| Problem. The problem of this study was to determine differences between the scores of persisters and non-persisters on each scale of the California Psychological Inventory from the 1988-89 incoming class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.;The data were analyzed using a one-tailed z-test for two independent means. A program file for dBase IV was written by the researcher that executed the appropriate calculations on each CPI scale using the database constructed from the enrollees' scores.;Findings and conclusion. Differences were discovered on six of the scales, specifically the Empathy (z = 2.6905), Well-being (z = 2.0605), Femininity/Masculinity (z = ;The findings of this study support the work of Tinto, Bean, Levin and Levin, Hawkin, Duran and Kelly and other writers in the field of student retention.;Procedures. The population in this study consisted of 1,028 students who initially enrolled in the 1988-89 academic year on all campuses of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. CPI scores were available for every new student in this incoming class. Surveys were mailed to 337 persons identified as non-graduates. A final return rate of 60 percent was achieved. The process produced two groups; 664 persisters who obtained a degree at the seminary or another institution, and 120 non-persisters who did not graduate from any institution. |
