Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study Research Articles

Social Inequalities in Study Trajectories: A Comparison of the United States and Germany

Social origin affects not only access to higher education but also how students proceed through higher education. Based on the argument that an advantageous family background facilitates linear study trajectories through parents’ provision of cultural and economic resources, this article investigates study trajectories in Germany and the United States, assessing the institutional structures as an intermediating factor. We reconstruct study trajectories of bachelor-degree-seeking students using sequence analysis based on two high-quality panel data sets (U.S. Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study and the German National Educational Panel Study). The findings reveal that study trajectories are more complex overall and shaped by social origin in the United States. In both countries, study trajectories differ by higher education institution type. We conclude that not only are access pathways to higher education shaped by the institutional context of higher education systems but also that study trajectories and the disparities structured by socioeconomic background are equally institutionally embedded.

“The Road Less Traveled”: Bachelor’s Degree Attainment Amongst First-Time Nontraditional-Aged Transfer Students in the United States

This study investigated the likelihood of bachelor’s degree completion among nontraditional-aged transfer students. Using national data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, this study provided insight into the success of first-time nontraditional-aged students who initially enrolled at a community college and transferred to a four-year institution in the United States. Analyses from a binary logistic regression indicated that the timing of a student’s transfer, their cumulative loan amount, and support from their peers shared a positive relationship with bachelor’s degree attainment. Results also indicated that having children and being married had no significant effect on a nontraditional-aged transfer student’s likelihood of degree completion at four-year institutions.

Virtues of Academic Exploration:

As many as 75% of college students change their major at least once during their undergraduate career (Gordon & Steele, 2015). This study examined the impact of academic major changes on bachelor’s degree attainment within six years. Using data from the 2012/17 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (n = 13,800), we found a significant increase in odds of degree attainment for students who changed their major one or more times. Accompanying our analyses and results, we offer implications for early advising and transition programming including the role of meta-majors, and consideration for student backgrounds as they seek advising and choose majors.

The Costs of Time: Examining the Extent of the Credit Loss Penalty in College Transfer

ABSTRACT Drawing on data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS), this study examined the risks associated with losing credits in the process of transferring between colleges. The effects of credit loss are considered on the timing of degree completion and student loan debt among vertical transfers who first enroll at community colleges in addition to lateral transfers from four-year colleges. Findings suggest that credit loss functions differently across transfer pathways. Whereas transfers from four-year public colleges owe more in student loans when credits are lost, vertical transfers have a lower probability of completing a bachelor’s degree—though they also appear to be marginally protected if they move to public four-year colleges.

Racial Equity in Transfer Incentive Policies: A Critical Mixed Methods Analysis

Objective/Research Question: This article examines the racial equity of transfer incentive policies by responding to the research question: How do students of differing races and ethnicities vary in their opportunity to benefit from transfer incentive policies? Methods: We utilized a mixed-methods approach, grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT). This study included an analysis of state policies’ components and mechanisms to consider whether they are grounded in racially unjust assumptions. The critical policy analysis is combined with a QuantCrit analysis of national data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) to understand how identified aspects of the policies would affect students of differing races/ethnicities. Results: Our critical policy discourse analysis demonstrates that states’ transfer incentive policies could foster racial inequity through the requirements students must meet (e.g., full-time status, being under the age of 24) and assumptions about what students may know or need regarding transfer. The QuantCrit analysis revealed that many transfer incentive requirements from the policy analysis findings would have a disproportionately negative effect on racially minoritized students’ transfer eligibility. Together, findings and results illustrate how transfer incentives can contribute to educational inequity for racially minoritized students via color-evasive and meritocratic policies. Conclusions/Contributions: Implications include policy reform needed for the development of incentives aligned with closing the racial transfer gap and focused on incentivizing 2- and 4-year institutions in improving the transfer rates of racially minoritized students.

