PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) Speeches /Conference Papers (150)

In order to gather data on the causes of student attrition, a study was conducted at a Florida community college to identify the relative importance of a set of selected environmental factors and student characteristics. A cohort was developed from the fall 1990 first:lime-in-college students and was tracked for 2 years using the college's standard student level record system and the Florida Education and Training Placement Information Program, a state-level follow-up system. Study results included the following: (1) fall 1990 grade point average (GPA) and the student's mathematics placement score were the most consistently significant variables throughout the study; (2) students working full-time were between 2 and 3 times more likely to drop out than students n,,t working full-time; (3) students taking college preparatory courses were about twice as likely to drop out as those not taking college preparator