In Reworking the Student Departure Puzzle, leading scholars of the college student experience -- including Tinto himself -- reevaluate Tinto's interactionalist perspective, which holds that students unable to connect with either the academic or social subsystems of their institutions are likely to leave. Recent critiques of this theory have indicated the need for either its serious revision or the development of a new theory altogether. The contributors to this volume offer a variety of both theoretical and methodological perspectives on student departure, with additional chapters covering minority student retention, the link between college choice and student persistence, and the effect of the classroom experience on the student's choice.

The recommendations made here will not only reinvigorate research on this important topic but will also lead administrators to better manage the enrollments of their individual colleges and universities.