Freshman Attrition Research Articles

An exploratory study of freshman attrition from an Appalachian physiology program.

Appalachia has low rates of college attendance and graduation, but relevant data investigating student attrition from physiology majors in this region are lacking. This exploratory study examined freshman attrition from an undergraduate exercise physiology program in Appalachia with the goal of identifying potential strategies for improving retention across similar programs in this underserved region. Questionnaires were administered at the beginning and end of the fall semester to freshman (n = 247) and students transferring out of the major [Transferred group (T); n = 50] by the end of their first semester were compared against those that remained [Retained group (R); n = 190]. The Transferred group was invited to participate in qualitative interviews. Fewer Transferred students reported feeling underprepared in academic preparedness skills, but more reported feeling underprepared in math. At the end of the semester, more in the Transferred group reported doing worse than expected in math and in getting good grades and had a lower grade point average (R: 3.27 ± 0.05; T: 2.62 ± 0.15; P < 0.01). More in the Transferred group were first-generation (FG) college students (R: 17%; T: 30%). Transferred FG had lower academic preparation and performance and more financial need than Retained FG. In interviews (n = 35), most students expressed a change in career goals and many noted the academic rigor of the program, while academic advising, faculty, and the major received generally positive praise. This study identified several factors that would allow for early identification of incoming freshmen at risk for attrition and proposes strategies for improving retention within Appalachian physiology programs.

Stress overload as a red flag for freshman failure and attrition

Freshman attrition is a major concern for universities, prompting research to identify red flags for academic failure. Stress might be one such signal, but universities have not incorporated it into predictive algorithms. It was hypothesized that “stress overload”, the destructive form of stress described in theories, would (1) predict grades and attrition as well as traditional algorithm variables, and (2) explain minority disparities in grades and attrition. The Stress Overload Scale (SOS) was tested for the first time as a predictor in two studies using different samples from the same cohort of freshmen entering a large public university. The first study (n = 569), conducted during the first semester, showed stress overload to predict term GPA better than most traditional predictors. Also, because SOS means differed and the SOS-GPA correlation was invariant across minority and white students, stress overload partially accounted for grade disparities. A second study (n = 584) in the second semester showed stress overload to remain among the best predictors of term GPA. However, no variable except GPA predicted attrition. Moreover, SOS means were now comparable for minority and white students, and because its association with GPA remained invariant, the SOS could no longer explain grade disparities. Together, results indicated that stress overload is a red flag for poor grades for all freshmen (minority and white) across their first year, but by the second semester, those grades become more proximal predictors of attrition. Possible reasons for these findings, and their implications for using the SOS in predictive algorithms, are discussed.

An Investigation Of The Erosion In New Major Innovation Characteristics Over Time

A recent study by ODonnell and Sauer (2008) indicated, that over time, the benefit of launching new majors to reduce freshman attrition dissipated. In 2004, new majors had a significant effect on reducing attrition. By 2007, however, these same new majors were no longer significant predictors of attrition. What happened between 2004 and 2007 to cause this erosion in the affect of new majors on attrition? In this study, we examine the differences in perceptions of the innovative characteristics in an effort to explain why this erosion might have occurred. Results of a two-way between subjects ANOVA reveals that new majors began to be perceived as similar to old majors along certain dimensions of innovative characteristics. In particular, differences in the prospects of getting a better job, the perception that the new major was easier, hearing from others that new majors offered better job prospects and that employers preferred new majors, and that new majors were less compatible with student needs and goals, all disappeared by 2007. Nevertheless, new majors were still perceived as requiring more prerequisites, being more likely to require an extra course, and as not being offered at other area colleges and universities relative to old majors. This article discusses the impact and consequences of these findings and proposes future research to be pursued.

Freshman Attrition in a College of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario

This study, conceptualized using a "person-environment fit" model of dropout, examined differentiated freshman attrition and persistence in a College of Applied Arts and Technology of Ontario. Also examined were the magnitude and timing of dropout as well as the ability of the model to explain and predict freshman attrition/persistence vs academic success/failure. The relative importance of student and institutional characteristics in the withdrawal process was also assessed. Results showed that thirty percent of the freshman cohort dropped out in the first year, with approximately half doing so in the first semester. Those variables which measured the nature of the student-institution interaction accounted for a greater amount of the variance in persistence/withdrawal than did the background and entry-level characteristics of the students alone. This confirms the validity of the "fit" model of dropout and suggests that college administrators could significantly reduce freshman attrition by carefully managing the college learning environment. Consistent with U.S. studies comparing factors influencing dropout in commuter and residential institutions, this study found academic integration and educational commitment to be of greater importance to persistence than social integration and institutional commitment. A student's intention to leave the college at mid-semester and his/her confidence in success were also found to be important determinants of freshman attrition.

