Oxford in Wartime

This chapter introduces the remaining women—Iris Murdoch, Mary Scrutton (later Midgley), and Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe (Elizabeth to her friends)—and describes the state of women’s education in Oxford leading up to and during World War II. Somerville College, where all but Anscombe attended, was at that time one of the most selective institutions in the British Empire. This was due not only to its reputation within Oxford, but also to its small enrollment and the limited number of women’s colleges in general. Despite Somerville’s selectivity, the women still faced disadvantages. Oxford still treated its women as “on probation,” and few women had received the education in classical languages that was a gateway to the prestigious “Greats” degree. During the war, however, as Oxford was drained of fighting-age men, women students were able to benefit from more intensive mentoring and other learning opportunities formerly directed toward men.

When Affirmative Action Disappears: Unexpected Patterns in Student Enrollments at Selective U.S. Institutions, 1990–2016

Discussions of U.S. affirmative action policy assume that considering race in undergraduate admissions increases Black and Latinx student enrollments. We show that this assumption that affirmative action is linked to Black and Latinx student enrollments holds true for higher-status colleges and universities, but not institutions across the field of higher education. We use fixed effects modeling to analyze the association between a stated affirmative action admissions policy and enrollment trends for first-year students of different racialized backgrounds between 1990 and 2016 at 1,127 selective institutions. We find that, at the most selective institutions, stated policy usage was associated with increased Black student enrollments. However, at less selective institutions, policy usage was associated with decreased Black student enrollments and increased Non-U.S. resident enrollments. We also identify close-to-zero estimates of this relationship for enrollment trends of additional demographic backgrounds. We use these findings to elaborate the role of field-level status dynamics in racialized organizations theory. Paradoxically, U.S. American higher education’s contemporary racialized status order roughly consists of higher-status institutions that consider race in admissions but do not enroll racially heterogeneous cohorts, middle-status institutions that do not consider race but enroll racially heterogeneous cohorts, and lower-status non-selective institutions that enroll disproportionately high numbers of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students.

When Affirmative Action Disappears: Unexpected Patterns in Student Enrollments at Selective U.S. Institutions, 1990-2016

Political and scholarly discussions of affirmative action policy in U.S. postsecondary admissions often assume that considering race in admissions invariably increases Black and Latinx student enrollments. Yet, undergraduate enrollment trends by demographic background at selective institutions reveal that the institutions enrolling the highest levels of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students are not necessarily those that consider race. We use fixed effects modeling to analyze the association between stated admissions policies and enrollment trends by student racialized background between 1990 and 2016 at 1,127 selective colleges and universities. This analysis shows that the relationship between considering race and enrollments strongly depends on institutional status. We find that considering race was associated with increased Black student enrollments at the most selective institutions, but with a decrease in Black student enrollments and increases in Non-U.S. resident student enrollments at less selective institutions. Additionally, we identify many close-to-zero estimates of the relationship between considering race and enrollment trends of other student backgrounds. Elaborating a theory of racialized organizations with middle- status conformity theory, we argue that the racialized policy of affirmative action admissions is a constitutive element of the field’s status order, but not tethered to enrollment outcomes. These findings underscore the need for research on educational inequality and admissions outside higher education’s higher-status tier, especially at institutions across the status hierarchy that educate the largest proportions of racially marginalized students.

Effectively Maintained Inequality in U.S. Postsecondary Progress

In this analysis, I evaluate how socioeconomic status (SES) directly shapes the probability that students with similar academic achievements complete key transitions in the U.S. postsecondary system. I develop the concept of institutional reach to illuminate the maintenance of socioeconomic differences across successive forward transitions via institutions of varying selectivity in this postsecondary system. Both low- and high-SES students with high academic achievements display a greater probability of moving forward through the system. However, high-SES students are more likely to do so by attending more selective institutions at entry and, consequently, are more likely to complete a bachelor’s degree at such institutions. In other words, high-SES students have greater institutional reach given similar academic achievements. Greater protection from low achievements and greater boosts from high achievements are both important for maintaining high-SES students’ advantage.

A Multilevel Analysis of Community College Students’ Transfer to Four-Year Institutions of Varying Selectivity

Background/Context Transfer from community colleges to selective four-year institutions is an issue that assumes great importance for the democratization of postsecondary education. Yet research on what influences transfer to selective four-year institutions is surprisingly sparse. Transfer research typically lumps four-year schools receiving community college transfers into one group. This approach neglects heterogeneity in institutional selectivity and fails to study forces underlying the varied pathways to four-year institutions. Purpose This research fills the gap in the literature by exploring the following question: What student and institutional factors are associated with transfer from community colleges to four-year institutions of varying selectivity? This study is aimed at identifying beneficial experiences to support community college students’ pathway to the baccalaureate, especially at selective institutions. Research Design This study drew upon several national data sources and a nationally representative sample of all first-time postsecondary students beginning at a public two-year college in 2003–2004. Based on the study's conceptual framework that depicts the relationship between transfer and various individual and institutional factors, I analyzed the hypothesized relationships using a multilevel path model. Findings The study shows that few community college students transferred to highly selective institutions. In terms of individual factors that distinguish those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their counterparts who transfer to moderately or less selective schools, holding baccalaureate expectations and transfer intent seems to benefit those who transfer to selective institutions much more strongly than those who transfer to less selective ones. Similarly, rigorous course-taking distinguishes not only those who transfer from those who do not, but also those who transfer to highly selective institutions from their transfer counterparts headed toward moderately or less selective colleges. However, integrative experiences and first-term GPA show no significant relationship with upward transfer. As for institutional characteristics, percentage of certificates and vocational associate degrees awarded is negatively associated with transfer to highly and moderately selective institutions, while it does not particularly affect chances of transfer to less selective institutions. Furthermore, employment of part-time instructional faculty and staff does not benefit or hurt community college students’ chances of transfer, and, overall, proximity to selective institutions does not appear to be influential either. Conclusions This study's findings reinforce persistent issues associated with access and transfer to selective institutions for community college students. Both education policy and research must continue to tackle challenges and create opportunities to help broaden community college student access to four-year institutions.

Academic Satisfaction of Latino Students: Differences and Predictors

<p class="2M-body">Using multiple hierarchical regression, this study investigated how Latino/a students’ characteristics, academic major, campus climate, and faculty interactions explained the variance in students’ levels of satisfaction with advising, course availability, and instruction at highly selective institutions. Latino/a students’ satisfaction was found to significantly differ from some of their peers, but not from other White students. The regressions found that campus climate was the most significant predictor of all three areas, followed by student-faculty interactions.</p>