How the First-Year College Experience Contributes to Persistence. AIR 2002 Forum Paper.

This study profiled the pre-entry attributes, first year academic performance, and institutional experience of a 1995 freshman cohort who graduated within 6 years in a 4-year public college in a medium-sized city. A sample of 1,175 students formed the cohort for the study. Factors were found that distinguished the graduated and nongraduated. In terms of pre-entry attributes, these factors included: gender, age, high school average, entering college in the year of high school graduation. In terms of first-year academic performance, the factors included: first semester registered hours, first-year grades, remedial courses taken, and number of failed courses. Institutional experience, such as being admitted under a special program, also differed for graduates and nongraduates. The first-year academic performance was found as the major player in bachelor's degree persistence. The study also compared the graduates with those who did not graduate within 6 years, but remained enrolled. Those who were still enrolled had in common that they took their own pace toward graduation. (Contains 1 chart, 5 tables, and 13 references.) (Author/SLD)