Community College Entrance and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment: A Replication and Update

Objectives: We explore the influence of initial enrollment at a community college on the attainment of a bachelor’s degree. Methods: Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 12/17) and propensity score analysis, we compare baccalaureate degree outcomes of recent high school graduates who reported their intention to earn a bachelor’s degree and initially enrolled at a community college to those students who began at a 4-year institution. Results: We found initial enrollment in a community college has a negative effect on bachelor’s degree attainment. Our findings are consistent across varying outcome and sample specifications. The magnitude of our findings is consistent with a recent meta-analysis. We found that almost two-thirds of our sample who started at a community college enrolled in a 4-year institution, a fact that has important implications for practice. Contributions: Given the recent research suggesting that more comprehensive programs can drastically increase community college students’ attainment (e.g., CUNY ASAP), we advocate for additional supports for bachelor’s degree-intending community college students. Since the majority of those who start their education at a community college enroll in a 4-year institution, we add to the growing call that discussions about ways to improve the success of bachelor’s degree-intending community college students must include 4-year institutions as partners.

Net Tuition, Unmet Financial Need, and Cooling Out: A National Study of Degree Aspirations Among First-Time Community College Students

Objective: This study examined the statistical association between net tuition and changes in degree aspirations among community college students. In addition, the study explored the moderating influence of unmet financial need. Method: Analyses relied on data from the most recent iteration of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study. Estimates were derived from a series of robust multinomial models controlling for student, institutional, and state-level covariates. Results: Net tuition was consistently associated with decreased risks of experiencing a “cool out,” regardless of model specification. Yet, this main effect of net tuition was moderated by unmet need, such that net tuition increased cool out risks among students with greater unmet need. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that net reductions in tuition alone may not fully reduce or eliminate barriers to college access and student success. Future financial aid policies should focus on the full cost of college attendance.

Understanding Loan Default Among Community College Students

Objective: The purpose of our study was to identify the factors associated with federal loan default among a nationally-representative sample of community college students. The guiding research question was: For community college students who borrow federal loans, to what extent do demographic, academic, and enrollment characteristics relate to default? Methods: Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09), our analysis focused on loan repayment outcomes six years after enrollment for students who began their postsecondary careers at a community college (i.e., a public, two-year institution) and had not transferred to a four-year institution. The analytic methods included descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression. Results: Compared to their peers who did not use federal loans, borrowers were more likely to be female, unmarried, lower-income, a Pell Grant recipient, and enrolled exclusively full-time. Regression results indicated that compared to borrowers still in repayment, defaulters were more likely to be male, first-generation college, lower-income, enrolled in workforce certificate and applied associate degree programs, lateral transfers, and non-completers. Notably, two-thirds of the defaulters had $5,000 or less in outstanding debt. Conclusions: Many of the student groups that have traditionally experienced the lowest rates of success at the community college are also the populations more likely to default on their loans. Relatively low levels of debt can still place severe financial hardship on community college borrowers. We propose several modifications to federal loan policy and institutional practices that could help reduce the number of community college borrowers who default.

Community College Career and Technical Education and Labor Market Projections: A National Study of Alignment

Objective: This study sought to determine how aligned community college students’ declared majors were with long-term occupational projections. In addition, the study explored whether this link was sensitive to entry-level education. Method: The current study merged two disparate sources of national education and economic data to form a novel analytic file. The sample of students who attended public, 2-year community colleges were obtained from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/14), which tracked a cohort of students from 2011–2012 through 2013–2014. The second data set featured current and projected jobs numbers organized by the U.S. Department of Labor for the years 2016 and 2026. A series of logistic regression models controlling for both observed and unobserved state-level factors were employed to determine alignment. Results: There did not seem to be a clear correlation between community college students’ choice of career and technical education (CTE) major and labor market projections. Preferred model specifications indicated the decisions to major in the two most remunerative CTE cluster areas (information technology [IT] and Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math [STEM]) were negatively associated with projected market growth in a student’s home state. Contributions: Community colleges are particularly suited to provide the CTE coursework needed to respond to local labor shortages, yet it is not clear from existing research to what degree community college students choose major areas of study in CTE fields based on labor market projections in those fields. These results are of interest to researchers in light of federal policy requiring CTE programs match the current and future needs of local economies.

Predicting Dropout for Nontraditional Undergraduate Students: A Machine Learning Approach

Student attrition represents one of the greatest challenges facing U.S. postsecondary institutions. Approximately 40 percent of students seeking a bachelor’s degree do not graduate within 6 years; among nontraditional students, who make up half of the undergraduate population, dropout rates are even higher. In this study, we developed a machine learning classifier using the XGBoost model and data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) Longitudinal Study: 2012/14 to predict nontraditional student dropout. In comparison with baseline models, the XGBoost model and logistic regression model with features identified by the XGBoost model displayed superior performance in predicting dropout. The predictive ability of the model and the features it identified as being most important in predicting nontraditional student dropout can inform discussion among educators seeking ways to identify and support at-risk students early in their postsecondary careers.

