This study examined how institutional and environmental attributes of the undergraduate institution facilitate or impede African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Mexican American students' baccalaureate degree attainment four and six years after college entry. The primary data source for this study was generated from a national survey of 63,640 first-time full-time freshman undergraduates at 303 colleges and universities. Variables that predict uniformly for all four groups include school grades (positive), on campus residence (positive), private control (positive), institutional size (negative), institutional selectivity (positive), and peer socioeconomic level (positive). Once these variables are controlled, standardized test scores add very little to the prediction of degree completion. Consistent with stated hypotheses, all five structural dimensions of the institution—mission, size, quality/selectivity, complexity/diversity, and wealth—affect degree completion.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdelmanC. (2000). More than 13 ways of looking at degree attainment. Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Council of County Colleges.
2.
AllenD. F., & NelsonJ. M. (1989). Tinto's model of college withdrawal applied to women at two institutions. Journal of Research and Development in Education, 22(3), 1–11.
3.
AllenW. R.EppsE. G. & HaniffN. Z. (1991). Colleges in black and white: African American students in predominantly White and historically Black public universities. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
4.
AndersonK. (1981). Post high school experiences and college attrition. Sociology of Education, 54, 1–15.
5.
AndersonK. L. (1987). Persistence, student background and integration/commitment: Variation by definition of persistence and institutional type. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Baltimore, MD.
6.
AstinA. W. (1971). Predicting academic performance in college. New York: The Free Press.
7.
AstinA. W. (1975). Preventing students from dropping out. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
8.
AstinA. W. (1982). Minorities in American higher education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
AstinA. W. (1991). Assessment for excellence: The philosophy and practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. New York: Macmillian/Oryx.
10.
AstinA. W. (1993). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
11.
AstinA. W., & PanosR. J. (1969). The educational and vocational development of college students. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
12.
AstinA. W., & OsegueraL. (2003). Degree attainment among Latino undergraduates: Rethinking time-to-degree. Berkeley: California Policy Research Institute. UC Latino Policy Institute.
13.
AstinA. W., & OsegueraL. (2005). Degree attainment rates at American colleges and universities (Rev. ed.). Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
14.
AstinA. W.TsuiL., & AvalosJ. (1996). Degree attainment rates at American colleges and universities: Effects of race, gender, and institutional type. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
15.
BeanJ. P. (1980). Dropouts and turnover: The synthesis and test of a causal model of student retention. Research in Higher Education, 12(2), 155–187.
16.
BeanJ. P. (1990). Why students leave: Insights from research. In HosslerD. & BeanJ. P. (Eds.), The strategic management of college enrollments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
17.
BenitezM. (1998). Hispanic-serving institutions: Challenges and opportunities. New Directions for Higher Education, 26(2), 57–68.
18.
BergerJ. B. (2000). Organizational behavior at colleges and student outcomes: A new perspective on college impact. The Review of Higher Education, 23(2), 177–198.
19.
BergerJ. B., & BraxtonJ. M. (1998). Revising Tinto's interactionalist theory of student departure through theory elaboration: Examining the role of organizational attributes in the persistence process. Research in Higher Education, 39(2), 103–120.
20.
BergerJ. B., & MilemJ. F. (2000). Organizational behavior in higher education and student outcomes. In SmartJ. (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 15, 268–338.
21.
BowenW. G., & BokD. (1998). The shape of the river. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
22.
BraxtonJ. M., & BrierE. M. (1989). Melding organizational and interactional theories of student attrition: A path analytic study. The Review of Higher Education, 13(1), 47–61.
23.
BraxtonJ. M.VesperN., & HosslerD. (1995). Expectations for college and student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 36(5), 595–612.
24.
CabreraA. F.NoraA., & CastanedaM. B. (1992). The role of finances in the persistence process: A structural model. Research in Higher Education, 33, 571–593.
25.
CarnevaleA. P., & RoseS. J. (2003). Socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and selective college admissions. New York: Report for the Century Foundation.
