This brief focuses on student attrition and retention in the two-year college. An introductory section discusses the definitions of attrition used in studies of student persistence; and how these definitions, which often include students who are actually completers in terms of their own educational goals, may exaggerate attrition rates, which are…

Four papers are presented in this research report. Cooke and Tannenbaum present the theoretical background, methodology, and results of a study exploring the relation of formal and informal participation to the distribution of control in community colleges. Data, collected from students, faculty, and administrators of five "formally participative"…

Interviews were conducted with the presidents and senior administrators of 20 Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology located in the province of Ontario (Canada) to assess the relationship between organizational size and organizational structure. It was found that a relationship existed between the size variable and certain structural dimensions.…

A marketing process was designed at Odessa College (Texas) to deal with declining enrollments. Marketing was defined by the administrators and faculty who designed the process as a combination of image portrayal, service adaptability, and the evaluation of how well service and promotion complement one another. The process used a task force…

Extensive commitment to the remedial "tracking approach" over many years by the City Colleges of Chicago has not produced the desired outcomes. The results of several studies indicate that: student achievement in remedial courses has not resulted in improved performance in regular college courses; student and institutional retention is…

This report brings together the many findings gathered during a three-year study of the 8,979 students who entered Hawaii's seven community colleges in fall 1975. Study results are organized in the following sections: (1) selected highlights from the literature and description of the flow project; (2) characteristics of entering students and…

As part of a continuing study of student flow in the Hawaii community colleges, this report analyzes the persistence patterns of 1975 entering students after six semesters for the community college total and the seven campuses. The persistence patterns of the 8,979 students showed that 24% enrolled for only one semester (non-persisters), 41%…

This report continues an analysis of the student flow patterns of the fall 1975 entering students at the Hawaii community colleges. Focus is placed on the extreme persisters (students who were enrolled for all six semesters without a break in attendance at their campus of entry) who continued their studies for the seventh semester. Findings are…

The marketing approach used by Moraine Valley Community College (Illinois) was designed to expand the participation of underserved groups within its district at all levels of higher education. The plan was based upon the premises of equal access, provision of program information, setting of priorities among constituencies, program manageability,…

A survey was conducted at Austin Community College (ACC) to determine why students who were previously enrolled chose not to re-enroll after completing at least 12 semester units. Of the 1,641 non-returning students who were sent questionnaires, 449 responded. Survey data on students' level of satisfaction with ACC, their employment status, and…

A survey of 374 women students, who re-entered formal education at 13 community colleges in Northern California, was conducted to determine whether probability of persistence or non-persistence could be predicted on the basis of selected life antecedents, and which student services were perceived by persisting and non-persisting students as most…

The formal and informal administrative structures and channels of authority at Iowa Lakes Community College were investigated through a questionnaire administered to the college's board of directors, central administration, department chairpersons, student services staff, student senate, and faculty. The questionnaire asked respondents to identify…

To understand patterns of student enrollment, particularly with regard to student attrition, Mercer County Community College developed a computerized information tracking system which monitors enrollment for each semester's entering class, both full- and part-time, for a period of six semesters. This report details enrollment patterns for fall…

During 1977-78 Pierce College undertook a study to (1) examine major reasons for attrition; (2) determine reasons for student attendance at Pierce; (3) determine the long-range effects of academic residence at Pierce for its students; and (4) experimentally determine the effects on retention of special treatment, through a "caring ombudsman." Each…

Four studies conducted at Harcum College (Pennsylvania) in fall 1969 were presented. From a survey to determine students' reasons for attending Harcum, it was concluded that substantial numbers of students view their college education as a means of acquiring future direct, material rewards. A study on student attrition demonstrated the variety and…