Excessive course attrition is costly to both the student and the institution. While most institutions have systems to quantify and report the numbers, far less attention is typically paid to each student's reason(s) for withdrawal. In this case study, text analytics was used to analyze a large set of open-ended written comments in which…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of academic variables (e.g., grade point average, major change, informal meetings with faculty) on six year persistence and attainment among black male students in community colleges. Data was collected from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study and was analyzed using…

This study examined student success, failure, withdrawal, and satisfaction in online public relations courses based on instructor-student interaction, student-student interaction, and instructor presence. Student passing rates, D/F rates, withdrawal rates, and evaluations of instruction were compiled from fifty-one online PR courses run over the…

Given the continued issue of student retention for online classes, past research has suggested several "retention strategies" focused on engaging students as a way to reduce their withdrawal rate from these classes. However, a recent study testing the effects of these strategies on retention in online undergraduate business courses…

Legitimate parental interests need to be distinguished from any putative rights parents "qua" parents may be said to possess. Parents have no right to insulate their children from conceptions of the good at variance with those of their own. Claims to the right to faith schools, private schools, home-schooling or to withdraw a child from…

Student retention has become increasingly important as student numbers continue to rise. Early identification of those students who are disengaging from their course is crucial if steps are to be taken to turn this around. Attendance data from the compulsory aspects of courses were gathered on a centrally held database during teaching week six of…

A substantial proportion of students doubt whether they should continue their studies, and are consequently more likely to withdraw. In the study described in this article, undergraduates who reported they doubted gave their reasons why they did, outlined support they received and stated why they ultimately decided to continue with their studies.…

This paper analyses the workplace learning experiences of young male retail employees. Deeming formal education highly unattractive, the pursuit of lifelong learning and continuous development for such people relies on workplace learning. Their experiences, however, over several years and across various retailers painted a grim reality.…

The students' attrition rates among students enrolled at SQU ranged between 6.8% (1998), 7.8% (1999), and 7.9% (2000). However, the drop-out rate at the Sultan Qaboos University is increasing gradually, and this increase represents a problem for the university that provides free education and financial aid for all male students coming from…

The "Anatomy of Economic Inequality in Wales" (2011) provides quantitative evidence for the pervasive nature of class-based inequalities in education, demonstrating that an individual in social housing is approximately 10 times less likely to be a graduate compared to those in other types of accommodation. This article moves beyond the baseline…

In the last two decades, distance education has grown worldwide and is now established as a reliable educational method. Accompanying this development, questions about low rates of student persistence have come to interest governments, institutions, and university management. This article is based on an original local study at a university in…

A major concern among opponents to charter schools is whether these schools will serve all students. Some have raised concerns that charter schools will "push out" low-achieving students in hopes of improving the schools' academic profile while minimizing costs by educating fewer challenging students. In this article, we use data…

Statistics are often used to reveal significant differences between online and campus-based education. The existence of online courses with low completion rates is often used to justify the inherent inferiority of online education compared to traditional classroom teaching. Our study revealed that this type of conclusion has little substance. We…

The acquisition of programming skills specially in introductory programming courses poses an important challenge for freshmen students of engineering programs. These courses require students to devote a sustained effort during the whole course and a failure to do so may contribute to not passing the course. However, it is difficult for the…

This paper analyses two aspects of developing formative assessment processes within universities in Spain: the academic performance of the students and the workload that formative assessment creates for both academic staff and students. It presents the results of 10 research projects covering the first semester of the 2007-08 academic year, mainly…