Factors associated with one-year retention in a community college

This study sought to evaluate preenrollment variables as predictors of one-year retention of first-time students in a community college. The purpose was to use information that is typically available when a student begins his or her college program and determine if this information can help identify students who are more likely to drop out within their first year. Based on a logistic regression model to select predictors of retention, the lower the high school GPA, the greater the chance the student will drop out. Over and above this, additional risk is associated with the age range 20–24, attending part-time, and being an ethnic minority other than Asian. When all or some of these are operating, it may be necessary to enhance these students' chances with special programs or services.     

Preparing seniors for life after college

A survey of employers released in 2008 reveals that college graduates are well prepared—for their first jobs. The ongoing work that must be done, particularly at the end of the undergraduate experience, is to help students get ready for life beyond that.     

College-bound high-school graduates of 1972 and 1980 compared by college major

College enrollments are shown to have increased since the 1970s for majors in computer science, engineering, and business, and to have decreased for the biological and social sciences, the humanities, and education. In both the 1970s and the 1980s, high average levels of high-school achievement are observed for declared college majors in science and engineering fields. Education and business majors display records of relatively low average levels of achievement in high school, as do college dropouts, whatever their college major.     

The impact of community college attendance on baccalaureate attainment

Community colleges are seen as contradictory institutions. Supporters contend that community colleges increase baccalaureate attainment by providing access to higher education for students who would otherwise not attend college, while critics argue that these institutions decrease baccalaureate attainment for students who would otherwise attend a 4-year institution. Using the National Education Longitudinal Study, this article advances the literature on the impact of community colleges on baccalaureate attainment by estimating new models that allow controlling for pathways of enrollment while using different measures of educational expectations and correcting for college choice. Findings suggest that community colleges significantly reduce the probability of attaining a bachelor’s degree, as compared to 4-year institutions, an effect that remains after having taken into account non-traditional enrollment pathways, educational expectations, and self-selection into 2-year and 4-year institutions.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the November 2004 Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.     

An analysis of the effects of geographic-demographic factors on college attendance

Geographic and demographic characteristics of the 120 Kentucky counties were utilized to group counties with similar characteristics. Factor analysis and then cluster analysis were used to establish four county groupings. ACT test results and demographic data, and enrollment data for 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980 for those 1977 high school graduates enrolled in Kentucky state-supported colleges and universities, fall semester 1977, were analyzed to determine whether geographic origin influenced college attendance. Four hypotheses tested enrollment, persistence, and transfer activities; college-going rates; and academic achievement of students. Test results revealed significant differences and the null hypotheses were rejected.     

Relationships between ability,college attendance,and family income

Some of the social functions of testing were examined by studying the characteristics and educational outcomes of students with different test scores and from families with different incomes. Using College Board file information, the educational plans and other relevant characteristics of students with different combinations of family income and test scores were compared. A follow-up of applicants who had completed high school in 1981 determined their educational status. These data were related to the applicants' test scores and family incomes to estimate the relative influence of each of their educational outcomes.     

Costs of attendance and the educational programs of first-time community college students

I use data from the State University of New York to examine whether changes in community college attendance costs yield different impacts on first-time enrollment in different community college programs. Evidence is strong that academic-program enrollment significantly and substantially decreases when 2-year tuition increases, but weaker that it increases when 4-year tuition increases. Occupational-program enrollment is less responsive to 2- and 4-year tuition changes, but more responsive to labor market conditions. These different responses translate into significant changes in the program composition of entering community college cohorts when the costs of attendance change.     

沪、浙、深高教园（大学城）建设：经验与启示

高教园区(大学城)发展模式虽然各异,但在功能定位、促进区域性聚集和投资多元化等方面存在共性.目前,大学城在独立与共享、资金投入与运作的持续性、与地区经济社会发展的互动作用、配套设施建设等方面还存在问题,但通过发挥政府的调控作用、进行合理规划、加深全局性认识、体制与机制的创新等措施,大学城发展将展现出旺盛的生命力.     

