographic data, and educational and labor force background information found in student records. Data for the profile were retrieved from the NBCC's Student Information System for the academic years 1985-86 through 1988-89,…

The designer of a modern community college must concomitantly meet the needs of those who expect a college to fit their traditional perceptions of a suitable physical plan, and not repel the great numbers of nontraditional students the community college is expected to serve. Many community colleges have been built as an uneasy compromise between…

How can either private or public colleges and universities compete for students? Through what kinds of policies would they be most likely to encourage enrollment in their institutions? This study was designed to answer these questions, which have become relevant because of the near certainty that the majority of institutions will have a plethora…

Data were gathered from nontraditional (commuter, part-time) freshmen at a midwestern urban university. Dropout was a function of grade point average and credit hours enrolled, as well as the utility of education for future employment, satisfaction with the student role, opportunity to transfer, and age affecting dropout through intent to leave.…

Tinto's model of college persistence/withdrawal, developed for residential colleges, is tested at a nonresidential institution. Results indicated that the concepts of person-environment fit, social integration, and institutional commitment operated differently in the commuter institution. A reconceptualized model for explaining…

A study of 141 first-year science students at York University (Ontario) shows that integration/involvement variables are important in explaining a number of desired outcomes, including satisfaction with grades and program, social values, educational attitudes, achievement gains, and intent to continue in the program and/or institution. (MSE)

This study examined the academic and social experiences of first-year science students at "Big U," a large multi-cultural and multi-racial commuter university located in a large Canadian city. A total of 498 incoming science students were surveyed in September, November, and February-March of the first year. Response rates for the…

A survey of 17,592 college students on 140 campuses indicates considerable alcohol abuse, which is adversely affecting the social and academic environment for nonabusers. Results also show variation by region, student age, and institution. The study suggested that students' drinking was not affected by differences in school policies. Some schools…

Student satisfaction with the environments of five commuter colleges was studied at an eastern university. A reliable instrument was developed to profile 2,392 students' perceptions of 30 aspects of the college environment. To determine how student characteristics relate to their evaluations of the college environment, eight regression analyses…

Factors contributing to the academic persistence of college students and those factors that may be amenable to institutional control were studied in 1980 at Georgia State University. The academic career of 4,481 students was studied for a 5-quarter period at this nonresidential, urban university. Multiple regression and multiple discriminant…

Eighteen tables present data indicating average expenses for resident students--both those living in campus housing and those in private housing--commuting students, and self-supporting students attending different types of postsecondary institutions. The tables also provide data showing how postsecondary educational expenses are changing and how…

This report presents and analyzes data gathered as one part of a multi-phase, multi-method, comprehensive study of several aspects of the House Plan as it exists at Cypress College. All day (458) and evening (128) students, entering February 1976 and registered for six units or more, were surveyed. The survey instrument tested students' general…

This report is a preliminary study of the counseling aspect of the House Plan at Cypress College in California. For the study, all House counselors kept records of how many students they saw for a nine-day period in May 1976 and indicated why they felt students came to see them. In addition, three groups of students (graduation attendees, those…