Student Attrition and Program Effectiveness

This paper reports the effectiveness of seven different programs at Corning Community College (New York) designed to influence those factors associated with student attrition--low self concept of ability, high debilitating anxiety, low internal reinforcement control, and lack of goal and value clarity. The underlying theme of each of the programs has been to help students understand that the college faculty and administration are genuinely interested in the personal as well as academic growth of the student and know that incoming students may not have clear values or goals, and that it is natural for students to be apprehensive about things they are not familiar with. The programs include weekly "rap" sessions for Economic Opportunity Program students, a short-course in achievement motivation training, locus of control counseling, an Early Orientation Program for students with undecided educational goals, training in affective/confluent education principles for technical career faculty, an in-service faculty program to facilitate student-centered classrooms, group counseling for high anxiety nursing students, and encounter groups to improve student self-concept. Evaluation data for program participants and controls show that these efforts in improving student performance and reducing attrition have been more effective than purely "remedial" programs in academic areas. (JDS)