Determinants of undergraduate GPAs: SAT scores, high-school GPA and high-school rank

The primary purpose of the study is to assess the degree to which SAT scores, high-school GPA (HSGPA) and class rank predict success in college. Data collected from students enrolled in several sections of Principles of Economics at the University of South Carolina in 2000 and 2001 are used to study the relation between college GPA (the dependent variable) and high-school rank, HSGPA, and SAT scores (the key independent variables). We also investigate whether there are race–sex differences in the likelihood of success in college. Further, we study the degree to which students with varying backgrounds are likely to be eligible for statewide scholarships and to retain them after enrollment.     

Differences in family influences on college attendance plans for male and female ninth graders

This study examined a model of college student choice for male and female ninth graders using LISREL. A sample of 703 male students and 718 female students and their parents responded to two sets of questionnaires regarding high school experiences and expectations about college. Endogenous variables examined included parents' expectation regarding higher education for their children, parents' savings for college, students' discussion of college with their parents, and students' aspiration for postsecondary education. The model explained 30.8% of the variance in students' aspiration for males and 36.8% for females. Final empirical models for the two groups suggested that there may be subtle differences in family influence on male and female students' college-going plans.     

Factors affecting persistence of Deaf college students

A study of attrition after the first year of college was conducted with the 1984 entry class of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. A path-analytic model of 9 factors affecting student persistence was tested using LISREL (N = 233). The results indicate that social integration is an important factor in college persistence. Grade point average is not a critical factor in first year attrition. While provocative, the reasons behind these findings may be specific to NTID. For example, many students come to NTID specifically for its social community. It is concluded, therefore, that while these results were somewhat different from those of studies with hearing students, they support the proposition that studies of college attrition cannot be generalized across institutions.     

The effects of high school math curriculum on college attendance: Evidence from the NLSY97

Using a sample of youth who graduated from high school in the late 1990s and early 2000s, this paper examines the impact of high school math curriculum on the decision to go to college. Results that control for unobserved differences between students and their families suggest that a more rigorous high school math curriculum is associated with a higher probability of attending college and of attending a 4-year college. The household fixed effect results imply that students who take an advanced academic math curriculum in high school (algebra II or precalculus, trigonometry, or calculus) are about 17 percentage points more likely to go to college and 20 percentage points more likely to start college at a 4-year school by age 21 compared to those students whose highest math class was algebra I or geometry.     

External factors associated with adopting a CMS in resident college courses

Course management systems (CMSs) have become a common resource for resident courses at colleges and universities. Researchers have analyzed which CMS features faculty members use most primarily by asking them which features are used. The study described builds on previous research by counting the number of CMS features a faculty member used and by analyzing how three external factors are related to the use of CMS features. The external factors are (a) the college in which a course was offered, (b) class size, and (c) the level of a class—such as 100 or 200. The only external factor showing a statistically significant relationship to the use of CMS features was the college in which a course was offered. Another finding was that CMSs are primarily used to transmit information to students. Implications are described for using external factors to increase effective use of more complex CMS features.     

Factors associated with changes in prestige of university departments

Four models of possible predictors of changes in prestige for university departments are advanced and tested using multiple regression. Changes in prestige are measured using a residual change score derived from the ratings of departments in various disciplines collected by American Council of Education in 1964 and 1969. The models are tested using data collected from 1,164 faculty in 80 university departments in 1968, and from published sources for that same year. Results indicate that a resource model is the best predictor for sociology, and that a research productivity model and an organizational model were good predictors of reputational change for political science and chemistry. For physics, only one organizational variable was an important predictor. The fourth model tested involved reputation of faculty within the department, and this model yielded the fewest significant results. A composite predictive equation was then used, retaining variables that had emerged as significant in earlier analyses. Results again exhibited large differences across scientific fields, suggesting that there is no single set of factors that can reliably predict improvement or decline in prestige across all disciplines.     

Factors associated with employment success among youths with learning disabilities

This follow-up study examines the employment success of young adults with learning and other mild disabilities. The study questioned the employee with disabilities, his or her parents, and the employer on a number of vocationally related items. A four-factor model is advanced to explain job success. The factors include job match and accommodation, social acceptance, work attitude, and special services. Participants in a total of 41 job situations were queried with 38 completed triads (employee with mild disability, employer, family). The method of constant comparative analysis was used to analyze the data. Although an aggregate of the four factors correlated significantly (p less than .01), job match proved to have the most significant (p less than .01) relationship with the outcome variable. The results are interpreted in light of the need to deliver and understand the types of supported employment services for adults with mild disabilities.