EXPANDING THE ADVISING TEAM

The Student Advising Center (an intrusive, centralized advising center) at Emporia State University has become a catalyst for team building throughout the whole campus. This paper examines the process and results of such teamwork from four different perspectives: presidential, enrollment management, centralized advising, and faculty. This article demonstrates that a commitment to advising from central administration, statewide Board of Regents, and an expansion of the advising team can create positive effects. The results obtained are a reduction in freshman attrition, higher graduation rates, and an increase in credit hours generated.

Perceived Quality of Academic Advising: The Effect on Freshman Attrition

Using data from 1,033 freshmen at a public urban university, this study examined the effect of the perceived quality of academic advising on student attrition in a model of the student attrition process. High-quality advising negatively influenced attrition through effects on GPA, satisfaction in the role of a student, the value of a college education for future employment, and intent to leave the university. Low-quality advising was related to greater attrition than was high-quality advising, but, on the other hand, low-quality advising was associated with less attrition than no advising at all. The effect size of the advising variables suggested that a more extensive provision of high-quality advising might be considered as one strategy in a multifaceted institutional effort to reduce freshman attrition.

Perceived Quality of Academic Advising: The Effect on Freshman Attrition

Perceived Quality of Academic Advising: The Effect on Freshman Attrition

No Magic Required: Reducing Freshman Attrition at the Community College

No Magic Required: Reducing Freshman Attrition at the Community College

Freshman Attrition and the Residential Context

After controlling for students’ pre-college characteristics and individual levels of academic and social integration in the institution, the residence unit context was found to be reliably related to attrition/retention among men, but not among women. For men, those living in a residence unit characterized by comparatively higher levels of occupant commitment to the institution and to personal goals were significantly more likely to enroll as sophomores than were freshmen in units with lower levels of commitment among the residents.

Evaluating Experimental and Control Programs for Attrition/Persistence

This study assessed the effectiveness, in terms of attrition/persistence, of an experimental program for disadvantaged freshmen (A’ = 104) as contrasted with a control program (N = 104). Multifactor analyses of variance considered the effects of programs, special instruction, financial aid, ACT, sex, race, and GPA. In terms of freshman attrition/persistence, there were no viable significant differences between the experimental and control programs; between special and regular instruction; between financial aid and no financial aid; between special instruction with financial aid and regular instruction with no financial aid; between lower and higher ACT scores; between males and females; or between blacks and whites. Grades (as significant main effects and in significant interactions) differentiated freshman attrition/ persistence consistently.

Patterns of Student-Faculty Informal Interaction beyond the Classroom and Voluntary Freshman Attrition

In a test of Tinto's theoretical model of attrition, this study investigated the pattern of relationships between different types of student-faculty interaction beyond the classroom and college persistence during the freshman year. After controlling for student sex, academic aptitude and personality attributes, freshman persisters were found to have a significantly higher (p < .01) frequency of interactions along six dimensions than were voluntary leavers. Discriminant analysis indicated that student-faculty interactions focusing on discussion of intellectual or course related concerns contributed most to group discrimination.

Patterns of Student-Faculty Informal Interaction beyond the Classroom and Voluntary Freshman Attrition

Patterns of Student-Faculty Informal Interaction beyond the Classroom and Voluntary Freshman Attrition

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

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.

College Characteristics Associated with Freshman Attrition

100 randomly selected four‐year institutions with very low freshman dropout rates were compared with a comparable group of institutions that had freshman attrition rates that were not “low,” in order to determine whether the two types of institutions differed in respect to 22 selected variables. It was found that colleges with low freshman dropout rates did differ significantly from the comparison group on 15 of the 22 characteristics analyzed. 10 of the 15 variables were personal (i.e., they related to student characteristics), whereas the remaining 5 were nonpersonal (e.g., the size of the institution and the cost of attending it). The general conclusion reached was that administrators who seek to understand and to cope with the freshman dropout problem must take into consideration both personal and nonpersonal factors associated with the phenomenon of freshman attrition.

Prediction and prevention of freshman attrition.

Prediction and prevention of freshman attrition.