{"id":{"repo_id":"mo-state","oai_identifier":"oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1358"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mo-state/oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-1358","repository":{"repo_id":"mo-state","name":"Missouri State University","base_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"An Application of Proactive Organizational Communication in Support of an Institutional Objective Regarding Student Retention At Southwest Missouri State University","abstract":"During the fifties and sixties colleges and universities recruited from what seemed like an infinite pool of traditional-age students (age 18) and saw no need to worry about why students were dropping out. But times soon changed. By the mid 1970's, the nation's birth rate dropped a little more than three million from the early sixties. The declining birth rate signaled danger (a shrinking recruitment pool of 18- year-olds) to colleges and universities in the early 1970's through the 1980's. In view of the shrinking recruitment pool of 18-year-olds, institutions of higher education, including SMSU, are now coming to view dropouts in a decidedly different manner. A new trend among colleges and universities is to identify program and strategies intended to prevent students from dropping out--\"retention.\" Typically, SMSU has treated the dropout problem with a \"problem/program\" approach. But can the dropout problem at SMSU be treated as a communication problem? In other words, are students dropping out (or withdrawing) because certain other information and/or communication needs are not being addressed? To respond intelligently data was accrued from adminstering the ACT Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey (short form) across three semesters (Fall 1985, Spring 1986, Fall 1986); the age group of the respondents is treated as the independent variable in a bivariate analysis with all remaining questionnaire items (or variables). The data indicated five major issues facing the at-risk audience: (1) Family responsibilities; (2) Experienced emotional problems and felt alone or isolated; (3) Dissatisfied with my grades and inadequate study habits; (4) Did not budget money correctly; and (5) Conflict between demands of job and college. Since the overriding purpose of this project is to offer a specific test of D'Aprix's proactive organizational communication model, a communication plan was designed to address the five issues and to meet the communication and/or information needs of the at-risk audience. The plan is described and explained, including criteria for evaluation.","abstract_html":"During the fifties and sixties colleges and universities recruited from what seemed like an infinite pool of traditional-age students (age 18) and saw no need to worry about why students were dropping out. But times soon changed. By the mid 1970's, the nation's birth rate dropped a little more than three million from the early sixties. The declining birth rate signaled danger (a shrinking recruitment pool of 18- year-olds) to colleges and universities in the early 1970's through the 1980's. In view of the shrinking recruitment pool of 18-year-olds, institutions of higher education, including SMSU, are now coming to view dropouts in a decidedly different manner. A new trend among colleges and universities is to identify program and strategies intended to prevent students from dropping out--"retention." Typically, SMSU has treated the dropout problem with a "problem/program" approach. But can the dropout problem at SMSU be treated as a communication problem? In other words, are students dropping out (or withdrawing) because certain other information and/or communication needs are not being addressed? To respond intelligently data was accrued from adminstering the ACT Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey (short form) across three semesters (Fall 1985, Spring 1986, Fall 1986); the age group of the respondents is treated as the independent variable in a bivariate analysis with all remaining questionnaire items (or variables). The data indicated five major issues facing the at-risk audience: (1) Family responsibilities; (2) Experienced emotional problems and felt alone or isolated; (3) Dissatisfied with my grades and inadequate study habits; (4) Did not budget money correctly; and (5) Conflict between demands of job and college. Since the overriding purpose of this project is to offer a specific test of D'Aprix's proactive organizational communication model, a communication plan was designed to address the five issues and to meet the communication and/or information needs of the at-risk audience. The plan is described and explained, including criteria for evaluation.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Busby, Charles M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Communication","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Herbert Jackson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1987,"date_issued":"1987-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1987-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:23Z","subjects":["Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Charles M Busby"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/357","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Herbert Jackson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Busby, Charles M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Communication"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Charles M Busby"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/357"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["During the fifties and sixties colleges and universities recruited from what seemed like an infinite pool of traditional-age students (age 18) and saw no need to worry about why students were dropping out. But times soon changed. By the mid 1970's, the nation's birth rate dropped a little more than three million from the early sixties. The declining birth rate signaled danger (a shrinking recruitment pool of 18- year-olds) to colleges and universities in the early 1970's through the 1980's. In view of the shrinking recruitment pool of 18-year-olds, institutions of higher education, including SMSU, are now coming to view dropouts in a decidedly different manner. A new trend among colleges and universities is to identify program and strategies intended to prevent students from dropping out--\"retention.\" Typically, SMSU has treated the dropout problem with a \"problem/program\" approach. But can the dropout problem at SMSU be treated as a communication problem? In other words, are students dropping out (or withdrawing) because certain other information and/or communication needs are not being addressed? To respond intelligently data was accrued from adminstering the ACT Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey (short form) across three semesters (Fall 1985, Spring 1986, Fall 1986); the age group of the respondents is treated as the independent variable in a bivariate analysis with all remaining questionnaire items (or variables). The data indicated five major issues facing the at-risk audience: (1) Family responsibilities; (2) Experienced emotional problems and felt alone or isolated; (3) Dissatisfied with my grades and inadequate study habits; (4) Did not budget money correctly; and (5) Conflict between demands of job and college. Since the overriding purpose of this project is to offer a specific test of D'Aprix's proactive organizational communication model, a communication plan was designed to address the five issues and to meet the communication and/or information needs of the at-risk audience. The plan is described and explained, including criteria for evaluation."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Application of Proactive Organizational Communication in Support of an Institutional Objective Regarding Student Retention At Southwest Missouri State University"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Herbert Jackson"],"dc:creator":["Busby, Charles M."],"dc:description.abstract":["During the fifties and sixties colleges and universities recruited from what seemed like an infinite pool of traditional-age students (age 18) and saw no need to worry about why students were dropping out. But times soon changed. By the mid 1970's, the nation's birth rate dropped a little more than three million from the early sixties. The declining birth rate signaled danger (a shrinking recruitment pool of 18- year-olds) to colleges and universities in the early 1970's through the 1980's. In view of the shrinking recruitment pool of 18-year-olds, institutions of higher education, including SMSU, are now coming to view dropouts in a decidedly different manner. A new trend among colleges and universities is to identify program and strategies intended to prevent students from dropping out--\"retention.\" Typically, SMSU has treated the dropout problem with a \"problem/program\" approach. But can the dropout problem at SMSU be treated as a communication problem? In other words, are students dropping out (or withdrawing) because certain other information and/or communication needs are not being addressed? To respond intelligently data was accrued from adminstering the ACT Withdrawing/Nonreturning Student Survey (short form) across three semesters (Fall 1985, Spring 1986, Fall 1986); the age group of the respondents is treated as the independent variable in a bivariate analysis with all remaining questionnaire items (or variables). The data indicated five major issues facing the at-risk audience: (1) Family responsibilities; (2) Experienced emotional problems and felt alone or isolated; (3) Dissatisfied with my grades and inadequate study habits; (4) Did not budget money correctly; and (5) Conflict between demands of job and college. Since the overriding purpose of this project is to offer a specific test of D'Aprix's proactive organizational communication model, a communication plan was designed to address the five issues and to meet the communication and/or information needs of the at-risk audience. The plan is described and explained, including criteria for evaluation."],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/357"],"dc:rights":["© Charles M Busby"],"dc:subject":["Communication"],"dc:title":["An Application of Proactive Organizational Communication in Support of an Institutional Objective Regarding Student Retention At Southwest Missouri State University"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Communication"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:23Z"}