Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition

TLDR

Student retention is increasingly vital as enrollments decline, and Tinto synthesizes extensive research on attrition and institutional actions to reduce it. The authors aim to incorporate recent research and policy reports on why students leave higher education. They apply Tinto’s theory to minority, adult, graduate, commuting, and two‑year college students using current data. Tinto finds that effective retention hinges on quality education and inclusive community, and he revises his theory to emphasize classroom experience and multiple college communities.

Abstract

As enrollments continue to decline, student retention is increasingly vital to the survival of most colleges and universities. In the second edition of this text, 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 revised and expanded edition incorporates the explosion of recent research and policy reports on why students leave higher education. Incorporating current data, Tinto applies his theory of student departure to the experiences of minority, adult and graduage students, and to the situation facing commuting institutions and two-year colleges. He has revised his theory, giving new emphasis to the central importance of the classroom experience and to the role of multiple college communities.