The present study explored the long-term impact of admission policies at two aspiring research institutions in Texas. Six years of longitudinal institutional data were analyzed for all full-time first time in college undergraduate students at both universities. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to identify relationships and differences between risk factors and percent plan eligibility. Cox regression was employed to examine the number of semesters that elapsed before students dropped out and to identify risk factors that contributed to student withdrawal. Moreover, competing risk models were used to test the robustness of the single-outcome models. Findings highlight the importance of leveraging the percent plan at both institutions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlonS. & TiendaM. (2005). Assessing the mismatch hypothesis: Differentials in college graduation rates by institutional selectivity. Sociology of Education, 78, 294–315.
2.
BeanJ. & MetznerB. (1985). A conceptual model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition. Review of Educational Research, 55, 485–540.
3.
Box-SteffensmeirJ. M. & JonesB. S. (1997). Time is of the essence: Event history models in political science. American Journal of Political Science, 41(4), 1414–1461.
4.
CabreraA. F.NoraA. & CastanedaM. B. (1993). College persistence: The testing of an integrated model. Journal of Higher Education, 64(2), 123–139.
5.
ChenC. (2005). Analyzing student learning outcomes: Usefulness of logistic and Cox regression models. IR Applications, 5. Retrieved from http://www.airweb.org/images/IR%20App5.pdf.
6.
ChenX. & CarrollC. D. (2005). First-generation students in postsecondary education: A look at their college transcripts (NCES 2005–171). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
7.
CrispG.HornC. L.DizinnoG. & WangD. (2010). Modeling the racial and ethnic implications of admissions policy changes in the pursuit of Tier One status. The Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 3(2), 71–84. doi: 10.1037/a0019675
8.
DesJardinsS. L.AhlburgD. A. & McCallB. P. (1999). An event history model of student departure. Economics of Education Review, 18(1999), 375–390.
9.
DesJardinsS. L.AhlburgD. A. & McCallB. P. (2002). A temporal investigation of factors related to timely degree completion. Journal of Higher Education, 73(5), 555–581.
10.
DuBrockC. P. (1999, May). Financial aid and college persistence: A five-year longitudinal study of 1993 and 1994 beginning freshmen students. Symposium conducted at the AIR 40th Annual Forum, Cincinnati, Ohio.
FloresS. M. & HornC. L. (2009–2010). College persistence among undocumented students at a selective public university: A quantitative case study analysis. The Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 11(1), 57–76.
13.
HornC. L. & FloresS. M. (2003). Percent plans in college admissions: A comparative analysis of three states' experiences. Cambridge, MA: Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.
14.
HornC. L. & FloresS. M. (2011). Race-conscious decision making in a state-driven admissions process: Texas, the University of Texas at Austin, the Top Ten Percent Plan. In HellerD. (Ed.), The states and public higher education policy: Affordability, access, and accountability (2nd ed.; pp. 106–126). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
15.
IshitaniT. T. (2003). A longitudinal approach to assessing attrition behavior among first-generation students: Time-varying effects of pre-college characteristics. Research in Higher Education, 44(4), 433–449.
16.
IshitaniT. T. (2006). Studying attrition and degree completion behavior among first-generation college students in the United States. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(5), 861–885.
17.
IshitaniT. T. (2008). How to explore timing of intervention for students at risk of departure. In IshitaniT. T. (Ed.), Alternative perspectives in institutional planning: New directions for institutional research, 137. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
18.
KainJ. F.O'BrienD. M. & JargowskyP. A. (2005). Hopwood and the 10 percent law: How have they affected the college enrollment decisions of Texas high school graduates?Dallas, TX: The Texas Schools Project, The University of Texas, Dallas. Retrieved on December 1, 2005, from http://www.utd.edu/research/tsp/pdfpapers/paper26.pdf.
19.
KaneT. J. (1998). Misconceptions in the debate about affirmative action in college admissions. In OrfieldG. & MillerE. (Eds.), Chilling admissions: The affirmative action crisis and the search for alternatives (pp. 17–32). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Publishing Group.
20.
LongM. & TiendaM. (2008). Winners and losers: Changes in Texas University admissions post-Hopwood. Education Evaluation and Policy Review, 30(3), 255–280.
NiuS. N. & TiendaM. (2010). Minority student academic performance under the uniform admission law: Evidence from the University of Texas at Austin. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 32, 44–69.
23.
NoraA. & CabreraA. F. (1996). The role of perceptions of prejudice and discrimination on the adjustment of minority students to college. The Journal of Higher Education, 67, 119–148.
24.
NuñezA.-M. & Cuccaro-AlaminS. (1998). First-generation students: Undergraduates whose parents never enrolled in postsecondary education (NCES 98082). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
25.
PascarellaE. & TerenziniP. (2005) How college affects students (Vol. 2): A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
26.
ReasonR. D. (2009). An examination of persistence research through the lens of a comprehensive conceptual framework. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 659–682.
27.
SaenzV. B.HurtadoS.BarreraD.WolfD. & YeungF. (2007). First in my family: A profile of first-generation college students at four-year institutions since 1971. Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute.
28.
SingellL. D. & WaddellG. R. (2009). Modeling retention at a large public university: Can at-risk students be identified early enough to treat?Research in Higher Education, 51, 546–572.
TintoV. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89–125.
44.
TitusM. A. (2004). An examination of the influence of institutional context on student persistence at 4-year colleges and universities: A multilevel approach. Research in Higher Education, 45(7), 673–699.
45.
TitusM. A. (2006). Understanding the influence of the financial context of institutions on student persistence at four-year colleges and universities. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(2), 353–375.
46.
WarburtonE.BugarinR. & NunezA. (2001). Bridging the gap: Academic preparation and postsecondary success of first-generation students (NCES 2001–153). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office.
