Research on Program Attrition
• The origins of this study date to the summer of 2003 and the
Maine Senior College Network conference in Presque Isle.
• Six senior colleges participated in this study. Members in the
spring of 2003 who were no longer members in the spring of 2004 were called.
The same telephone survey was used by all programs (number
of phone contacts in parenthesis after name of program): OLLI (79), Penobscot
Valley (58), Augusta (43), SAGE (34), Coastal (16), and Gold
Leaf (13). Total sample size = 243.
• The most frequent reason why former members had not renewed was
that they were “too busy with other activities.” A total of
89 people (36.6%) reported this as their reason.
• The second most frequent reason for attrition was that courses
being offered did not fit the learners’ interest (19.7%).
• The third most reported factor was change in members’ health
status (11.9%).
• In addition:
- 15 people were still working
- 10 had family caregiver responsibilities
- 7 had transportation problems
- There were numerous “miscellaneous” reasons
• Relating these findings to adult education participation research,
it appears as though the barriers that keep people away from senior college
programs in Maine are primarily “situational” in nature (as
compared with institutional or dispositional.)
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute would like to thank the volunteers
in Orono, Thomaston, Presque Isle, Farmington, and Augusta for making
telephone calls and otherwise participating in this research project.
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