Survey of Early Leavers: Implications for Recruitment and Retention

The study involved early leavers from the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University. The objective was to identify specific traits of early leavers and to determine if certain groups that had been recruited held a higher retention level. Survey results from students who left the College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS) before graduation indicated that reasons for leaving the University or College included: 1) a change in career objectives, 2) a lack of financial resources, 3) and students (specifically females) were poorly prepared for the CAS science based curriculum. The survey also indicates: 1) student clubs and activities appeared to be important to holding student interest, and 2) students with strong backgrounds in 4-H and FFA did not leave at as high a rate as those who did not have that background.