Leading Indicators: Increasing Statewide Bachelor’s Degree Completion Rates at 4-Year Public Institutions

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Cody Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Degree Completion ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Leading Indicators ◽  
Completion Rates

Baccalaureate Success of Transfers and Rising 4-Year College Juniors

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Melguizo ◽  
Alicia C. Dowd
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
The State ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Institutional Selectivity ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Junior Students

Background/Context A longstanding debate continues concerning whether community colleges democratize education by expanding enrollment or divert students from attaining a bachelor's degree. The extant evidence is contradictory, but recent findings suggest that community colleges are serving to democratize education without a sizeable diversion effect preventing students from ultimately earning the bachelor's degree. The diversion effect appears to be much smaller than previously stated. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The main objective of this study is to compare the effect of being a successful community college “transfer” student instead of a “rising junior” in a 4-year college on bachelor's degree attainment (250 transfers and 790 rising juniors). This study examines the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and institutional selectivity on the bachelor's degree completion of transfer students and rising 4-year college juniors. Data Collection and Analysis We analyze the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) high school senior class of 1992 to compare the degree completion outcomes of two samples—transfer and rising junior students—with equivalent degree aspirations. Logistic regression is used to estimate the differences in attainment. Interactions are included to examine the effect of SES and institutional selectivity. To address the problem of selection of students into institutions, we control for proxy variables for students’ motivation. In addition, a Heckman two-stage regression model is estimated using the average state tuition in the state where the student finished high school as the instrumental variable. Finally, to adjust for unobserved institutional characteristics related to the state where the institution is located, a model that includes a state-level dummy variable indicating those that have strong transfer and articulation systems is estimated to more fully control for state characteristics. Findings/Results Three main findings emerge from this inquiry. First, the negative effect of being a transfer as opposed to a rising junior diminishes substantially after controlling for differences in SES. The negative effect “disappears” in the sense of not being statistically significant, after corrections for self-selection bias and the addition of variables controlling for transfer policies in the state where the student attended college. Second, and consistent with prior research, degree completion rates increase with selectivity of the 4-year institution attended. Third, the results show that when we allow the effects of community college attendance to vary by SES by introducing an interaction term, there are no statistically significant differences between the completion rates of low-SES transfer and low-SES rising junior students. Conclusions/Recommendations Our main conclusion is that previous estimates have overstated the diversion effect. Alongside other recent contributions to the democratization-ver-sus-diversion-effect debate, this study provides an additional piece of evidence demonstrating that the diversion effect is much smaller than was previously estimated. Community college practitioners should feel confident in counseling traditional-age students who want to earn the bachelor's degree to transfer, because the evidence shows that they are as likely to succeed as their 4-year college counterparts.

Institutional Characteristics and Bachelor’s Degree Completion of Pell Grant Recipients

2019 ◽  
pp. 152102511989293
Author(s):  
Jeremy Wright-Kim ◽  
Laura W. Perna ◽  
Roman Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Pell Grant ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Full Time Equivalent

This study uses data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and Delta Cost Project to identify institutional predictors of bachelor’s degree completion rates for Pell Grant recipients and nonrecipients at public and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions. Descriptive analyses show that Pell recipients are relatively concentrated in institutions with demographic and structural characteristics associated with lower completion rates, including lower SAT scores, enrollment, and residential intensity. Multivariate analyses show that controlling for demographic and structural characteristics explains the observed negative relationship between an institution’s representation of Pell Grant recipients and its completion rates for Pell recipients. At public 4-year institutions, per full-time equivalent expenditures on instruction and institutional grants are positively related to Pell completion rates, while net price for low-income students is negatively related, after controlling for demographic and structural characteristics.

