Can Free Community College Close Racial Disparities in Postsecondary Attainment? How Tulsa Achieves Affects Racially Minoritized Student Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 000283122110035
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bell ◽  
Denisa Gándara
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Native American ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Bachelor's Degree Attainment ◽  
Tuition And Fees ◽  
Postsecondary Attainment ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Promise programs, or place-based tuition-free college policies, have become increasingly popular among policymakers looking to expand postsecondary attainment. In this article, we examine Tulsa Achieves, a widespread, albeit understudied type of promise program that covers the balance of students’ tuition and fees after other aid is exhausted at a single community college. Utilizing a difference-in-differences and event-study design, we investigate the role Tulsa Achieves eligibility plays in promoting or hindering vertical transfer and bachelor's degree attainment across racial/ethnic groups. We find that Tulsa Achieves eligibility is associated with increases in bachelor's degree attainment within 5 years among Native American and Hispanic students and an increased likelihood of transfer within 4 years for Hispanic students.

A Psychosociocultural View of Hispanic First-Generation College Students’ Graduation Rates

2021 ◽  
pp. 152102512110562
Author(s):  
Christian A. Latino ◽  
Justine Radunzel ◽  
Jason D. Way ◽  
Edgar Sanchez ◽  
Alex Casillas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
First Generation College ◽  
Bachelor's Degree Attainment ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

First-generation college students (FGCS), nearly 50% of which identify as Hispanic, are an underserved population. The psychosociocultural theoretical framework posits that individual, environmental, and cultural factors contribute to the academic success of Hispanic students. This study examined the relationship between these factors (i.e., demographics, academic self-efficacy, meeting with professors, and attending cultural programming) to 6-year bachelor’s degree attainment and time to bachelor’s degree attainment among Hispanic students at a Hispanic Serving Institution ( n  =  358). Being better prepared academically, being female, and having greater academic self-efficacy were positively related to bachelor’s degree attainment; FGCS status was negatively related. Among students who graduated ( n  =  208), entering college being better prepared academically, and having greater academic self-efficacy were related to quicker bachelor’s degree attainment; FGCS status was not significantly related. Practitioners may pay more attention to Hispanic students’ academic self-efficacy and the success of Hispanic male students.

Does Free Community College Improve Student Outcomes? Evidence From a Regression Discontinuity Design

2021 ◽  
pp. 016237372199314
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bell
Keyword(s):  
Community College ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Regression Discontinuity ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Regression Discontinuity Design ◽  
College Gpa ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Bachelor's Degree Attainment

In this article, I utilize a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of Tulsa Achieves—a prevalent and understudied type of tuition-free college program. In contrast to concerns regarding tuition-free community college suppressing bachelor’s degree attainment, I find that Tulsa Achieves increased the likelihood of transferring to 4-year colleges by 13 to 14 percentage points and increased bachelor’s degree attainment by approximately 2 percentage points. The estimates for shorter outcomes are underpowered to detect policy relevant effects, but suggest Tulsa Achieves increased college GPA and had a null impact on credit accumulation, retention, and graduation from Tulsa Community College.

Access and Mobilization: How Social Capital Relates to Low-Income Youth’s Postsecondary Educational (PSE) Attainment

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariam Ashtiani ◽  
Cynthia Feliciano
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Mentoring Relationships ◽  
College Entry ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Low Income Families ◽  
Bachelor's Degree Attainment

Youth from advantaged backgrounds have more social relationships that provide access to resources facilitating their educational success than those from low-income families. Does access to and mobilization of social capital also relate to success among the few low-income youth who “overcome the odds” and persist in higher education? Using nationally representative longitudinal data over a 14-year period, this study shows that although access to social capital in families, schools, and communities is positively related to entry into higher education, most forms of adolescent social capital are not independently associated with degree attainment. However, the mobilization of social capital through certain types of mentorship benefits both the college entry and bachelor’s degree attainment of low-income youth, more so than for their more economically advantaged peers. Findings suggest that developing enduring mentoring relationships and new social resources rooted in the higher education context may be especially important in facilitating degree attainment for young adults from low-income backgrounds.

How Does High School Extracurricular Participation Predict Bachelor’s Degree Attainment? It is Complicated

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 753-768
Author(s):  
Margo Gardner ◽  
Stephen Hutt ◽  
Donald Kamentz ◽  
Angela L. Duckworth ◽  
Sidney K. D’Mello
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Degree Attainment ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Extracurricular Participation ◽  
Bachelor's Degree Attainment

Are Community Colleges an Alternative Path for Hispanic Students to Attain a Bachelor's Degree?

2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Melguizo
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Community College ◽  
Community Colleges ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Bachelor's Degree ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
High School Senior ◽  
Senior Class ◽  
School Senior

Background/Context This study contributes to the longstanding debate over whether community colleges democratize education or divert students from attaining a bachelor's degree. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The objective of this study is to determine whether Hispanic students have a lower chance of earning a bachelor's degree (B.A.) if they transfer from a community college. Population/Participants/Subjects This study uses the High School and Beyond Sophomore sample (HS&B/So) high school senior class of 1982 and the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/2000) high school senior class of 1992 to compare the progress of two samples of “traditional” Hispanic transfer and Hispanic “rising junior” students. The final sample is composed of 220 students from the high school senior class of 1982 and 140 students from the high school senior class of 1992. Research Design Regression analysis is used to identify the effect of being a transfer student on B.A. attainment, after controlling for individual characteristics and institutional characteristics of the community college. Simulation analysis is used to identify the factors that affected B.A. attainment in the 1980s, which are used to predict B.A. rates a decade later. Findings/Results The results show that the negative impact of being a transfer student in the 1980s had disappeared within a decade. The results suggest that the relatively lower attainment rate of Hispanic transfer students is the result of individual characteristics and lack of academic preparation rather than institutional characteristics. Conclusions/Recommendations Although community colleges have the potential to be an alternative path toward a B.A., until transfer rates increase, Hispanics may be better off beginning their college education at a 4-year institution.

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