The purpose of the study was to determine the role of various economic, social, and institutional variables that accounted for the enrollment trends of liberal arts colleges. Most enrollment forecasts have predicted declines in higher education enrollments. Individual institutions relying upon enrollment predictions for planning have had difficulty using these predictions because most of them are aggregated. This study concentrated on individual liberal arts colleges as defined by the Carnegie Commission. Methods of enrollment projections were discussed along with a variety of national, regional, institutional type enrollment projections made since 1970. Observed enrollment trends, factors affecting enrollments, and demographic information were discussed. A marketing concept was used to provide the framework for discovering variables relating to enrollment trends. Phase I of the study selected contributing variables and prepared the data to be examined statistically. Phase II catagorized the institutions into groups according to their enrollment tends over a fourteen year period beginning in 1965 and selected a sample group for statistical testing. Phase III statistical analyzed enrollment trends using enrollment trends as the dependent variable and the independent variables selected in Phase I. The variables discovered to be significant were then tested to assess their predictive validity. Institutions were classified into ten groups using a least squares regression criterion for best fit. These included accelerated growth, constant growth, slowing growth, stable, slowing decline, constant decline, accelerated decline, growth/decline, decline/growth, and erratic. Of 585 Liberal Arts I and Liberal Arts II colleges listed by the Carnegie Commission, 62 were eliminated for lack of enrollment information, and 523 were classified. Those institutions most clearly fitting an enrollment trend were used in the 122 sample that was used in the statistical analysis. Thirty-three Liberal Arts I and eighty-nine Liberal Arts II institutions were chosen for the analysis. In the final analyses, only the growth or decline and the stable groups were used making the seven enrollment trends. Discriminate function analysis was used to distinguish statistically among the groups and to indicate the ability of the independent variables to predict enrollment trends. Liberal Arts I and Liberal Arts II colleges were analyzed separately, and in three ways. . . . (Author's abstract exceeds stipulated maximum length. Discontinued here with permission of author.) UMI

Limited theoretical research exists regarding attrition of nontraditional (older, part-time, commuter) students on American college and university campuses today. Thus, when colleges or universities seek to improve programs specifically designed for such students, there is no broad research base on which to rely. The present study sought to determine if there were differences, especially ones the institution could do something about, between non-traditional students who left such a program and those who completed it. A conceptual model of non-traditional student attrition, developed by adult educators/researchers, Drs. John Bean and Barbara Metzner, provided the theoretical base for the study. Data were obtained from 80 questions on a survey mailed to 469 leavers and finishers in the Eastern Oregon State College External Degree Program. The questions represented four variable categories of the Bean/Metzner model: (1) background, (2) defining, (3) academic, and (4) environmental, and psychological (satisfaction) and academic outcomes. Of the 402 deliverable surveys, 82% were returned from 112 leavers and 204 finishers. Chi-square and t-tests of significance provided little differentiation between leavers and finishers on background and defining variables. For example, leavers and finishers were similar in age (most were 44-46 years); the majority were Caucasian, married, and had children; lived in Oregon communities of less than 50,000 population within 60 miles of post-secondary institution (not necessarily Eastern Oregon State College); had performed well (3.00-3.49 GPA) in high school; and were employed outside the home at least 30 hours a week. Differences in the leavers and finishers' educational goals (a background variable) and the grade level at which they entered the Program (a defining variable) were statistically significant at p

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between student persistence and financial aid through a meta-analysis of existing empirical research. The significance of the study was that financial aid policy would be enhanced if the facts regarding the relationship were clearly known. The meta-analysis assessed forty-nine studies, representing seventy samples. Studies were organized into two categories: (1) studies that compared financial aid recipients to nonrecipients and (2) studies that examined persistence differences among financial aid recipients. Studies were integrated by converting each study result into the common metric of effect size. The meta-analysis results were reported in average unweighted and weighted effect sizes. In the latter case results were weighted by the number in the treatment group. Average effect sizes were interpreted by (1) absolute magnitude of effect sizes, (2) graphic representation, and (3) an elasticity measure. The meta-analysis examining the total sample found financial aid to have a small, but significant, positive effect on student persistence, thereby enabling lower income students to persist at a rate roughly equal to that of middle and upper income students. The average unweighted and weighted effect sizes of the total sample were +.13 and +.06, respectively. The length of persistence measured, the type of institution attended, and whether studies controlled for academic ability were found to be mediators influencing the magnitude and direction of the effect size. When results of studies that examined persistence differences among financial aid recipients were integrated, the following conclusions were reached: (1) there was little difference in the persistence of males and females, (2) minority students persisted significantly less than white students, and (3) the amount of financial aid had a significant positive effect on persistence. When forms of financial aid were analyzed, although the effect sizes were reasonably small and the differences in effect sizes among forms were minimal, combinations of aid were determined to be more effective than single forms. This finding probably reflects more the amount of financial aid than the form of financial aid.

