This is the first interim report of the congressionally mandated National Study of Student Support Services (SSS), a federally funded grant program designed to help economically disadvantaged students achieve success at the postsecondary level. The program is intended to facilitate disadvantaged students' high school completion, entry into and…

Presenting data on student persistence at Rancho Santiago College (RSC), in California, through fall 1993, this three-part report presents longitudinal semester-to-semester persistence rates for 1983-1993; course completion rates, including grade and withdrawal distributions for every course and department for fall 1993; and data on associate…

This conference proceedings monograph presents 20 papers describing initiatives that deal with the recruitment and retention of minorities in education. Papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Recruitment and Retention of Minority Scholarship and Grant Recipients: Identifying Successful Models" (Teresa Unseld); (2) "An…

This report presents an analysis of the data developed from a survey involving case studies of 10 public colleges and universities with good records for graduating African Americans, Hispanics, or American Indians. The survey identified 36 state and 68 institutional practices associated with high, or improved, equity outcomes during the 1980s. Ten…

This study evaluated the shortage of special education teachers in Oklahoma and presented a long term plan to meet this need. The study examined: (1) teacher shortages by category and geographic location in Oklahoma; (2) availability of individuals with the potential to be special education teachers; and (3) innovative recruitment and retention…

Fiscal support for higher education and policy concerns at the state level during difficult financial times are discussed, with specific reference to the western states. States vary widely in several ways: the strength of their economies, the actions of legislatures and voters to reduce the revenues or the expenditure base of state and local…

The program addresses three areas of concern at Western Michigan University: student attrition, minority student participation, and educational relevance. The project was based on previous work suggesting that students can more nearly achieve their optimum performance when programs provide clear-cut objectives, frequent accountability, and…

In 1990, a study was conducted to validate factors which relate to the persistence or retention of students enrolled in two-year college occupational programs, with a particular focus on minority students. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 731 students and 55 faculty members at 5 colleges in New York. In addition to the survey,…

In June 1990, a statewide telephone survey was conducted of 1,200 former full- and part-time Michigan community college students who had not returned for classes in fall 1989. The 29 colleges were classified as urban, suburban, and regional institutions, and a total of 200 former full-time and 200 former part-time students were contacted from each…

In 1990, a study was conducted at San Joaquin Delta Community College (California) to determine the role that student ethnicity played in the educational process at the college. Specifically, the report examined whether the major ethnic groups were over- or under-represented in the student body, the extent to which students of different…

The use of nontraditional college admission variables in the prediction of academic success was assessed with 444 freshmen entering the University of California, Davis, under the Special Action process (wavering of admission requirements). For fall 1978, 1979, 1980 special entrants, attention was directed to college applications, including high…

The extent of postsecondary remedial studies in the United States was investigated in 1983-1984, along with characteristics of current programs, and measures of program effectiveness. Reliable national estimates were sought on: the number and type of courses offered; the percent of students taking remedial courses and recent enrollment changes;…

The Bilingual Education and Career Awareness Program at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the Bronx was awarded a 1-year grant extension to provide services to 235 ninth- through twelfth-grade limited-English-speaking Hispanic students of varying English and Spanish proficiency. Primary program goals were to increase English and Spanish…

New Jersey's plan for increasing minority group participation in higher education is presented. The plan, developed in response to declining minority enrollments, outlines eight goals for student recruitment and retention and the strategies intended to achieve them. The goals concern strengthening efforts to attract academically prepared minority…

Reasons for the lack of agreement among studies of persistence are considered, using a simplified causal model. Two major theoretical perspectives used in studying the educational careers of college entrants are summarized: (1) the Tinto or institutional persistence theory, which draws mainly on the discipline of education and applied…