An Assessment of the Use of Personal Letters to Increase Retention among Black Students. Research Report No. 83-35 [microform] / Ted Wright

In winter term, 1981-82, a study was conducted at Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC) to ascertain the effect of a low-cost intervention on the retention rate of full-time, first-time-in-college, black students at the college. The intervention consisted of two successive letters encouraging students to re-enroll and obtain counseling services if they were experiencing problems. These letters were mailed to 284 of the 569 students in the defined population, and analyses were conducted to determine whether the students who received the intervention letters had a higher retention rate than those who did not. Though students receiving the letters had a 5% higher return rate than the students not receiving the letters, the difference in retention rates was not statistically significant, and further examination was warranted. In winter 1982-83, a replication of the original study revealed that students who did not receive the letters had a 3% greater rate of return than the students who did receive the letters. Conclusions from the study indicated that the differences between the two groups were not the result of the intervention strategy, and it was recommended that this type of intervention program be discontinued. The intervention letters are appended. (HB)