Moving on: A cooperative study of student transfer

With no statewide student tracking system in place for California's tripartite postsecondary education system, three of the state's leading institutions joined in a study of the effectiveness of student transfer—the bridge between community college and university-level education. Transfer success was measured by student preparation, persistence, and performance both before and after transfer. The study examined whether the need for remediation before transfer affected students' progress and degree attainment. The findings run counter to the traditional notion that few remedial students persevere and transfer. A comparison of graduation rates with other community college transfers and with native university students indicated these transfers performed better.Presented at the Thirty-first Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, San Francisco, May 26–29, 1991.     

Are the Factors Affecting Dropout Behavior Related to Initial Enrollment Intensity for College Undergraduates?

We use data from the 1990/1994 Beginning Post-Secondary Survey to determine whether the factors associated with long-term attrition from higher education differ for students who initially enrolled part-time as compared to for students who initially enrolled full-time. Using a two-stage sequential decision model to analyze the initial enrollment intensity decision jointly with attrition, we find no evidence of correlation in the unobservables that necessitates joint estimation, but substantial evidence that the factors associated with attrition differ by initial enrollment status. The timing of initial enrollment, academic performance, parental education, household characteristics, and economic factors had a substantially greater impact on those initially enrolled full-time, while racial and ethnic characteristics had a greater impact on those initially enrolled part-time. The results of our study suggest that separate specifications are necessary to identify at-risk full-time as compared with at-risk part-time students. The data employed here were generated while working under a grant supported in part by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Science Foundation under the Association for Institutional Research 1999 Improving Institutional Research in Post-secondary Educational Institutions Grant Program. The Spencer Foundation Small Grants program provided funding for the analysis. Leslie Stratton gratefully acknowledges additional support from a 2001 Faculty Excellence Award from Virginia Commonwealth University. Referees from the 2005 Southern Economic Association meetings and from Research in Higher Education provided very helpful comments. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation, the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, or the National Science Foundation.     

The Effect of Loans on the Persistence and Attainment of Community College Students

This study informs public policies regarding the use of subsidized loans as financial aid for community college students. Using logistic regression, it analyzes the National Center for Education Statistics’ Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS 90/94) data to predict persistence to the second year of college and associate’s degree attainment over five years. During the period under study, loans did not contribute to higher persistence and attainment rates. Loans are observed to have a negative effect on persistence and no effect on degree attainment. Estimates of the interaction effects of borrowing and income status are insignificant but demonstrate the need for further testing. The findings are attributed to a combination of the high uncertainty of degree completion among community college students and the negative affective component of indebtedness. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the American Education Finance Association Annual Meeting (Austin, Texas, March, 2000) and at the AIR Forum (Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2000). It has also appeared as a working paper of the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance at the University of Houston, Texas (IHELG Monograph 01–07).This paper is based upon work supported by the Association for Institutional Research, the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Science Foundation under Association for Institutional Research Grant No. 99-128-0.     

Do Learning Communities Effect Academic Outcomes? Evidence From an Experiment in a Community College

Abstract

Many postsecondary institutions utilize learning communities to increase social engagement and attachment to the college community. In recent years, these communities have proliferated as part of a trend fueled by low retention and persistence rates, increasing reluctance of 4-year institutions to provide remedial education, and pressure on colleges to be accountable for their outcomes. This article reports the findings of a randomized experiment of a learning communities program that operated in an urban community college. The 1-semester learning community, which focused largely on remedial English, had modest effects on full-time enrollment, the number of courses attempted and passed, remedial English pass rates, and credits earned during the semester in which it operated. Impacts diminished in postprogram semesters.     

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.     

The Influence of Dual Enrollment on Academic Performance and College Readiness: Differences by Socioeconomic Status

I examine the influence of dual enrollment, a program that allows students to take college courses and earn college credits while in high school, on academic performance and college readiness. Advocates consider dual enrollment as a way to transition high school students into college, and they further claim that these programs benefit students from low socioeconomic status (SES). However, few researchers examine the impact of dual enrollment on academic performance and college readiness, in particular, whether SES differences exist in the impact of dual enrollment. Even fewer researchers consider the extent to which improved access to dual enrollment reduces SES gaps in academic performance and college readiness. I find that participation in dual enrollment increases first-year GPA and decreases the likelihood for remediation. I conduct sensitivity analysis and find that results are resilient to large unobserved confounders that could affect both selection to dual enrollment and the outcome. Moreover, I find that low-SES students benefit from dual enrollment as much as high-SES students. Finally, I find that differences in program participation account for little of the SES gap in GPA and remediation.     

