If responses to recent surveys are any indication, students have as many reasons for leaving NIU as they have for coming here.

In three separate studies, the NIU Assessment Services Office gathered information on the reasons 269 students gave for voluntarily leaving NIU.

Although the sample groups and results might not be representative of all NIU students, the studies paint a picture of the general and personal reasons students leave.

In one study, NIU’s six college advising offices were asked to record the reasons students requested late withdrawal from the university during spring semester 1991.

Although information was received on 153 students, the responses of 18 who left for active military duty during Operation Desert Storm were dropped from the study because of the unusual circumstance.

The responses of the remaining 135 fell into categories of medical, family, personal, financial, transfer and other.

Of the 135 students, 25 percent gave medical reasons for withdrawal, followed by 19 percent who gave financial reasons for leaving. Thirty-one percent listed “other.” This category includes responses such as roommate trouble, hard classes, career change and no response.

A second study was made from a list of names from NIU residence hall withdrawal forms during fall semester 1990 and January and February 1991. The list included all 100 students who indicated they were transferring to another institution.

In April, a survey letter was sent to the most current address of these students asking about their reasons for leaving NIU. Forty-six returned a completed survey.

Almost all those surveyed said Fall 1990 was their last semester at NIU. Eighty-three percent said they were in school somewhere. For academic reasons, 24 percent of those responding said they couldn’t get into needed classes and 15 percent gave problems with administration or faculty as their reason for leaving.

Thirty-seven percent gave a variety of other academic reasons for transferring. These include bad advice from advisers, teachers who could barely speak English and financial aid glitches.

The survey also asked personal reasons for leaving. Twenty-eight percent said they didn’t fit in at NIU, followed by 26 percent who thought NIU was too big and impersonal and 24 percent who said financial hardship kept them from staying at NIU.

A majority, 70 percent, said NIU could have done something that would have made it easier to stay. Specific suggestions include more time with counselors and teachers, smaller classes and placement in requested housing.

Twenty-six percent said they plan to come back to NIU and most (85 percent) said NIU could do something to help them return. Consistent with other current surveys, students listed their most frequent reasons for leaving NIU as: (1) NIU too big and impersonal, (2) Didn’t fit in at NIU and (3) Financial hardship.

NIU Assessment Coordinator Ruth Gold said the number of people who plan to return is encouraging. She said many who leave as freshmen go to a junior college before returning to NIU.

Assessment Services was created and funded several years ago to improve undergraduate education by tracking educational opportunities, improvement of teaching skills and student learning.