Higher education decisions and macroeconomic conditions at age eighteen

Using individual data from PIAAC and data on youth unemployment for 18 countries, we test how macroeconomic conditions experienced at age eighteen affect the following decisions in post-secondary and tertiary education: (i) enrollment (ii) dropping-out, (iii) type of degree completed, (iv) area of specialization, and (v) time-to-degree. We also analyze how the effects vary by gender and parental background. Our findings differ across geographies (Anglo-Saxon, Southern European, Western European, and Scandinavian countries), which shows that the impacts of macroeconomic conditions on higher education decisions depend on context, such as labor markets and education systems. By analyzing various components of higher education together, we are able to obtain a clearer picture of how during economic downturns potential mechanisms interact to determine higher education decisions.

The academic performance of students with a migrant background: evidence from a cohort enrolled at Sapienza University of Rome

This study investigates the demographic characteristics and academic performances of foreign students with an Italian educational background in a cohort of 1st-year Bachelor students enrolled at Sapienza University of Rome, in the a.y. 2012/2013, comparing them to Italian and to International students. First, we employed a discrete-time competing risk hazard model to analyse differences in academic performances between Italian, foreign students with an Italian educational background and foreign students with a foreign educational background. Second, we applied regression trees to investigate final grades and the time-to-degree completion of Bachelor’s degree holders. Results show differences in the academic performances of foreign students with an Italian educational background compared to Italian students. Policies are needed, these results suggest, that strengthen opportunities for students from a migrant background since high school.

Increasing Success in Higher Education: The Relationships of Online Course Taking With College Completion and Time-to-Degree

Online courses provide flexible learning opportunities, but research suggests that students may learn less and persist at lower rates compared to face-to-face settings. However, few studies have investigated more distal effects of online education. In this study, we analyzed 6 years of institutional data for three cohorts of students in 13 large majors (N = 10,572) at a public research university to examine distal effects of online course participation. Using online course offering as an instrumental variable for online course taking, we find that online course taking of major-required courses leads to higher likelihood of successful 4-year graduation and slightly accelerated time-to-degree. These results suggest that offering online courses may help students to more efficiently graduate college.

A cross-institutional analysis of the effects of broadening trainee professional development on research productivity

PhD-trained scientists are essential contributors to the workforce in diverse employment sectors that include academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. Hence, best practices for training the future biomedical workforce are of national concern. Complementing coursework and laboratory research training, many institutions now offer professional training that enables career exploration and develops a broad set of skills critical to various career paths. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded academic institutions to design innovative programming to enable this professional development through a mechanism known as Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST). Programming at the NIH BEST awardee institutions included career panels, skill-building workshops, job search workshops, site visits, and internships. Because doctoral training is lengthy and requires focused attention on dissertation research, an initial concern was that students participating in additional complementary training activities might exhibit an increased time to degree or diminished research productivity. Metrics were analyzed from 10 NIH BEST awardee institutions to address this concern, using time to degree and publication records as measures of efficiency and productivity. Comparing doctoral students who participated to those who did not, results revealed that across these diverse academic institutions, there were no differences in time to degree or manuscript output. Our findings support the policy that doctoral students should participate in career and professional development opportunities that are intended to prepare them for a variety of diverse and important careers in the workforce.

Tracking and Assessing Undergraduate Research Campus-wide: Demographics, Academic Success, and Post-Graduation Plans

Evaluation must occur at the university level to understand the full impact of undergraduate research (UR). UR assessment is often only completed at the individual program level because of limited technology, time, and/or resources. At our large research institution, we have been documenting a wide variety of research experiences annually since the 2009–2010 academic year through an online portal. With our institutional research team and campus partners, we created interactive dashboards that display involvement in UR by semester and academic year. Here we compile data on students involved in UR compared to the university population as a whole. Consistent trends from this yearly data have shown that non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students, transfer students, and part-time students are less involved in research. However, underrepresented and first-generation involvement tends to trend consistently with the university population, likely because of a wide variety of focused programming. Despite many interventions aimed at engaging students in their first three years, data show that researchers remain mostly seniors. Students are also tracked to graduation and beyond, providing a unique evaluation of UR. Grade point averages and graduation rates tend to be higher for student researchers. Time to degree is similar between researchers and nonresearchers. Students are tracked into graduate school as well and on average have an almost 50% increase in matriculation compared to nonresearchers. There are still gaps in this university-level knowledge, but this portal helps clarify campus-wide involvement and opportunities for enhancement, while serving as a comparison data set and a model system for other universities.

Opportunity for all? The differential impacts of North Carolina’s revised comprehensive articulation agreement by race/ethnicity

Transfer articulation agreements are employed by institutions of higher education and state legislatures alike to improve transfer efficiency between two-year and four-year institutions. These agreements often aim both to increase transfer rates and baccalaureate degree completion and to decrease time to degree. Studies exploring the efficacy of articulation agreements find that, despite being successful at decreasing the number of excess credits students earned at graduation and at increasing baccalaureate degree completion, these policies often increase time to degree. While there is considerable research on articulation agreements, few studies have examined the differential impact of these policies on students of Color who, prior literature has shown, experience barriers to realizing their baccalaureate degree aspirations. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the impact of North Carolina’s statewide articulation agreement varied by a student’s racial/ethnic identity when examining two-year post-transfer baccalaureate degree completion, time-to-degree completion, and excess credit accumulation.

Performance measures of racially underrepresented Ph.D. students in biomedical sciences: The UAMS IMSD Program Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to identify performance measures of racially underrepresented minority (RUM) Ph.D. trainees who needed additional training initiatives to assist with completing the UAMS biomedical science degree. A sample of 37 trainees in the 10-year NIH-NIGMS funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) were examined. Descriptive statistics and correlations examined process measures (GRE scores, GPAs, etc.) and outcome measures (time-to-degree, publications, post-doctoral fellowship, etc.) While differences were found, there were no statistically significant differences between how these two groups (Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately White Institutions (PWIs)) of students performed over time as Ph.D. students. Graduates who scored lower on the verbal section of the GRE also had a higher final graduate school grade point average in graduates who received their undergraduate training from HBCUs. Of the graduates who received their undergraduate training from PWIs, graduates who scored lower on the quantitative section of the GRE had higher numbers of publications. These findings stimulate the need to 1) reduce reliance on the use of the GRE in admission committee decisions, 2) identify psychometrically valid indicators that tailored to assess outcome variables that are relevant to the careers of biomedical scientists, and 3) ensure the effective use of the tools in making admission decisions.