Attrition rates of underrepresented minority students at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, 1993-1997.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the attrition rates of underrepresented minority (URM) students and non-URM students at the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Medicine (UIC-COM).


METHODS
The study used 11 categories of information about URM and non-URM students at UIC-COM for the five academic years 1993-1997 to determine how many students withdrew and why.


RESULTS
Of 895 graduates during these five years, 166 (18.5%) were URM students. The attrition rates were 6.5% for all graduates, 16.2% for URM students, and 4.0% for non-URM students. Students who withdrew because of academic difficulties comprised 75% of URM withdrawals and 57% of non-URM withdrawals.


CONCLUSIONS
Many URM students need special academic attention after matriculation. Existing academic support programs should be assessed regularly to ascertain whether they may be improved to minimize attrition.
Tekian
A
A
Department of Medical Education, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine 60612-7309, USA. tekian@uic.edu
D002641:Chicago; D007087:Illinois; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013332:Student Dropouts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*