Academic Persistence and Attrition Among Freshman Traditional and Non-Traditional Students at a Public Midwestern Commuter University

<p><em>Problem.</em> This research examined student background characteristics, student social and institutional integrations, and their relation to attrition rates of freshman students at a public Midwestern commuter university.</p> <p><em>Method.</em> A quantitative research methodology based on empirical data collection was used utilizing a 101-question research instrument consisting of two sections: student demographic, and five factorially derived scales developed by Pascarella and Terenzini (1980) which operationalized Tinto's (1975) conceptual model of college student withdrawal. Chi-square, analysis of variance, and Pearson product-moment correlation were used to identify factors related to student academic persistence and attrition.</p> <p><em>Results.</em> The study found that, in general, factors external to the institution such as studentbackground characteristics did not relate to freshman student academic persistence/attrition. The study also found that four of the five Pascarella and Terenzini (1980) scales did not differentiate between freshman, transfer, and stop-out students, and three of the five scales did not differentiate between persisters and non-persisters; however, interaction effects were found between type of student and level of persistence on two of the five scales, and only one scale differentiated between persister/nonpersister students by traditional/non-traditional student type.</p> <p><em>Conclusion.</em> The study did not substantiate the validity of Tinto's (1975) model of student persistence and attrition from college for freshman/non-traditional students at a public Midwestern university. His theory and model were found to be inadequate to explain the difference between persister/non-persister students at this university. A new model and research instrument of academic persistence and attrition based on internal institutional variables are therefore needed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Higher Education Administration PhD

Year

2002

Author dc:creator

• Illanz, Arnold W.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lyndon G. Furst
• Jimmy Kijai
• Loretta B. Johns

• Education
• Higher Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/464

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.andrews.edu:dissertations-1463