Empirical and Practical Implications for Documenting Early Racial Transfer Gaps

AbstractThis chapter documents racial/ethnic inequities in transfer among a national sample of first‐time beginning students included in the newest wave of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:12/14). Implications for transfer partnerships in promoting racial/ethnic transfer equity and improving student success are included.

The Impact of Financial Aid on Associate Degree Attainment for Rural Community College Students: A Comparison of Rural, Urban, and Suburban Patterns

Objective: Increasing rural community college degree attainment is very important to foster rural areas’ economic and social well-being. Rural community colleges differ greatly from their suburban and urban counterparts in financial aid patterns and student bodies. However, existing literature is vacant with respect to student financial aid and degree attainment in rural community colleges. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between financial aid and associate degree attainment for rural community college students and compare the financing patterns of the three locales. Method: Using data from Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09), we performed a series of logistic regression models that include financial aid variables and control variables from psychological, sociological, organizational, and internationalist perspectives. Results: We found rural community college students exceeded other locales in degree attainment. Logistic regression results reveal insignificant roles of Pell Grants and Federal Subsidized Loans, and negative role of Federal Unsubsidized Loans in associate degree attainment for rural community college students. Contributions: The results suggest that public subsidies, such as Pell Grants, were not sufficient to cover rural students’ unmet need for financing degree attainment, and that rural students are more cost-conscious in borrowing and spending than their suburban and urban counterparts.

The STEM grading penalty: An alternative to the “leaky pipeline” hypothesis

AbstractThe low number of baccalaureates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is often viewed as problematic for the US's economic competitiveness, leading scholars to search for explanations for STEM retention. Our analyses of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study indicate that the notion of a so‐called “leaky STEM pipeline” out of STEM majors overstates the problem because it neglects the substantial influx into STEM from other majors throughout college. Researchers concerned with STEM retention should focus on a broader defined group of “STEM‐actives”: A combination of freshman students who declared a STEM major or who take a considerable number of STEM credits. Among these students (N = 3,020) we examine the variation in the relatively lower grades that many individuals earn in STEM courses compared to their non‐STEM courses. The size of an undergraduate's “STEM‐grading penalty”—an individual grading disparity—in the first couple of college semesters is significantly associated with the probability of leaving STEM. The influence of this STEM‐penalty on STEM graduation chances is robust to college students’ variation in both general academic achievement and STEM‐specific preparation, thereby eliminating a large portion of the effect due to skills, performance, and selection. Our analyses expands on previous research regarding relative grading conducted within STEM‐fields.

Barriers to Bachelor's Degree Completion among College Students with a Disability.

One of the fastest growing groups on college campuses is students with disabilities, but their rates of bachelor's degree completion remain low. We build on research about barriers to degree completion among historically underrepresented groups on college campuses to examine the extent to which academic preparation before college and processes during college contribute to gaps in bachelor's degree completion among four-year college students with a mental or physical disability. Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, we find that students with a mental disability are significantly less likely to complete a bachelor's degree than students without disabilities and students with a physical disability, net of students' family and academic background. Decomposition of the estimated indirect effect of mental disability on degree completion reveals first-year academic performance as the largest contributor. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for understanding the barriers faced by college students with a mental disability.

Examining Educational Attainment Outcomes: A Focus on Latina/o Community College Students

Objective: This study examined how a set of theoretically derived factors predicted the educational attainment outcomes of Latina/o community college students. The guiding research question was, “What precollege and background characteristics, college experiences, and environmental pull factors uniquely predict persistence, certificate or associate degree completion, and transfer or bachelor’s degree completion for a national sample of Latina/o community college students?” Method: Three logistic regression analyses were conducted using a nationally represented sample from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 04/09). Results: Latina/o community college student educational outcomes were found to be related to demographic or precollege variables including primary language spoken in the home, citizenship status, socioeconomic status, degree expectations; college experiences including academic integration, first-year college grade point average (GPA), enrollment intensity, co-enrollment; and environmental pull factors including the receipt of a federal student loan and Pell Grant. Conclusion: Findings underscore the importance of financial aid in promoting success outcomes and alleviate affordability concerns for Latina/o community college students. Findings also reinforce the notion of considering educational intentions when developing advising services and programs that foster or match those ambitions. Doing so will improve both student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.

