Assessing the Student Attrition Problem.

As the entering-college population dwindles and competition to attract this population increases among colleges, student retention has become a primary concern for community colleges. Assessing the extent of the dropout problem is particularly problematic for community colleges, as they are institutions geared to the facilitation of ease of entrance, exit, and reentry. In an attempt to clarify the community college attrition phenomenon, one 1982 study identified three categories of attrition: "positive attrition," which refers to students who have met their objectives or transferred; "neutral attrition," which refers to students who leave due to a job or other scheduling conflict; and "negative attrition," which refers to students unprepared or unmotivated for their studies. Because of the complex nature of drop-in and dropout patterns, each college needs to determine the extent of its own attrition problem. Retention studies can take a variety of approaches. For example, Spoon River College (Illinois) conducted a study focusing on the differing needs of full- and part-time students, and demonstrated the effectiveness of specifically designed retention plans for these different student populations. Valencia Community College (Florida) conducted a study concentrating on the factors affecting the retention of a single minority group, black students. Middlesex County College (New Jersey) drew from the insights of a number of special populations within the student body to assess the interaction between institutional provisions and student needs, while the City Colleges of Chicago examined institutional variables and their effects on student course completion. (UCM)

Practitioners. ericd

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