In an abstraction from a doctoral dissertation (University of Michigan, 1967), the author concludes that "attrition is not necessarily harmful to the student. Students may be typed according to the following problems: academic, social, social-academic, religious, or too intellective. Types of Institutions to which students transferred are also…

The primary objective of the Three-Year Nor Cal Attrition Study was to demonstrate that community colleges could overcome the "revolving door" problem and help potential dropouts. It was further realized that the rich descriptive data base that Nor Cal had collected could be of use to the entire academic community. Although grand totals…

Students were asked for their reasons for not re-enrolling at the University of New South Wales. Of the 1216 students in this category 72 percent did not reply, but those who did indicated three motivating factors: the effect of the course or school on them as individuals; pressures of employment or distance; change in personal situation. (LBH)

Concerns of students at risk of dropping out of school in an urban setting were studied using innovative ethnographic methods. Students served as collaborators to tape dialogues between themselves and peers. Results for 77 dialogues among 61 individuals indicate the importance of pressure from outside and boredom within the school. (TJH)

In fall 1996, California's Los Angeles Harbor College instituted the use of a drop notice survey to notify instructors when students dropped their course. Students dropping a course checked off their reasons on a notice card, which was recorded for research and student service purposes and sent to the instructor within the day. In addition, the…

A questionnaire survey was made of 364 State University of New York (SUNY) correspondence course dropouts. Responses came from 187. College credit, career related skills, self-improvement, and certification or college degree requirements had been the leading motives for enrolling; major reasons for discontinuing involved instructors and…

Reports on the results of several major studies of high school dropouts. Topics addressed are who drops out and why; school-related causes; and prevention policies and programs. Stresses the urgency of addressing the nationwide dropout problem and recommends courses of action. Appended are 19 references. (IW)

Cites references from the ERIC junior college collection which relate to retention and persistence in the community college and includes a bibliography of doctoral dissertations on the subject. (AYC)

Wisconsin junior and senior high schools enroll approximately 500 children of migrant agricultural workers each year, but performance data shows that in 1982-83 twelfth grade service to migrant students was only 17% of the first grade figure. Problems which contribute to the high dropout rate of junior and senior migrant students in Wisconsin…

This is the second report of the Northern California Cooperative Research Project (NORCAL) on student attrition. Part I summarizes the findings of the initial NORCAL report on attrition characteristics (see ED 031 240) and compares them with other community college samples. It also discusses the validation of a predictive model for identifying…

This document analyzes the results of a follow-up study about specific factors that distinguish between students likely to drop out and those who stay in school and graduate. The dropout interview form, which was administered to dropouts in the original study, was revised and administered by counselors to 180 seniors who were in the lower four…

The paper traces Wisconsin's adaptation of the California Portable Assistance Study Sequence (PASS), a semi-independent correspondence type study program, for junior high and senior high school migrant students. Educational needs and problems of the approximately 500 migratory secondary school students who attend Wisconsin schools are described.…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, the National Center for Education Statistics undertook a study of dropouts in higher education. Specifically, the study was designed to discover: (1) to what extent students withdraw from institutions of higher education before completion, and how these rates might…

In order to determine the extent of attrition at Essex County College, all students registered for the fall semester of 1975 who did not return for the winter semester were identified and were surveyed by mail (n=2,000) to ascertain their reasons for not returning. A total of 546 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 27.3%. Analysis…

A study was conducted at William Rainey Harper College (WRHC) to obtain a profile of degree students who withdrew from courses at the college between 1979 and 1982. Study findings, based on forms completed by 10,148 of the 29,410 students who withdrew from courses during this period, included the following: (1) 11.5% of all course enrollments…