Synopses & Reviews
As enrollments continue to decline, student retention is increasingly vital to the survival of most colleges and universities. In the new edition of his widely acclaimed Leaving College, Vincent Tinto synthesizes far-ranging research on student attrition and on actions institutions can and should take to reduce it. The key to effective retention, Tinto demonstrates, is in a strong commitment to quality education and the building of a strong sense of inclusive educational and social community on campus.
This completely revised and expanded edition incorporates the explosion of recent research and policy reports on why students leave higher education. Incorporating data only now available, Tinto applies his theory of student departure to the experiences of minority, adult, and graduate students, and to the situation facing commuting institutions and two-year colleges. He has revised his theory as well, giving new emphasis to the central importance of the classroom experience and to the role of multiple college communities.
This book appears to be the best compilation of ideas about understanding student departure from college written to date. . . . Tinto has pulled together a lavish variety of facts, findings based on empirical studies, theories, and institutional savvy to provide readers with valuable information that should help concerned members of the academic community better understand student departure.--John P. Bean, The Journal of Higher Education
This book is an excellent summary of previous research, a soundly sociological volume, and a very practical guide for action. It is an excellent blend of theory, research, and policy implications. It is also incredibly well written.--Theodore C. Wagenaar, Contemporary Sociology
Synopsis
In this 1994 classic work on student retention, Vincent Tinto synthesizes far-ranging research on student attrition and on actions institutions can and should take to reduce it. The key to effective retention, Tinto demonstrates, is in a strong commitment to quality education and the building of a strong sense of inclusive educational and social community on campus.and#160; He applies his theory of student departure to the experiences of minority, adult, and graduate students, and to the situation facing commuting institutions and two-year colleges. Especially critical to Tintoandrsquo;s model is the central importance of the classroom experience and the role of multiple college communities.and#160;
About the Author
Vincent Tinto is Distinguished Professor of Education at Syracuse University and coauthor of Where Colleges Are and Who Attends: Effects of Accessibility on College Attendance.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
The Dimensions and Consequences of Student Departure from Higher Education
The Limits of Our Understanding of Student Departure
The Goals and Structure of the Book
2. The Scope and Patterning of Student Departure from Higher Education
The Entry of Individuals into Higher Education
The Scope of Departure from Higher Education
Group Differences in Rates of Degree Completion
Concluding Observations
3. Roots of Individual Departure from Institutions of Higher Education
Sorting through Past Research on Student Departure
Individual Roots of Student Departure
Interactional Roots of Institutional Departure
External Communities and Withdrawal from College
Finances and College Persistence
Involvement, Learning, and Leaving
Individual and Institutional Variations in the Process of Student Departure
Concluding Observations
4. A Theory of Individual Departure from Institutions of Higher Education
Past Theories of Student Departure
Studies of Departure in Other School Settings
Stages in the Process of Departure from Institutions of Higher Education
Suicide and the Study of Departure from Higher Education
Toward a Theory of Institutional Departure from Higher Education
A Longitudinal Model of Departure from Institutions of Higher Education
Linking Learning and Leaving: The Educational Character of Student Leaving
A Model of Institutional Departure: Some Observations
5. The Dimensions of Institutional Action
Defining "Dropout" from Higher Education
The Principles of Effective Retention
The Principles of Effective Implementation
What Works in Retaining Students
Retention Policies for Different Students
Retention Policies for Different Institutions
Concluding Observations
6. Conclusions
Educational Communities and the Character of Institutional Commitment
Educational Mission and Institutional Commitment
The Paradox of Institutional Commitment and the Limits of Institutional Action
Educational Excellence, Retention, and Student Involvement in Learning
Leaving College and Other Forms of Departure
A Concluding Observation
Appendix A: The Assessment of Student Departure from Institutions of Higher Education
Appendix B: Toward a Theory of Doctoral Persistence
Notes
References
Index