Voluntary freshman attrition and patterns of social and academic integration in a university: A test of a conceptual model

Abstract

This study assessed the validity of Tinto's (1975) theory of student attrition, which asserts that withdrawal relates most directly to students' integration in the social and academic systems of an institution. The study also examined the relative importance of these two dimensions. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that both social and academic integration were significantly and independently related to voluntary freshman attrition. Discriminant analysis suggested, when the two variable sets were combined, that the joint contributions of the two sets were approximately equal, tending to support Tinto's assertion of the concomitant importance of these two constructs. The findings also suggest that informal interaction with faculty may play a more important role than presently specified by the model in the socialization of students, contributing to their integration into both the academic and social systems of the institution. The results also indicate that sizeable reductions in attrition may be possible only through actions which touch both the social and academic dimensions of the institutional environment.