The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating the Low Rate of Certificate Completion among Remedial Math Students

Nationally, a majority of community college students require remedial assistance with mathematics, but comparatively few students who begin the remedial math sequence ultimately complete it and achieve college-level math competency. The academic outcomes of students who begin the sequence but do not complete it are disproportionately unfavorable: most students depart from the community college without a credential and without transferring to a four-year institution. Interestingly, however, many of these students continue to attend the community college after they exit the remedial math sequence, sometimes for an extended period. One is led to ask why students who do not complete the sequence generally are not finding their way to an alternative credential objective that does not require college-level math competency, such as a career and technical education certificate, sometimes referred to as a vocational certificate. In this study, I explore three possible answers to this question, including difficulty navigating to the alternative credential, declining participation in the community college, and declining academic performance. I find that all three of these explanations contribute (to varying degrees) to explaining the low rate of certificate completion among remedial math students who do not achieve college-level math competency.     

Assessing the Effectiveness of Remedial College Courses

Randomly selected students required to take a remedial English course at a community college were placed in a regular English course on an experimental basis. The experimentally placed students were compared with those who enrolled in a regular course after passing a remedial course and with those who did not require remediation. Comparisons were made on ability, persistence, performance, and satisfaction. The remedial course had no effect on student satisfaction and persistence but a modest effect on subsequent course performance. The experimental methodology described can provide the college researcher with a basis for determining whether there is a need to revise or eliminate current remedial courses.     

Academic Outcomes Among a Sample of Learning Support Community College Students

This research examined the relationship between placement in a learning support college program and subsequent academic outcomes. The sample consisted of 275 entering freshmen students who were enrolled in the Learning Support reading courses in the fall of 2005. Data were collected from the Gordon College Office of Institutional Research. The data showed that of the 275 students who enrolled in a Learning Support reading course in the fall 2005 semester, 189 returned for the spring 2006 semester. Data also showed that 58% of the 275 students enrolled in Learning Support reading during fall 2005 successfully completed a basic reading intensive course upon completion of their remedial reading class. One hundred eighty seven students who had previously completed Learning Support reading enrolled (spring 2006 or later) in Introductory English 101 and 121 passed. Fifty-five students who had completed Learning Support reading enrolled (spring 2006 or later) in History 1121, Western Civilization, and 20 students passed. Six of the 205 students who completed Learning Support reading graduated Gordon College within a three-year period. The results of the present study indicate that the Learning Support Reading Program in place at Gordon College has proven to be a beneficial tool for at-risk college students. It is assumed that programs such as the Learning Support Program described here may help students build a foundation that will aid them throughout their college career.     

English proficiency,course patterns,and academic achievements of limited-English-proficient community college students

Over the past decade minority students' access to and achievements in higher education have been of substantial interest to educators and researchers. Students who are of limited English proficiency (LEP) may also be considered disadvantaged, although few studies focus on them as a minority group. This research was conducted at a community college to examine the independent and interactive effects of several key demographic and academic variables on academic achievements (persistence, credits earned, and GPA). The primary independent variable, labeled GROUP, combined students' placement test results (English as a second language, regular remedial English, or no test results) and course-taking patterns (registered or did not register for ESL courses). Logit and other multivariate statistical techniques were employed. Results indicate some differences in achievement by GROUP category in concert with age, sex, or ethnicity, but no consistent pattern was found. LEP students did not differ significantly in academic achievement from the total student population. It is suggested that LEP students comprise an eclectic population with diverse educational goals and competencies, who use the community college for a variety of reasons. As institutions struggle to balance access and open enrollment, placement testing and registration requirements, and available resources, the efficacy of treating all LEP students alike must be examined.     