26.
ChangM. J. (1999). Does racial diversity matter?: The educational impact of a racially diverse undergraduate population. Journal of College Student Development, 40(4), 377–395.
27.
ChangM. J.OsegueraL., & SaenzV. (2003). Examining the first-year college experiences of California Latino students: Implications for persistence and success. Berkeley: California Policy Research Institute.
28.
ChickeringA. (1974). Commuting versus resident students: Overcoming educational inequities of living on campus. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
29.
ChoiJ. Y. (2002). Examining the relationship between college success, pre-collegiate characteristics, and socioeconomic background: A comparative analysis among different racial groups (unpublished manuscript). Los Angeles: UCLA.
30.
ClarkB. (1972). The organizational saga in higher education. Administrative Science Quarterly, 17, 178–184.
31.
DaltonJ. C. (1988). The influence of peer culture on college student values. National Association of Student Personnel Association (NASPA) Journal, 26(17), 1–7.
32.
DeAngeloL. (2002). It's a matter of principle: Changes in student attitudes after participation in a diversity course (unpublished manuscript). Los Angeles: UCLA.
33.
DeyE. L., & AstinA. W. (1989). Predicting college student retention: Comparative national data from the 1982 freshman class. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, UCLA.
34.
D'SouzaD. (1991). Illiberal education: The politics of race and sex on campus. New York: Free Press.
35.
EimersM. T., & PikeG. R. (1997). Minority and non-minority adjustment to college: Differences or similarities?Research in Higher Education, 38(1), 77–97.
36.
ElkinsS. A.BraxtonJ. M., & JamesG. W. (2000). Tinto's separation stage and its influence on first-semester college student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 41(2), 251–268.
37.
EnoD.McLaughlinG. W.BrozovskyP., & SheldonP. (1998). Predicting freshman success based on high school record and other measures. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, Minneapolis, MN.
38.
EthingtonC. A. (1990). A psychological model of student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 41(6), 703–722.
39.
HallR. H. (1991). Organizations: Structures, processes, and outcomes (5th ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
40.
HarveyW. B. (2003). Minorities in higher education. 2002–2003 twentieth annual status report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education, Office of Minorities in Higher Education.
41.
HouseD. J. (1996). College persistence and grade outcomes: Non-cognitive variables as predictors for African American, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, and White students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, Albuquerque, NM.
42.
HuangG.TaddeseN., & WalterE. (2000, Fall). Entry and persistence of women and minorities in college science and engineering education. Education Statistics Quarterly, 2(3), 59–60.
43.
HurtadoS.MilemJ. F.Clayton-PedersenA., & AllenW. R. (1999). Enacting diverse learning environments. Improving the climate for racial/ethnic diversity in higher education. Washington, DC: George Washington University Press.
44.
JaegerR. M. (1993). Statistics: A spectator sport (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
45.
KamensD. H. (1971). The college ‘charter’ and college size. Effects on occupational choice and college attrition. Sociology of Education, 44, 270–296.
46.
LeppelK. (2002). Similarities and differences in the college persistence of men and women. The Review of Higher Education, 25(4), 433–450.
47.
MarcusR. D. (1989). Freshman retention rates at U.S. private colleges: Results from aggregated data. Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 15, 37–55.
48.
MowS., & NettlesM. (1990). Minority student access to, and persistence and performance in college: A review of the trends and research literature. In SmartJ. C. (Series Ed.), Higher education: A handbook of theory and research (Vol. 6; pp. 35–105). New York: Agathon Press.
49.
MunroB. H. (1981). Dropouts from higher education: Path analysis of a national sample. American Educational Research Association, 18(2), 133–141.
50.
MurdockT. A. (1987). It isn't just about money. The effects of financial aid on persistence. The Review of Higher Education, 11, 75–101.
51.
NemkoM. (1991). Best buys in top colleges. Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, 45(10), 78–83.
52.
