An agent-based model is developed and demonstrated to be a feasible alternative method of analysis for the college choice/college access problem in higher education. The agent-based model captures agent heterogeneity and complex agent interactions in ways that cannot be accounted for through traditional statistical techniques. The agent-based model computer output was based on Patricia McDonough’s research using Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theoretical framework.
Astin, A., Korn, W., Sax, L., & Mahoney, K. (1994). The American freshman: National norms for fall 1994. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute.
2.
Bishop, J. (1977, Summer). The effect of public policies on the demand for higher education. Journal of Human Resources, 285, 285-307.
3.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4.
Bruggink, T. H., & Gambhir, V. (1996). Statistical models for college admission and enrollment: A case study for a selective liberal arts college. Research in Higher Education, 37(2), 221-240.
5.
Cabrera, A. F., & La Nasa, S. M. (2000, May 21-24). Using national databases to study the college choice of low-SES students. Paper presented at the annual forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Cincinnati, OH.
6.
Chapman, D. W. (1981). A model of student college choice. Journal of Higher Education, 52(2), 490-505.
7.
Chapman, R. G. (1984). Towards a theory of college choice: A model of college search and choice behavior. Alberta, Canada: University of Albert.
8.
Chapman, R. G., & Jackson, R. (1987). College choices of academically able students: The influence of no-need financial aid and other factors (Research Monograph No. 10). New York: College Entrance Examination Board.
9.
Dembowski, F. L. (1980). A model for predicting student college choice. College and University, 55(2), 103-112.
10.
DesJardins, S. L., Dundar, H., & Hendel, D. D. (1999). Modeling the college application decision process in a land-grant university. Economics of Education Review, 18(1), 117-132.
11.
Ehrenberg, R. G., & Sherman, D. R. (1984). Optimal financial aid policies for a selective university. Journal of Human Resources, 19(2), 202-230.
12.
Epstein, J., & Axtel, R. (1996). Growing artificial societies: Social science from the bottom up. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
13.
Henrickson, L. (2001). Comparative study on education databases and the application of geographical information systems. Information Technology Education and Society, 2(2), 93-108.
14.
Henrickson, L. (in press). Trends in complexity theories and comutation in the social sciences. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology and the Life Sciences.
15.
Henrickson, L., & McKelvey, B. (2002). Foundations of “new” social science: Institutional legitimacy from philosophy, complexity science, postmodernism, and agent-based modeling. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(3), 7288-7295.
16.
Hossler, D. (1985, March15-17). A research overview of student college choice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Chicago.
17.
Hossler, D., Braxton, J., & Coopersmith, G. (1989). Understanding student college choice. Higher education: Handbook of theory and research. New York: Agathon.
18.
Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three-phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207-221.
19.
Jackson, G. A. (1982). Public efficiency and private choice in higher education. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(2), 237-247.
20.
Kariel, H. G. (1968). Student enrollment and spatial interaction. Annals of Regional Science, pp. 114-125.
21.
Kealy, M. J., & Rockel, M. L. (1988). Merit scholarships are no quick fix for college quality. Economics of Education Review, 7(3), 345-355.
22.
Kellaris, J. J., & Kellaris, W. K., Jr. (1988). An exploration of the factors influencing students’ college choice decision at a small private college. College and University, 63(2), 187-197.
23.
Kohn, M. G., Manski, C. F., & Mundel, D. S. (1976). An empirical investigation of factors which influence college-going behavior. Annals of Economic and Social Measurement, 5, 391-419.
24.
Kuntz, S. S. (1987, February 14-17). Students’ academic orientations and their perceptions of and preferences for colleges: Applied market research using the ideal point preference model and multidimensional scaling. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, San Diego, CA.
25.
Leppel, K. (1993). Logit estimation of a gravity model of the college enrollment decision. Research in Higher Education, 34(3), 387-398.
26.
Leslie, L. L., & Brinkman, P. T. (1988). The economic value of higher education. New York: Collier Macmillan.
27.