Student access and the collegiate function in community colleges

An analysis is presented of the position of American community colleges in the nation's educational system. First, background is provided on the historical development of the community colleges. This section examines: (1) the forces contributing to the rise of higher education and the emergence of junior colleges; (2) the expansion of the two-year college role to include community services and remedial education, as well as transfer, occupational, and postsecondary terminal programs; and (3) influences on community college growth over the past four decades, including increased educational access, the student consumerism movement, the increasing enrollment of part-time students, and the absorption by community colleges of the educational functions of other agencies. The next section provides information on community college faculty, focusing on their educational background and professional involvement in contrast to that of their four-year college counterparts; the faculty union movement; and factors, such as long working hours and underprepared students, which erode faculty job satisfaction. Curriculum and instruction in the community college are discussed next, with particular focus on transfer, occupational, and community service curricula. The article concludes with an examination of the dilemma faced by college leaders attempting to maintain their institution's place in graded education, while providing a variety of educative services to their constituents on an open-door basis.An extended version of this paper was prepared for the National Commission on the Condition of Excellence in Higher Education.     

Referral,enrollment, and completion in developmental education sequences in community colleges

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. Our results indicate that fewer than one half of the students who are referred to remediation actually complete the entire sequence to which they are referred. About 30 percent of students referred to developmental education do not enroll in any remedial course, and only about 60 percent of referred students actually enroll in the remedial course to which they were referred. The results also show that more students exit their developmental sequences because they did not enroll in the first or a subsequent course than because they failed or withdrew from a course in which they were enrolled. We also show that men, older students, African American students, part-time students, and students in vocational programs are less likely to progress through their full remedial sequences.     

The Confluence of Race,Gender, and Class Among Community College Students: Assessing Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action in College Admissions

This article examines the attitudes of baccalaureate aspiring community college students with regard to affirmative action in college admissions. Using data from UCLA's Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Annual Freshman Year Survey, the study assessed determinants of approval or disapproval of affirmative action for 20,339 community college students. Because students in traditionally disadvantaged groups (e.g., first-generation, racial/ethnic minorities, female, and low-income) are overrepresented at the community college, critical theoretical perspectives concerning social mobility and self-interest were utilized to guide the study. The findings indicate that race/ethnicity and political views were significant predictors of affirmative action attitudes for males and females. The impact of family income and transfer intent significantly contributed to male support for abolishing affirmative action. Age yielded a significant association for support of affirmative action as reported by older African American and white students.     

Academic calendar change impact on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes

A study of 10 universities in two states was completed to determine the impact of a change from the quarter to the semester calendar on enrollment patterns and instructional outcomes. A decrease in average student credit hour load and an increase in the percentage of students withdrawing from courses were observed after institutions changed to the semester calendar system.Presented at the 23rd Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Toronto, May 1983.     

Origins of the Gender Gap: Pre-College and College Influences on Differences Between Men and Women

This study examines differences between women and men on 19 outcomes of college and assesses the extent to which those differences are attributable to gender gaps that existed prior to college or to men’s and women’s differential college experiences. The data are drawn from a national longitudinal sample of students (N = 17,637) attending 204 four-year colleges and universities who were surveyed upon entry to college in 1994 and four years later in 1998. Among the 19 outcomes, 5 revealed gender differences that could be accounted for by pre-college variables alone, 2 demonstrated gender differences that were attributable to a combination of pre-college and college variables, and 12 produced gender gaps that were significant despite all control variables. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, San Diego, CA, May 2005.     

The Pell and the Poor: A Regression-Discontinuity Analysis of On-Time College Enrollment

In this study, I capitalize on a natural experiment to examine the effect of federal Pell Grant eligibility on college enrollment for students who graduated from high school in spring 2004 and who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 are used to array students on the continuous Expected Family Contribution (EFC) variable, attained from the FAFSA, and divide them into two categories—those with an EFC at or below the federally designated amount for Pell eligibility, and those above. This regression-discontinuity approach allows me to measure whether students who vary regarding their Pell Grant eligibility, but who have essentially identical family incomes, differ in their college enrollment rates. I find no effect. While confirming prior studies examining the impact of the Pell Grant on college enrollment for traditional students, this finding remains inconsistent with findings on other need-based grants. This result suggests that the minimum Pell Grant amount, currently less than 10% of an average college’s tuition and fees, may be insufficient.