A Descriptive Study of the Problems Reported by Selected Students on Academic Probation at Western Kentucky University

With colleges and universities faced with the possibility of declining enrollments during the decade of the 1980\u27s, student enrollment is becoming an increasing concern in higher education. Efforts to retain students are attracting more attention by college and university personnel. Reasons for dropping out of college have ranged from financial concerns to diverse personality factors. It has been estimated that of the fifteen million students who entered colleges and universities for the first time during the 1970\u27s, five to six million would never earn degrees. College and university dropouts are generally classified into two groups: those students who are forced to leave college because of poor grades, and those who leave voluntarily. The problems reported by selected academic probation students, as assessed by the Mooney Problem Check List, were examined in this study. The sample of academic probation students was studied as a total group and by separate academic class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior). The purpose of this study was to discover the types of problems reported by academic probation students at Western Kentucky University. Tables presented the ranking of problems checked by subjects as assessed by the Mooney Problem Check List for each group reported and for the sample as a whole. The findings of this study revealed that the various problems encountered by students on academic probation appeared to be similar to the problems encountered by students in general. Probation students appeared to face developmental, economic, educational, vocational, and psychological problems. Implications for additional research have been identified for further study. It has been suggested that researchers may wish to determine those factors which influence failure so that the necessary assistance can be provided for the student on academic probation