Parent Borrowing and College Completion

Parent PLUS loans are available for parents of traditional students, allowing them to borrow up to the complete cost of attendance if they pass a credit check. Having access to more loan funds might increase a student’s chances of obtaining a bachelor’s degree by allowing them to attend a higher quality school, or to spend fewer hours working and perform better academically. Among students who intend to earn a 4-year degree and are eligible for PLUS loans, are those whose parents take out Parent PLUS loans, more likely to earn BA degrees than those who don’t? Using the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 04/09) and controlling for student demographic characteristics, parent’s financial resources, support level, family demographic characteristics, the child’s academic ability, institution sector, and the child’s transfer status we examine this possibility. The initial regression showed that having a Parent PLUS loan was not significantly associated with the probability of earning bachelor’s degree within 6 years of first enrollment. However, after weighting the sample by inverse propensity scores we found that having a PLUS loan significantly increased the odds of earning a bachelor’s degree by 43%.

NCES Sample Surveys: A Practical Primer for New Users, Practitioners, and Policymakers

AbstractThe resources needed to conduct high‐quality and large‐scale survey research are often beyond the reach of institutional researchers and higher education analysts. However, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides many national student surveys that researchers can utilize. We outline four NCES studies—the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, and Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study—and describe their samples and research topics that can be explored with each. Using practitioner focused case studies as examples, we then describe three ways that researchers can access and utilize these data. We also provide an appendix with code for importing data, using weights, and estimating variance in R, Stata, SAS, and SPSS.

Finding One's Place or Losing the Race? The Consequences of STEM Departure for College Dropout and Degree Completion

The following paper estimates the impact of initially declaring and then departing from a STEM major on college dropout and degree completion rates for students in the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study. The results show that students who initially declared a STEM major and switched to a "non-STEM" area of study were less likely to complete a bachelor's degree and more likely to dropout of college than those who stayed in their initially declared major. These outcomes were most severe for students who switched early in their academic trajectory and among those whose parents do not have a bachelor's degree.

Graduates Of 2-Year Engineering and Engineering Technician Programmes in The U.S. And The U.K.

In the U.S. and the U.K., the demand for a skilled and educated workforce of engineers and engineering technicians is greater than the supply. Postsecondary institutions in the U.S. awarding associate’s degrees in engineering and engineering technologies will fail to keep pace with job growth projections if trends of low and slow graduation rates continue. The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of attendees and graduates of associate’s degree programmes in engineering and engineering technologies and determine whether and to what extent graduation is a function of student-related and institutional variables. Researchers used an ex post facto design using the 2004/2009 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) dataset from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Descriptive statistics indicated graduates were mostly White, married, middle income, employed part-time, enrolled full-time, completed Trigonometry/Algebra II, had a father who’s highest education level was an associate’s degree, did not know their mother’s highest level of education, completed remedial coursework, and started college with the goal of an associate’s degree. Logistic regression results indicated that gender and enrollment size during the 2003-2004 academic year significantly predicted associate’s degree completion in engineering and engineering technologies. This study provided a current description of students pursuing sub-baccalaureate engineering and engineering technologies programmes in the U.S.. However, given the small weighted sample size, the regression was inconclusive in terms of the model’s predictive ability. Therefore, future caution should be taken when analysing national, educational datasets to address national workforce shortages.

Does generational status matter in college? Expectations and academic performance among second-generation college students in the US

Using the 2004–2009 wave of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative sample of students who enroll in college in 2004, we examine generational differences in the relationship between educational expectations, academic achievement, and college persistence among native-born and immigrant youth in the United States. Using the theory of immigrant optimism, which has primarily focused on high school youth, we examine whether immigrant parents provide children an advantage in completing their college degrees. Our analyses suggest that students who have at least one immigrant parent are (1) more likely to expect to earn advanced degrees and (2) more likely to complete college on time and less likely to withdraw with no degree compared to their counterparts with native-born parents. We also find that the higher expectations held by these students are associated with higher levels of persistence and attainment. We argue that the optimism conferred by having immigrant parents persists through young adulthood.