Abstract
Purpose. The first purpose of this study was to identify if a relationship existed between student attrition and mandatory student participation in the matriculation process in the California Community Colleges, the largest educational system in the world. The sample consisted of 93 of the 106, or 88 percent, of the community colleges in California. Secondly, an examination of a specific attrition population from a community college in Southern California was also conducted. Methodology. An adaptation of Vincent Tinto's theoretical model was utilized as the foundation for this study, incorporating an applied research approach. Precisely, a nonexperimental exploratory design was used to examine the attrition problem in community colleges. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique was conducted to identify if there were significant differences between the type of matriculation component employed, and the level of attrition rates among various campuses in the California Community Colleges. Findings. The findings supported what was identified in the literature: (1) that participation in a new student orientation has a positive impact on student retention, and, (2) there are a variety of factors that impact student attrition in higher education. Relative to the California Community College system, the findings indicate that there is a definite significance among those colleges that require students to participate in the matriculation process and those that do not. Student participation in assessment and orientation proved to be the most significant. The most prominent trends of the attrition population include: they are 18–25 years old, a substantial number went to assessment, however, most did not go to orientation. The reasons identified for leaving school were varied and complex, though most dropouts do not work at all. Conclusions and recommendations. Those colleges that required student participation in three components to the matriculation process did not appear to have an attrition problem. Conversely, those colleges not requiring student participation in the matriculation process or merely offering priority registration as a condition of participation appeared to lose students over the course of one semester. Therefore, community college administrators ought to re-examine their matriculation process in an effort to make student participation mandatory. Recommendations were also made about future studies.