This paper focuses on the relationship between institutional factors and the intention of undergraduate students to withdraw from or complete their distance education courses in the Arab Open University (AOU). The model was examine on a pilot sample of 127 students and then re-examined on the field study of 587 students. Mixed paradigms were…

Retention at university matters. It matters morally, as we know the life chances of people who complete a degree are dramatically improved. It matters financially, as students who leave a university before graduation take their fees with them. And it matters nationally, as the higher the education level of the population, the greater the nation's…

This study tested Pascarella's reconceptualization of Tinto's model of the persistence/withdrawal process for use in a non-residential institution. Subjects (n=372) were college freshmen who had attended freshmen orientation and had completed an opinionnaire both during orientation and at the end of their first year in a medium-sized, urban…

Available data on student completion of courses at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) were compiled and analyzed for a 3-year period from summer 1981 through spring 1984. The study provided two different perspectives on student enrollment through volume measures, such as headcount enrollment and credit hours, and success indicators, such as…

Dropout classification systems must be standardized, updated, and simplified to accurately reflect conditions of student departures from school; current, nonstandardized systems allow gathered data to be biased and of poor quality. Improvements will inform administrators of the specific causes behind students' early withdrawals--whether students…

A study was conducted to determine why applicants to the DeKalb Area Vocational-Technical School did not show up for admissions testing and enrollment or did not complete programs which they began. The study identified four groups of non-completers: "no shows" (i.e., applicants who failed to report for admissions testing); "test outs" (i.e.,…

During the spring semester of 1975, Leeward Community College conducted an investigation of student class schedule changes. A survey instrument was designed, and its completion was made a requirement for students requesting schedule changes. The resulting number of cases analyzed was 2,227, representing a decline of 1,873 from the number of…

At the start of the fall 1972 semester at Hofstra University, 688 students did not register; they represented 15.3 percent of the full-time undergraduate day students in attendance curing the spring semester who might have been expected to return in the fall. The purpose of this document is to shed light on the kinds of people who left rather than…

This report identifies the entering undergraduate classes from 1963 through 1968 at the University of Virginia in relation to the number who graduated within 5 years or less and those who withdrew for specific reasons. Data are included for the College of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Architecture. (MJM)

Recognizing that voluntary withdrawal from college is inextricably associated with achievement needs, this study used achievement motivation theory to examine: (1) whether women function differently from men in achievement-oriented situations; (2) whether they differ in their reasons for leaving college; and (3) whether achievement level, as…

This paper reports the results of a major research effort by the Northern California Cooperative Research Group (Nor Cal) and the Coordinating Council for Higher Education (CCHE) in California to study junior college attrition. This study differs from the original Nor Cal attrition study in that it was designed to follow up those students who…

Nor Cal Phase III was the experimental portion of the 3-year attrition study. The general purpose of the study was to design and test treatments aimed at reducing attrition among first-time freshmen entering community colleges. Twenty-eight colleges (22 in Northern California, five in Southern California and one out-of-state) were involved in…

A study of attrition after the first year of college was conducted at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A path-analytic model of nine factors affecting student persistence was tested using LISREL. The results indicate that social integration is an important factor in college persistence. (Author/MLW)

This study of a random sample of 125 nongraduates and withdrawals from a Canadian community college found that the most frequently given reasons for noncompletion were school related, e.g., lack of interest, test failure, boredom, and dislike of teachers or courses. (SK)

This study attempts to define dropouts, focus on the reasons for dropping out, and suggest some ways to overcome perceived barriers to participation in adult literacy programs. (SK)