Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The increase in competition for the college-age population and the decline in fiscal support for land-grant institutions have forced universities to consider attrition/retention issues. The College of Business Administration at a metropolitan, commuter university was interested in learning why students in good standing drop out. The findings of a survey study indicated that no single factor appeared to be the critical causal factor and that a number of variables may contribute incrementally to the decision to leave. Important to this study was the finding that a substantial number of the respondents have dropped out previously, suggesting that it may be more accurate to describe these students as stopping out rather than dropping out. Proactive strategies that may be undertaken by the college are discussed.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Astin

A. W.

(1975). Preventing students from dropping out. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Astin

A. W.

Korn

& Green

(1987). Retaining and satisfying students. Educational Record, 36–42.

Bank

B. J.

Biddle

B. J.

& Slavings

R. L.

(1990). Effects of peer, faculty, and parental influences on student persistence. The Sociological Quarterly, 63, 208–225.

Bank

B. J.

Biddle

B. J.

& Slavings

R. L.

(November 1994). Are college costs cutting enrollment? American Demographics, 9.

Bean

(1986). Assessing and reducing attrition. New directions for higher education: No. 53. Managing College Enrollments, 14(1), 47–61.

Bean

& Metzner

B. S.

(1985). A conceptual model of non-traditional student attrition. Review of Educational Research, 55(4), 485–540.

Chickering

A. W.

(1996). Education and identity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Collison

(1993). Another rough year for college admissions as competition and family finances take toll. Chronicle of Higher Education, 39(30), A27, 2p, 1c.

Cope

& Hannah

(1975). Revolving college doors. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

10.

Daigle

S. L.

(1979). Attrition and retention in the California State University and colleges. Academic Resource Planning and Analysis. Fullerton, CA: CSU.

11.

Evangelauf

(1987). Costs of attending college appear likely to rise faster than inflation for the 8th year in a row. Chronicle of Higher Education, 34(25), A29–30.

12.

Geraghty

(1997). Finances are becoming more crucial in students' college choice, survey finds. Chronicle of Higher Education, 43(19), A41.

13.

Johnson

(1997). Commuter college students: What factors determine who will persist or who will drop out? College Student Journal, 31(3), 323–333.

14.

MacDowell

(1994). Clearing up the confusion about financial aid. USA Today, 123(2592), 65–68.

15.

Sherer

(1985). Depression and suicidal ideation in college students. Psychological Reports, 57, 1061–1062.

16.

Speer

(1994). Are college costs cutting enrollment? (California Higher Education Policy Center Survey). American Demographics, 16(11), 9–11.

17.

Schurenberg

(1989). Colleges learn to sell their services. Working Woman-McCall's Group, 14(11), 65–69.

18.

Sydow

D. L.

& Sandel

R. H.

(1998). Making student retention an institutional priority. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 22(7), 635–644.

19.

Tinto

(1987). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

20.

Tinto

(1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

21.

Upcraft

M. L.

& Gardner

J. N.

& Associates (1989). The Freshmen Year Experience. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

22.

White

W. F.

& Bigham

W. D.

(1982). Increase of college retention by an information systems approach to instruction. Psychological Reports, 52, 306.

23.

White

W. F.

Nylin

W. C.

& Esser

P. R.

(1985). Academic course grades as better predictors of graduation from a commuter type college than SAT scores. Psychological Reports, 56, 375–378.

24.

Wilder

(1992). Attrition in higher education: A tragic waste of human resources. College Student Journal, 26(3), 340–344.

25.

Wilkie

(1994). Consumer behavior, 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

26.

Youn

D. K.

(1992). Student retention: Many more ideas. College Student Journal, 26(4), 472–475.

A Post-Mortem Study of Student Attrition at the College of Business Administration

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References