In community colleges, approximately one-third of the students in a fall semester have dropped by the following fall. In addition, during any particular semester approximately 30% of courses are not passed by students. Counseling in community colleges is considered an anchor service which exists to help students in college. This study developed and evaluated a model that predicted college semester GPA and persistence to the following semester. The model was unique in its inclusion of counseling as a possible pathway integrating students into college, which then impacted semester GPA and persistence. The present study also investigated if there was a difference in outcomes between students who received prescriptive counseling (academic advising) and case management.

The model developed for this study integrated constructs from the research of Tinto, Bean and Metzner, and research on college student engagement. The sample consisted of 920 community college students who participated in the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). The model was applied to the entire sample, and to at-risk and first-time freshmen subpopulations. Multiple regression, multiple linear path analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were the statistical procedures utilized to assess the path model and investigate counseling effectiveness.

Data indicated the entire sample and at-risk populations were very similar. Also, the overall model was effective for predicting student effort and semester GPA, but it was not adequate in predicting persistence. In general, older students and good students in high school tended to achieve higher semester GPAs in college, but older students were also more likely to drop out. Counseling had a positive effect on student effort and semester GPA; however, counseling's impact on semester GPA was weak.

Conclusions and recommendations were that most community college students exhibit some sort of educational risk, and student services and pedagogy should be adapted for at-risk learners. To increase the impact of counseling, it is recommended that counselors be assigned to at-risk populations as intervention experts.