FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
JOHN L. WINN
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
Memorandum Number 06-11
April 13, 2006
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
Community College Presidents
FROM:
J. David Armstrong, Jr.
SUBJECT:
Community College Students’ Withdrawals
This paperless communication supports improving student learning as stated in the Department’s
Strategic Imperative 3, and provides community colleges with research-based information geared
toward "ensuring....student success" as expressed in Priority Goal 1 in the Florida Community College
System Strategic Plan.
Attached you will find an Executive Summary of the results from
The Impact of Withdrawing From
Courses
(
Revisited),
a report prepared by the Division of Community Colleges and Workforce
Education, which was previously sent to you. Our analysis focuses on the relationship between a high
rate of course withdrawals (“W’s”) or failing (“F”) grades and student completion, continued
enrollment and/or transfer to the State University System (SUS), i.e., “student success.” Specifically,
this analysis documents that a student with 20% or more of attempted courses culminating in a “W” or
an “F” has less than a 10% chance of successful completion or transfer, irrespective of their college-
readiness upon initial enrollment.
I am requesting that you review your internal institutional policies and procedures in regard to
intervention strategies and provide the Division with input and feedback on current and proposed
strategies to improve academic success. Please provide any additional analyses, reviews, studies or
J. DAVID ARMSTRONG, JR.
Chancellor, Community Colleges and Workforce Education
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1314 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0407 • www.fldoe.org/cc
Memorandum Number 06-11
Page Two
April 13, 2006
research which are being used or developed as a basis for programmatic approaches to addressing this
issue to Dr. Judith Bilsky at judith.bilsky@fldoe.org .
For additional copies of the full withdrawal study, please contact Dr. Pat Windham at
pat.windham@fldoe.org or SUNCOM 205-9482.
JDA/jbh
Attachment
c:
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Council for Instructional Affairs
Council for Student Affairs
Institutional Reports Coordinators
Executive Summary of
College Preparatory Progression Study on Withdrawals
The College Preparatory Progression Study on Withdrawals is a longitudinal study that tracked
a cohort of students for five years. The cohort consisted of students who were (a) first-time-in-
college in Fall 1999, and (b) had scores from the College Placement Test for all three sections:
reading, writing, and mathematics.
The study provides a comparison of rates of earning an award, transferring to the State
University System, and/or remaining enrolled in the Florida Community College System for
students who had 20% or more of their attempted courses end in withdrawal versus those who
had less than 20%. Table 1 shows the minimum, median, and maximum among Florida’s 28
community colleges for each of these areas.
TABLE 1
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF STUDENTS WITH HIGH WITHDRAWALS
AND THOSE WITH LOW WITHDRAWALS IN ALL 28 COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Earned an Award
Transferred to SUS
Still Enrolled
Academic Success
a
Less
Than
20% Ws
20% or
More Ws
Less
Than
20% Ws
20% or
More Ws
Less
Than
20% Ws
20% or
More Ws
Less
Than
20% Ws
20% or
More Ws
Minimum
11.8%
0.0% 1.5% 0.0%
13.2%
9.1% 25.0%
9.1%
Median
32.4%
3.9% 18.2%
2.5% 26.7%
23.8% 53.2% 26.1%
Maximum
50.1%
13.7% 34.8%
6.0% 38.2%
36.3% 67.4% 40.9%
a
Academic Success is defined as a student who has either earned an award, transferred to the SUS, or is
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still enrolled.
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Source: Florida Community College Student Data Base, 1999-00 to 2004-05; State University System
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Student Data Course Files.
Table 1 shows the wide variation among the 28 community colleges. The major impact of
having at least 20% or more of attempted courses end in withdrawal is seen in the low
completion and transfer rates. Therefore, colleges need to be aware of the proportion of
withdrawals being accumulated by their students and devise both a tracking system that can
result in early identification of these students and intervention strategies to help them
successfully complete more courses.
For additional copies of the withdrawal analysis, please contact Dr. Pat Windham at
Pat.Windham@fldoe.org or 850.245.9482.