Litten, L. H. (1982). Different strokes in the applicant pool: Some refinements in a model of student college choice. Journal of Higher Education, 53(4), 383-402.
28.
Maguire, J., & Lay, R. (1981). Modeling the college choice process: Image and decision. College and University, 56(2), 123-139.
29.
Manski, C. F., & Wise, D. A. (1983). College choice in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
30.
McConnell, H. (1965). Spatial variability of college enrolment as a function of migration potential. The Professional Geographer, 17(6), 29-37.
31.
McDonough, P. M. (1994). Buying and selling of higher education: The social construction of the college applicant. Journal of Higher Education, 65(4).
32.
McDonough, P. M. (1997). College choice as capital conversion and investment: A new model. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Memphis, TN.
33.
McDonough, P. M., Antonio, A. L., & Trent, J. W. (1997). Black students, Black colleges: An African American college choice model. Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 3(1), 9-36.
34.
McPherson, M. S., & Schapiro, M. O. (1998). The student aid game: Meeting the need and rewarding talent in American higher education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
35.
Moore, R. L., Studemund, A. H., & Slobko, T. (1991). The effect of the financial aid package on the choice of a selective college. Economics of Education Review, 10, 311-324.
36.
Nolfi, G. J., Fuller, W. C., Corazzini, A. J., Epstein, W. H., Freeman, R. B., Manski, C. F., et al. (1978). Experiences of recent high school graduates. The transition to work or postsecondary education. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
37.
Olson, L., & Rosenfeld, R. A. (1985). Parents and the process of gaining access to student financial aid. Journal of Higher Education, 55, 455-480.
38.
Park, G., & Lempert, R. (1998). The class of 2014: Preserving access to California higher education. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
39.
Parker, J., & Summers, J. (1993). Tuition and enrollment yield at selective liberal arts colleges. Economics of Education Review, 12, 311-324.
40.
Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1998). Studying college students in the 21st century: Meeting new challenges. Review of Higher Education, 21, 151-165.
41.
Sanders, D., & Brynin, M. (1998). Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analysis. Research strategies in the social sciences a guide to new approaches. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
42.
Saunders-Newton, D., & Graddy, E. (forthcoming). At the end of the day (or rather, decade): Simulation approaches in support of educational enterprise decisions. Simulations.
43.
Schlesinger, M., & Parisi, D. (2001). The agent-based approach: A new direction for computational models of development. Developmental Review, 21(1), 121-146.
44.
Sewell, W., Haller, A. O., & Portes, A. (1969). The educational and early occupational attainment process. American Sociological Review, 34, 82-92.
45.
Sewell, W., & Shah, V. P. (1978). Social class, parental encouragement, and educational aspirations. American Journal of Sociology, 3, 559-572.
46.
Sewell, W. H., & Hauser, R. M. (1975). Education, occupation, and earning: Achievement in the early career. New York: Academic Press.
47.
Skewes-Cox, T. (1998). Freshman yields: Logistic modeling of matriculants. Los Angeles: University of California.
48.
Smith, K. (1990). A comparison of the college decisions of two-year and four-year college students. College and University, 65(2), 109-126.
49.
Stage, F. K., & Hossler, D. (1989). Differences in family influences on college attendance plans for male and female ninthgraders. Research in Higher Education, 30(3), 301-315.
50.
Szmatka, J., & Lovaglia, M. J. (1996). The significance of method. Sociological Perspectives, 39(3), 393-415.
51.
Tesfatsion, L. (2002, May 13). Agent-based computational economics. Retrieved May 2002 from http://www.econ.iastate.edu/tesfatsi/ace.htm
52.
Trusheim, D., Crouse, J., & Middaugh, M. (1990). College applicants’ attitudes and enrollment decisions. Research in Higher Education, 31(3), 295-305.
53.
Welki, A. M., & Navratil, F. J. (1987). The role of applicants’ perceptions in the choice of college. College and University, 62(2), 147-160.
54.
Zemsky, R., & Oedel, P. (1983). The structure of college choice. New York: College Entrance Examination Board, Ford Foundation.
