Why Seniors Leave and Why They Return: An Exploratory Case Study

A recent increased focus is being placed on college completion agendas, yet there is limited research on senior attrition. Examining why students leave school when they are so close to being done and what motivated them to return when they did, this exploratory case study analyzes several data sets at one public university where a degree completion program was established to help undergraduate seniors return and graduate. Analyzing data from several sources found that the predominant reason why seniors left was for personal reasons and that intrinsic motivation best describes why they wanted to finish their degree. Barriers to graduation and future research are also discussed.