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Due to changing environmental conditions arising in the past ten to fifteen years, many community colleges fbr the first time in their relatively short history have experienced enrollment decline. Although the literature provides suggestions and recommendations for institutions to take, there is little discussion in the literature about what institutions are actually doing in response to enrollment decline. The purposes of this study were to determine how community colleges coped with and responded to enrollment decline, and to determine the effectiveness of these actions in reducing, halting, or turning around the decline. Survey research was used to collect descriptive data on how community colleges coped with and responded to enrollment decline. The findings of the study indicated that the majority of the respondents coped with enrollment decline by taking the following actions: reducing the number of day and night course sections; redesigning the curriculum; and by diverting funds allocated for noninstructional areas of the college to other areas of the college. Actions taken by the respondents to halt or moderate a condition of enrollment decline included: an increased emphasis on recruiting and retaining students; offering courses at times more convenient to students; updating the equipment needs of the college; and an increase in the political activity of the institution at the local or state level to alter current funding formulas. A number of the actions helped the college to cope with and respond to the decline, while others exacerbated the problem leading to further decline. / Ed. D. / incomplete_metadata

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of selected student background variables and traits with academic persistence of first-time, full-time, Native American students enrolled at a major Southwestern university from the 1988 to 1990 school years. The predictors associated with persistence of Native American students were identified by use of the Student Information Form, a survey questionnaire devised by Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP, 1990). The survey was administered during each Fall semester Freshmen Orientation to a total of 275 Native American students, 147 of whom voluntarily returned the questionnaire. Of this group, 83 questionnaires constituted the sample. The research centered on an examination of probability for six predictors and five psychological characteristics with academic persistence used as a dependent variable. The six predictors were: (1) high school grade point average, (2) American College Test (ACT) scores, (3) residence status, (4) parental income, (5) parental education, and (6) financial aid. The Logistic Regression Analysis was utilized to analyze data, and the obtained findings indicated that there was no significant correlation between Native American students' high school grade point average, ACT scores, parental income, parental education, residency, or financial aid and their academic persistence at a Southwestern university between 1988 to 1990. The analyses suggested a significant correlation between remaining at a university for four or more semesters and leadership, attitude, and values, and future goals. These three factors appeared to be the best predictors of academic persistence for Native American students.