NewcombT. M. (1968). Student peer group influence. In YamamotoK. (Ed.), The college student and his culture: An analysis (pp. 469–488). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
53.
O'BrienE. M., & ZudakC. (1998). Minority-serving institutions: An overview. New Directions for Higher Education, 26(2), 5–15.
54.
OsegueraL., & AstinA. W. (2003). Trends in degree attainment at American colleges and universities: An examination of background and institutional influences on four and six-year degree completion. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
PascarellaE. T.EthingtonC., & SmartJ. (1988). The influence of college on humanitarian/civic involvement values. Journal of Higher Education, 59, 412–437.
57.
PascarellaE. T.SmartJ., & EthingtonJ. (1986). Long term persistence of two-year college students. Research in Higher Education, 24, 47–71.
58.
PavelM. (1991). Assessing Tinto's model of institutional departure using American Indian and Alaskan Native longitudinal data. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Boston, MA.
59.
PernaL. W. (1998). The contribution of financial aid to undergraduate persistence. Journal of Student Financial Aid, 28(3), 25–40.
60.
Quintana-BakerM. (2002). Making the pieces fit: Exemplary practices at the baccalaureate level at selected Hispanic-serving institutions. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Higher Education, Chicago, IL.
61.
RamistL., & ArbeiterS. (1986). Profiles, college-bound senior. New York: College Entrance Examination Board.
62.
RendonL. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Towards a new model of learning and development. Innovative Higher Education, 19, 33–51.
63.
RichardsonR. C., & SkinnerE. F. (1990). Adapting to diversity: Organizational influences on student achievement. Journal of Higher Education, 61(5), 485–511.
64.
SaupeJ. L.SmithT. Y., & XinW. (1999). Institutional and student characteristics in student success: First-term GPA, one-year retention and six-year graduation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, Seattle, WA.
65.
SjobergC. E. (1999). The relationship of environmental predictors and institutional characteristics to student persistence. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University.
66.
St. JohnE. P. (1990). Price response in persistence decisions: An analysis of the high school and beyond senior cohort. Research in Higher Education, 31(4), 387–403.
67.
St. JohnE. P. (1991). What really influences minority attendance? Sequential analysis of the High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort. Research in Higher Education, 32(2), 141–158.
68.
St. JohnE. P., & NoellJ. (1989). The impact of student aid on access to higher education: An analysis of progress with special consideration of minority enrollment. Research in Higher Education, 30(6), 563–581.
69.
St. JohnE. P.PaulsonM. B., & StarkeyJ. B. (1996). The nexus between college choice and persistence. Research in Higher Education, 37, 175–217.
70.
StoeckerJ.PascarellaE., & WolfeL. (1988a). Persistence in higher education. A nine year test of a theoretical model. Journal of College Student Development, 29, 196–209.
71.
SueS., & ZaneN. (1985). Academic achievement and socio-emotional adjustment among Chinese university students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32(4), 570–579.
72.
ThernstromS., & ThernstromA. (1997). America in black and white: One nation indivisible. New York: Simon and Shuster.
73.
ThomasR. O., & BeanJ. P. (1988). Student retention at liberal arts colleges: The development and test of a model. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of the Study of Higher Education, St. Louis, MO.
74.
ThomasS. (2000). Ties that bind: A social network approach to understanding student integration and persistence. Journal of Higher Education, 71(5), 591–615.
75.
TintoV. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89–125.
76.
TintoV. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
77.
TitusM. A. (2003). An examination of the influence of institutional context on persistence at four-year colleges and universities: A multilevel approach. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. College Park: University of Maryland.
78.
VolkweinJ. F., & SzelestB. P. (1995). Individual and campus characteristics associated with student loan default. Research in Higher Education, 36(1), 41–72.
79.
WeidmanJ. C. (1989). Undergraduate socialization: A conceptual approach. In SmartJ. C. (Series Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and practice (Vol. 5; pp. 289–322). New York: Agathon Press.
