Utilization of Biographical Information for the Reduction of Motivational Attrition in the NROTC (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps) Scholarship Program

摘要

Voluntary resignation (motivational attrition) from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) is approximately 26 percent. Selecting out candidates with potential high risk of attrition would save the Navy millions of dollars annually. Unfortunately, the current selection composite is not predictive of motivational attrition. The objective of this effort was to investigate the usefulness of existing biographical information items (biodata) for predicting motivational attrition. Students from the entering classes of 1982 and 1983 served as subjects for the study. Analyses of the biodata revealed that graduates were more certain about their chosen careers, participated in more athletic events, and were more active in their high school student governments than motivational attritees. Graduates came into the scholarship program with lower measured aptitude scores in mathematics. In college, however, they had higher grades in naval science courses, and earned higher naval officer aptitude scores than did motivational attritees. Continuing research is needed for the development of a detailed biodata questionnaire to predict motivational attrition from the NROTC scholarship program. Keyword: Turnover. (kr)