Small private colleges represent a unique and important element of diversity within American higher education. Their small size, heavy dependence on tuition, and limited resources, have caused them to be repeatedly identified as singularly threatened with enrollment declines. Despite these predictions the evidence indicates that most of these colleges survived the 1980s and many thrived. This study had two major goals. The first was the characterization of institutions within the population during the 1980s with regards to environmental characteristics, institutional attributes and academic strategic actions. The second was the description of the relationships between these variables and enrollment changes in the 1980s. The population was composed of Liberal Arts I and II colleges with independent ownership and average Fall, 1980 enrollment between 100 and 1000. This study utilized data from two primary sources; a questionnaire distributed to academic officers, and several self-reported, public domain sources. The survey was distributed to all 294 institutions in the population with 219 returned (74% completion rate). Basic descriptive statistics were used to characterize the population. A list of statistically and substantively significant variables were identified using a set of criteria for causal inference. Factor analysis was utilized to develop factors from the significant variables and these factors were entered into a multiple regression model to explain variance in enrollment growth. These colleges were located in highly populated areas shared with many institutions offering two- and four-year degrees. Nearly three-fourths of the academic programs at these institutions were classified as liberal arts in 1989. The 1980s saw an increase in the number and proportion of professional programs and the number of programs for "non-traditional" students. These colleges added Associates and Masters degrees, and increased the number and proportion of graduate students. The selectivity of nearly 90% of these institutions was minimally or moderately difficult in 1989 and 84% were church-related. Two categories of environmental characteristics were related to enrollment changes in the 1980s. The first was the size of the immediate community, and the second was the level of local competition. Community size was the only environmental factor which substantively explains any of the variation in 1980s enrollment change. Four factors were identified which characterized the relationship of institutional attributes and enrollment changes in the 1980s. These factors were; the age of students, the balance of professional and liberal arts programs, and two variables related to institutional image. Collectively, three of the four factors explain ten percent of the variance in 1980s enrollment change. Eight factors characterized institutional actions influencing enrollments. These factors include adult programs and policies, institutional student selectivity, internal activities focused on traditional student pools, non-traditional student support and recruitment, non-traditional program development, changes in institutional policies (calendar and directed studies), addition of graduate programming, and increase in transfer students. Collectively, factors one, two, three, five, and eight explain over 30% of the variance in 1980s enrollment change. When all fourteen of these factors were entered into a multiple regression model, the six factors that loaded were; student selectivity, traditional student responses, nontraditional programming, transfer students, average student age, and community size. These factors explained nearly 35% of the variance in 1980s enrollment change. These findings indicate that the greatest influences on enrollment change in the 1980s were related to non-traditional students. Those institutions which showed increases in non-traditional programs, non-traditional students, and average student age, showed the greatest increase in enrollments. Those institutions located in rural regions and those which reported the use of more traditional institutional responses to enrollment challenges (e.g. freshman advising programs) showed lower enrollment gains. Finally, higher levels of student selectivity co varied significantly with enrollment rates.

The purpose of this study was to investigate recruiting and retention practices for African American music students in selected colleges and universities. This study also investigated model programs formulated for the improvement of African American student enrollment in higher education, generally or in other professional fields and specialized programs.Subjects in the study were twenty-two music executives in music units of selected colleges and universities based on three general criteria as follows: (1) Historically Black Colleges and Universities whose enrollments were 4,000 and above; (2) Institutions that participated in the Richardson Study and cited for having success in minority student access, retention, and graduation; and (3) Institutions that participated in the National Black Student Retention Conferences (1987 or 1988).A survey questionnaire was completed by the subjects in order to determine the effectiveness of recruitment and retention practices and strategies employed by music units. The data were organized for analysis by frequencies, percentages and calculations of chi-squared statistics.The results of this study suggest that there are a variety of recruiting practices and admission policies that may impact increased enrollment of African American students in music units. Various retention practices were determined that may promote persistence and achievement. Support services were identified as financial resources and special assistance programs. Other factors included non-academic retention predictors and the presence of African American faculty in the music unit.Another valuable source of information regarding the recruitment and retention of Black students was found in eight model programs. Recruiting strategies included outreach programs, precollege programs, linkages with elementary and secondary schools, faculty, staff and alumni involvement, and flexible, multiple criteria for college admission. Retention strategies included support services that focused on the academic, cultural and social needs of African American students.This study revealed numerous findings which may be employed by music units. These findings offer supportive evidence for the development of model programs that promote and enhance access, retention, and graduation for the African American music student in higher education. / School of Music

This study investigated enrollment management practices found in higher education. The research identified enrollment management and retention practices described in the higher education literature. These suggested practices were incorporated into a sixty-six question survey that was distributed to a random sample of colleges and universities taken from the 1999 US News and World Report of college rankings. The survey data were used to identify which of the suggested enrollment management practices were of greatest utility. First, the sixty-six items were grouped into 14 categories of enrollment management strategies. Second, the institutional responses for each category were averaged and then correlated with each institution's graduation rate. Finally, each institution's "yes" responses for the entire survey were totaled and correlated with each institution's graduation rate. This study developed a list of the 26 most frequently used enrollment management practices in higher education, and as well, identified the 10 least used enrollment management practices. Given the results of this study graduation rate is not a sufficient criterion to assess enrollment management practices at a college or university. Enrollment management strategies contribute to many institutional and student outcomes; thus, multiple indicators are required to accurately evaluate enrollment management practices.