CORRELATES OF RETENTION AMONG ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES: THE CASE FOR HAWAIIAN STUDENTS

This study examined Hawaiian students' persistence at the four community colleges on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The research covered a five-year period (10 semesters), fall 1991 - spring 1996, and focused on factors promoting persistence for students pursuing either liberal arts or vocational-technical degrees. Logistic regression was the statistical method used, and the analyses were performed separately for the two groups of students. The results indicated that four factors - cumulative grade point average,financial aid, average credit hours, and enrollment at Campus 4 - were significant for both liberal arts and vocational-technical majors,whereas another two variables - reverse transfer and attending an urban high school - were significant for liberal arts students only. Recommendations for policies, programs, and strategies to promote persistence for Hawaiian students were based on those results.