Understanding and Reducing College Student Departure (review)

Increasing student retention continues to be a pressing concern for higher education researchers, administrators, and policymakers. During the last century, nearly half of all students who enter two- and four-year colleges leave higher education without earning a degree. Moreover, students who attend community colleges or four-year commuter institutions, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and students of color are particularly vulnerable to attrition. Raising persistence levels is clearly a critical issue, and a commendable focus for the monograph Understanding and Reducing College Student Departure.

Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon build on Braxton's earlier works with several colleagues examining and critiquing Vincent Tinto's (1993) foundational theory on retention. The authors argue that Tinto's model is not well supported empirically and that, to substantially reduce attrition rates, the theory should be revised. To support their argument and build the theoretical revisions, Braxton and his colleagues draw upon quantitative research literature utilizing Tinto's model.

Following a brief introduction, the authors describe Tinto's model and then review the quantitative research on retention, using the model for both residential and commuter schools. In general, they find empirical support for Tinto's concept of social integration but only modest support for his academic integration concept on residential campuses and only modest support for either social or academic integration on community college or commuter campuses. They do, however, find strong but indirect effects of academic integration in commuter institutions. Braxton and his colleagues propose revisions of Tinto's theory in two chapters (one for residential and the other for commuter students), incorporating a contextual aspect into their retention theories and paying particular attention to students of color at both types of institutions.

For students on residential campuses, social integration is related empirically to retention; and the authors posit that the relationship is influenced by six factors. The first two are institutional commitment to student welfare and institutional integrity. Communal potential, a student's ability to identify and form social bonds with a particular group of students, is the third factor. The fourth is a student's ability to anticipate social situations. Student involvement, termed psychosocial engagement, is the fifth factor. The sixth is the financial wherewithal students possess, referred to as ability to pay.

The authors believe that two factors present potential challenges for students of color on residential campuses: ability to pay and communal potential. These students may experience difficulty in affording college and may encounter more difficulty forming social bonds with students, decreasing retention.

The authors then revise Tinto's theory of retention for community colleges and commuter four-year institutions, which they combine conceptually. Braxton and his colleagues utilize 16 propositions in the revised theory for commuter institutions, incorporating aspects of Tinto's original theory, the revised residential college theory, and elements derived from research literature. These propositions are categorized according to whether the effect is generated from student entry characteristics, the student's external environment, or the campus environment.

Although I commend the authors for their work in untangling the multiple influences on commuter campuses because attrition rates at these institutions are so high, the findings regarding the effects of locus of control and self-efficacy need further explanation. I also question the repeated characterization of commuter campuses as "confusing" because the authors fail to support this characterization with empirical data, as they do their other assertions.

The last two sections on commuter institutions are focused on the role of academics on these campuses and implications for students of color. Retention research findings support utilizing learning communities and nontraditional pedagogical approaches because they provide increased learning opportunities and may also provide vital outlets for students to form bonds with one another. Finally, Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon posit that students of color attending commuter institutions may be particularly vulnerable to attrition because of external environmental pressures, such as family or financial commitments.

Following these theoretical revisions...