Do developmental mathematics programs have a causal impact on student retention? An application of discrete-time survival and regression-discontinuity analysis

The impact of academic programs—such as developmental mathematics programs—on student retention, has been a controversial topic for administrators, policy makers, and faculty in higher education. Despite deep interest in the effectiveness of these programs in retaining students, scholars have been unable to determine whether such programs have a causal impact on student retention. Rather than assigning students to a developmental program based on a random assignment process as in a true experiment, most of the existing research up to this point has been non-experimental and has focused exclusively on whether student background and demographic characteristics are statistically significant predictors of dropout. Furthermore, prior research is also limited by its reliance on cross-sectional, retrospective designs despite the longitudinal nature of the dropout phenomenon. In this paper, I report the results of a unique piece of research which embeds a regression-discontinuity design within the framework provided by discrete-time survival analysis. By combining these two approaches, I was able to obtain an unbiased estimate of the causal impact of participating in a developmental program in mathematics, and confirm that the risk of leaving college among students who participate in developmental mathematics programs was significantly lower than for equivalent students who did not participate in such programs.     

A psychological model of student persistence

The present study examines the validity of the Eccles model of achievement behaviors (model of academic choice) for its predictive validity when the outcome (behavior) is student persistence in the postsecondary educational system to completion of at least the baccalaureate degree. Patterns of effects hypothesized by the theoretical model were only partially supported by the results forthcoming from the estimation of the model. Of the two constructs hypothesized to directly influence persistence—the value placed on college attendance and expectations for success in college—only value had significant influence. Two measures of goal orientations—business/financial and humanitarian/social—exerted indirect influence as hypothesized, but level of degree aspirations had as strong a direct influence on persistence as did value. Prior achievement had the strongest total effects of any of the variables in the model.     

The influence of prices on graduate student persistence

The topic of how prices influence graduate student persistence has seldom been examined. Using the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 1987 to examine the influence of prices on within-year persistence by graduate students, this analysis indicates that graduate students, especially those enrolled in public institutions, are responsive to tuition charges in their persistence decisions. The major implication of this finding is that universities should examine the potential impact of price changes on graduate student persistence when they consider tuition increases each year.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Eighth Annual NASSGP/NCHELP Research Network Conference, March 21, 1991, San Francisco, CA.     

The role of academic advising in student retention and persistence

Jayne K. Drake reminds us that academic advising is more than clerical recordkeeping; it is the very human art of building relationships with students and helping them connect their personal strengths and interests with their academic and life goals.     

Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student attrition

The purpose of this research is to investigate the determinants of student attrition in institutions of higher education. A causal model was developed which synthesized research findings on turnover in work organizations and on student attrition. Questionnaires were distributed to university freshmen (N = 1,171). The data was analyzed using multiple regression and path analysis. The regressions produced anR ² = .36 for females and .27 for males. Findings indicate that three surrogate measures for pay were significantly related to intent to leave for both sexes and that the theories and determinants developed in research on turnover are useful in studies of student attrition.Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 1979.     

Path analysis and causal analysis: Variations on a multivariate technique of measuring student politics

This paper is an attempt to test a multivariate theory of family status, socialization, and student politics employing two different methodological techniques: 1) the popular path analysis method as compared with 2) a modified causal analysis approach. The student sample consists of 1,246 college youth representing both flanks of the campus political ideological spectrum surveyed in 1966–67. Results reveal that both techniques appear to be a reliable check on one another. Path analysis is able to measure the cumulative effect of the variables in the model deductively and pick up the interrelationships between the endogenous variables. The modified causal analysis approach enables one to construct models inductively in an attempt to discover competing models of best fit. Other statistical and substantive results in addition to the advantages and disadvantages of both methodological techniques are discussed.Paper presented to the 23rd Annual Meetings of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, New York, New York, August 26, 1973.     

中国大学生资助政策:对H大学的个案研究

The research findings have made it clear that Chinese college student aid policy has several characteristics. Generally speaking, student financial aid is increasing up to some extent. The government financial aids focus mostly on improving equality of educational opportunity in higher education. However, aids from the government are inadequate, especially national student loans. Besides, all kinds of aids were decreasing from 2004 to 2006 and the aid programs were short of stability between various years. In order to improve equal access to higher education through student aid policy, it is necessary to enlarge the government aids and reform the aid system. __________ Translated from Jiaoshi Jiaoyu Yanjiu 教师教育研究 (Teacher Education Research), 2008, (2), 59–63     

Financial aid tipping points: an analysis of aid and academic achievement at a California community college

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between financial aid awards and measures of student academic achievement. Financial aid and academic records for 11,956 students attending an urban California community college were examined and analyzed using simultaneous linear regression and two-way factorial ANOVAs. Findings revealed a small inverse relationship between the amount of aid received; thus, students with higher levels of need had slightly lower levels of academic achievement. Further analysis suggests that financial aid awards were able to minimize the negative effects of low income for approximately 70% of financial aid recipients. However, significant differences in grades and the percentage of units completed emerged for the 30% students with the highest demonstrated levels of financial need, suggesting that these students have large levels of unmet need. Implications for institutional and state-level policy as well as for institutional practice are discussed.     