A Late Start: Delayed Entry, Life Course Transitions and Bachelor's Degree Completion

Social Forces ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 769-794 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Roksa ◽  
M. Velez
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Life Course Transitions ◽  
Delayed Entry ◽  
Late Start

scholarly journals Beyond BA Blinders: Lessons from Occupational Colleges and Certificate Programs for Nontraditional Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E Rosenbaum ◽  
Janet Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Nontraditional Students ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Private Colleges ◽  
Career Preparation ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Certificate Programs ◽  
Student Difficulties

Postsecondary education mostly focuses on the four-year BA degree. Community colleges are often promoted as the first step toward the ultimate goal of a four-year degree. However, community colleges have extremely poor degree completion rates. There is evidence suggesting better results for their private, two-year counterparts—particularly for certificate completion. We will focus on occupational colleges—private accredited colleges that offer career preparation in occupational fields like health care, business, information technology, and others. These institutions challenge many of our preconceptions about college. They are less wedded to college traditions, which raises some interesting questions: Do private colleges offering certificates or AA degrees use different procedures? Should community colleges consider some of these procedures to reduce student difficulties and improve their completion rates? For many community college students, earning a more likely, quick sub-BA credential—perhaps followed by a four-year degree in the future—will be preferable to the relatively unlikely pathway from a community college program directly to a four-year BA. In sum, this paper suggests that nontraditional colleges and nontraditional credentials (certificates and AA degrees) deserve much closer attention from researchers, policymakers, and students.

Racial differences in factors associated with bachelor's degree completion: A nine-year follow-up

1985 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest T. Pascarella
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Factors Associated

A Nested Analysis of Factors Affecting Bachelor's Degree Completion

2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. DesJardins ◽  
Dong-Ok Kim ◽  
Chester S. Rzonca
Keyword(s):  
Degree Completion ◽  
College Major ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Of Iowa ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
The University ◽  
Nested Analysis ◽  
Sequential Nature

The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of selected factors on retention, graduation, and timely bachelor's degree completion at The University of Iowa. An additional purpose was to identify the stage-varying effects of selected variables. Reflecting the sequential nature of bachelor's degree completion, this study focused on three stages of students' progress to graduation: 1) dropout vs. persistence in the first year, 2) graduation vs. failure to graduate among first year persisters, and 3) graduation in four years or less vs. graduation in five years or more. We found that college academic performance, pre-matriculation academic achievement, and college major were the most important variables in explaining success at The University of Iowa. We also found fairly consistent results across the three models.

scholarly journals The Big Paper Network Supporting Doctoral Students to Degree Completion

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce M. Lieberman ◽  
Nina G. Dorsch
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Support System ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Curriculum Leadership ◽  
Doctoral Completion ◽  
Proposal Writing ◽  
The Creation

Doctoral completion rates are a concern across disciplines.  This paper describes the way in which Curriculum Leadership faculty redesigned their doctoral program from coursework through completion to include a strong support system, intellectually and emotionally.  This culminated in the creation of the “Big Paper Network,” designed to support candidates from proposal writing through defense.

Does Effective Classroom Instruction Enhance Bachelor's Degree Completion? Some Initial Evidence

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 903-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad N. Loes ◽  
Brian P. An ◽  
Ernest T. Pascarella
Keyword(s):  
Degree Completion ◽  
Classroom Instruction ◽  
Bachelor's Degree

The Relationship between Remediation and Degree Completion for Engineering and Technology Students

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Sally A. Lesik ◽  
Robin S. Kalder
Keyword(s):  
Survival Analysis ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Discrete Time ◽  
Remedial Mathematics ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Remedial English ◽  
Technology Students ◽  
Engineering And Technology ◽  
Discrete Time Survival Analysis ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates whether students who initially began college as engineering or technology majors and who were required to participate in remedial mathematics and/or remedial English programs, were less likely to graduate with their bachelor’s degree in their fourth through seventh years, as compared to engineering and technology majors who were not required to participate in a remedial mathematics and/or remedial English programs. By using discrete-time survival analysis, findings suggest that remediation status does not appear to impact the time it takes to complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in engineering or technology.

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