This article provides an overview of GED holders admitted into the Successful Transition and Retention Track (START) two-year pilot-project. An enhanced college-success course, career and mental-health counseling, and English and mathematics tutoring acclimated GED holders to college. Results suggest that postsecondary educational attainment of…

Bachelor's degree attainment has become essential for U.S. labor market participation. However, degree attainment is differentially accessible across racial and economic lines. One explanation of degree disparities is that urban students often lack the social and cultural capital needed to succeed in higher education institutions. This article…

Research on student retention and transition in higher education has been an ongoing focus since the 1950s and during the past decade research into this area has gathered momentum as institutions of higher education increasingly recognise the economic and social costs of failing to retain and transition future graduates. Measures to improve…

Colleges and universities across the United States are struggling with student retention and attrition (Derby & Smith, 2004; Jacobs & Archie, 2008; Tinto, 1993). As a result, theoretically supported interventions designed to encourage retention and persistence are needed. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to intentionally create…

Outlines Hudson Valley Community College's Individualized Studies Program which provides a liberal arts base upon which students design their programs. Describes the program, which also serves a developmental function, in terms of its students, learning laboratories, study skills course, and ongoing orientation process. (DMM)

Brief descriptions of interdisciplinary developmental education programs are provided in this paper, along with a more extensive examination of the Personalized Approach to College Education (PACE) program at the College of the Finger Lakes (CFL) in Canandaigua, New York. Introductory material cites examples of developmental programs which involve…

A four-week summer program at Georgia State University prepares entering African-American students for college work through instruction in mathematics, reading, composition, study skills, word processing, tutoring, academic and career counseling, mentoring, and follow-up. The program has been well received and succeeded in enhancing retention.…

Reviews the literature related to student attrition and retention. Discusses findings from a survey of community college students who withdrew from developmental courses, to determine their reasons for leaving. Describes intervention programs that were subsequently developed, including telephone intervention, mentoring, and skills enhancement…

As part of an ongoing process of curriculum revision at Reading Area Community College (RACC), this program review examines current basic skills programming and support services portions of the college curriculum. Following introductory comments in section I, section II reviews pertinent basic skills research, indicating that useful programs…

A five-week summer program for special acceptance students has been developed at St. Mary's University of San Antonio, Texas. Students accepted into the program must show high potential in the form of good high school grades or high test results. The special acceptance program has three components. The academic skills component is a three hour…

The 115 African-American and other nontraditional medical students attending a summer program in study skills and academic preparation to promote achievement and retention were compared with 82 nonattendees on demographic and academic measures. Little difference was found in the groups, except that attendees felt the program helped them adjust to…

The Student Support Services Program, in the student affairs division, has been a counseling and tutorial program at Chicago State University since 1978. The program's goal is to increase the retention and graduation rates of the university's students. The program's focus is to monitor extensively each participant's first year at the university…

The Pre-College Summer Institute (PCSI) program has been in effect at the University of Hartford, College of Basic Studies, since the summer of 1968. PCSI was a five-week, five-days-a-week program designed to evaluate and prepare marginally acceptable students for the college's entering freshman class. Initially, the program was designed to…

In 1991, Bronx Community College, in New York, established the Freshman Year Initiative Program (FYIP), a comprehensive academic and counseling program designed to enhance academic achievement for a select group of first-semester students who require at least three remedial courses in English composition, reading, and/or mathematics. In order to…

Five state universities' programs to enhance persistence and graduation rates among minority students are profiled. For each, the graduation or persistence rate for a specific cohort is provided for all students, student athletes, and by ethnic group (American Indian, Asian American, Black, White, Other). Characteristics and goals of each program…