The effects of student aid on recent college graduates

Using college graduates from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (N=3,136), this study reviews the relationships between student financial aid received during college and the types of activities pursued by students after graduating. Four areas of graduates' lives were examined: attending graduate school, choosing a job, forming a family, and forming personal values. Three types of student aid were included: loans, grants, and work, with emphasis on loans. Despite the expectation of a negative impact of loans, the results showed no support for this, and in general, the findings suggested that college graduates who received aid as undergraduates were little different from other graduates. The major implication is that the self-help forms of aid (loans and work) are not detrimental to the future plans of recipients.This paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Washington, D.C., April 1979.     

Trends in student aid: 1963–64 to 1988–89

This article describes the aggregate financing of student aid by the federal government, state governments, and institutions over the past 25 years. The major trends in student aid funding are sketched in historical perspective with attention directed to federal program changes that precipitated funding changes. All major programs are covered, and figures are presented in current and constant dollars. Trends in the composition of aid delivered (grants, loans, and work-study) are also discussed. Over time comparisons in the numbers of recipients and aid per recipient are given by programs. Changes in educational costs are compared with changes in income and aid to show the increased difficulty for families and students to pay for higher education in the 1980s.     

Assessing tuition and student aid strategies: Using price-response measures to simulate pricing alternatives

This paper uses price-response measures derived from recent national studies to assess institutional pricing (tuition and student aid) alternatives in diverse institutional settings. It concludes that such analyses are viable, especially if an understanding of institutional contexts is used to frame and interpret simulation results. The analyses indicate there are limits to the viability of the “Robin Hood” pricing approach that has predominated in private colleges during the past decade. New alternatives, such as simultaneous tuition and grant reductions or the creation of forgivable loans, merit consideration in some settings.     

Bayesian student modeling and the problem of parameter specification

In this paper, the application of Bayesian networks to student modeling is discussed. A review of related work is made, and then the structural model is defined. Two of the most commonly cited reasons for not using Bayesian networks in student modeling are the computational complexity of the algorithms and the difficulty of the knowledge acquisition process . We propose an approach to simplify knowledge acquisition. Our approach applies causal independence to factor the conditional probabilities and decrease the parameters required for each question to a number linear in the number of concepts. This also provides the new parameters with an intuitive meaning that makes their specification easier. Finally, we present an example to illustrate the use of our approach.     

美国州立助学政策的目标取向

美国州立助学政策有三个目标取向：基于需要的助学计划的目标取向是确保低收入家庭学生的入学机会;基于选择的助学计划的目标取向是保证自由选择入读院校的类型;基于成绩的助学计划的目标取向是奖励和激励卓越.三种模式各有其优点和缺点.     

The effect of instructor race and gender on student persistence in STEM fields

The objective of this study is to determine if minority and female students are more likely to persist in a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major when they enroll in classes taught by instructors of their own race or gender. Using data from public 4-year universities in the state of Ohio, I analyze first semester STEM courses to see if the race or gender of the instructor effects persistence of initial STEM majors in a STEM field after the first semester and first year. Results indicate that black students are more likely to persist in a STEM major if they have a STEM course taught by a black instructor. Similar to previous findings, female students are less likely to persist when more of their STEM courses are taught by female instructors.     

高等学校学生资助系统的研究与实践

为了满足学生资助工作体系建设的需要,清华大学开发了学生资助系统.该系统的运行,改变了原有的学生资助工作模式,推动了学生资助工作的现代化和规范化,为学生资助工作的日常运行提供了可靠保障,为落实学生资助工作的各项改革提供了有力的支持.文章对传统工作模式下存在的问题进行了分析,介绍了学生资助系统的建设内容和系统总体结构,最后对系统的实现技术进行了论述.     

Region,resources, and reason: A contextual analysis of state tuition and student aid policies

This paper reports on an investigation of differences and similarities across the 50 states in approaches to the pricing and discounting, via student aid, of undergraduate education. To examine national patterns in tuition and aid policies, the analysis used recent state-by-state data and multivariate statistical methods. The results suggest that region, social and economic resources, and postsecondary governance arrangements each have distinctive connections to the nature of states' tuition and aid policies. Of particular interest are the results relating to high-tuition/high-aid policies at the state level, an approach termed by proponents therationalization of tuition and aid policy. Multiple regression analysis revealed rationalization to be primarily a regionally driven phenomenon concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest. Rationalization showed weaker, but still significant, connections to the states' population, personal income levels, extent of reliance on private postsecondary institutions, and governance arrangements. Implications of these findings for theory and policy are discussed.