Student attrition. A challenge for allied health education programs

The Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation (CAHEA) attrition data, collected annually by the American Medical Association (AMA), are nationally representative and constitute the largest source of information on attrition and retention in allied health education. These data provide a cornerstone for education and manpower planning. Consistent with previous years, men who were enrolled in CAHEA-accredited allied health education programs for the 1989-1990 academic year were significantly more likely to be lost to attrition than were women. When compared with all other categories of race and ethnic origin, black students not of Hispanic origin showed a significantly higher attrition rate (25.4%), while students designated as Asian or Pacific Islander showed a significantly lower rate (13%). Congruent with attrition data documented in the literature, CAHEA attrition data show wide variances across 26 allied health occupations and within the three disciplinary groupings that comprise approximately 75% of all CAHEA-accredited programs. Attrition rates measured by the type of sponsoring institution range from 7.1% (academic health centers and medical schools) to 24.3% (vocational and technical schools). Programs sponsored by for-profit institutions and federal government-owned institutions report substantially higher attrition rates, 25.1% and 21.1%, respectively.