College Persistence Research Articles

Developmental Education for College Students with Learning and Attention Disabilities

As postsecondary developmental education policy reforms are implemented, increased attention must be given to students with learning and attention disabilities. The purpose of this study was to bring these students into the conversation, by examining their representation in developmental education broadly, as well the effect of this intervention on their college persistence and credit accumulation. Results show students with learning or attention disabilities are overrepresented in developmental education and could experience heterogenous effects on their postsecondary outcomes. Policymakers should be purposeful about consideration of this growing group of students in continued developmental education reforms.

Educational outcomes of GEAR up over two decades: A systematic review

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federally funded college readiness program developed to minimize the inequalities in pursuing postsecondary education. This is a systematic review that analyzed 13 studies on the educational outcomes of GEAR UP and identified activities that are positively correlated with educational outcomes. The results showed that included among the studies observed were positive contributions of GEAR UP on academic, behavioral, social, and employability outcomes. Further, academic and community activities such as tutoring and college tours were positively associated with college-going expectations, college-readiness assessment scores, and high school grade point average (GPA). Additional studies are urgently needed to include different subgroups of historically underrepresented groups and to investigate how GEAR UP continues to influence college persistence.

“Fuel To Complete My Degree”: Hmong College Students’ (In)Validating Advising Experiences

Using validation theory as the guiding framework, this qualitative study explored the advising experiences of 16 Hmong college students. Most participants described instances of advising that were academically and interpersonally validating. Several participants also described instances of invalidating advising experiences. This study highlights how validating and invalidating advising experiences impact their persistence in college and graduation from college. Implications for future research and advising practice are provided.

Contemplative Dispositions and Mental Health: The Supportive Role of Self-Compassion and Mindfulness on College Students’ Resilience

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to report the results of a study exploring the mediation effects of self-compassion and mindfulness on the relationship between mental distress and resilience among a national sample of college students (N = 260). The results of the structural equation modeling (SEM) serial mediation analysis revealed that mindfulness through self-compassion fully mediated the relationship between mental distress and resilience. Simple mediation demonstrated that self-compassion accounted for 79.3% of the total effect on resilience, while mindfulness accounted for 46.5%. After accounting for mental distress, follow-up regression analysis identified the mindfulness facet of non-reactive (β = .19, p < . 01), and the self-compassion subscales of mindful awareness (β = .32, p < . 01), common humanity (β = .20, p < . 01), and reverse-scored isolation (β = .17, p < . 05) to predict resilience. For students experiencing depression, anxiety, and loneliness, the dispositions of being present, non-judgmental, and accepting of life struggles may be particularly important for resilience and college persistence. Implications address how college counseling professionals can promote self-compassion and mindfulness on college campuses.

Six Years Later: Examining the Academic and Employment Outcomes of the Original and Reinstated Summer Pell Grant

Abstract The Pell Grant, while offering substantial financial support for low-income students pursuing higher education, historically covered only the costs of two full-time semesters per year and did not include assistance for summer courses. Research has consistently demonstrated that continuous enrollment throughout the academic year enhances college persistence and degree completion. In response to this understanding, the Summer Pell (SP) program was introduced in the summer of 2009, providing eligible low-income students with an additional grant to cover summer tuition and related expenses. However, after a brief period of operation, the SP program was discontinued in 2011, only to be reinstated in 2017. We utilize administrative data obtained from New York City in the context of differences-in-differences analyses spanning both program periods, and find that SP-eligible students exhibited a higher retention rate in the fall of their second year, achieved higher rates of associate's and bachelor's degree attainment, and experienced greater earnings gains up to nine years after college entry compared with SP-ineligible students. Our analysis of heterogeneity further underscores that the benefits of the SP program were pronounced among Black students and older students.

Forging a Path to College Persistence: An Experimental Evaluation of the Detroit Promise Path Program

Detroit students who obtain a college degree overcome many obstacles to do so. This article reports the results of a randomized evaluation of a program meant to provide support to low-income community college students. The Detroit Promise Path program was designed to complement an existing College Promise scholarship, providing students with coaching, summer engagement, and financial incentives. The evaluation found that students offered the program enrolled in more semesters and earned more credits compared with those offered the scholarship alone. However, at the 3-year mark, there were no discernable impacts on degrees earned. This article examines systemic barriers to degree completion and offers lessons for the design of interventions to increase equity in postsecondary attainment.

Can information and advising affect postsecondary participation and attainment for military personnel? Evidence from a large‐scale experiment with the U.S. Army

AbstractDespite generous financial aid, military veterans have high rates of undermatch and generally poor postsecondary outcomes. We conducted a large‐scale, multi‐arm field experiment with the U.S. Army to investigate whether personalized information about postsecondary options and access to advising affects service members’ postsecondary choices and outcomes. We find no impact of the intervention on whether or where veterans enroll in college or on their college persistence. These results suggest that light touch strategies that have been effective at addressing similar challenges among traditional students, and which we modified for the military context, are not sufficient to improve veterans’ postsecondary outcomes.

Impostorization in Academia, Psychological Distress, and Class Reproduction

Might “impostor syndrome” be more than the private trouble it is often described to be? Instead, might it be deeply rooted in sociological processes? I explore this possibility drawing on my personal experience and Pearlin’s insistence that much that distresses us in our personal lives originates in social structures. I use Bourdieu’s theory to conceptualize the processes that may instill the “syndrome,” and once in place, surreptitiously recreate inequality. I test this conceptualization, using new sociologically relevant measures, in a stratified sample of over 2,000 American college students. Experiencing impostor concerns in college was significantly related to low parental income. Results were consistent with a model in which impostor concerns mediate the association of low parental income to depression/anxiety and low college persistence. Cultural aspects of impostorization played a larger role than the intellectual aspects emphasized in the traditional conceptualization of impostor syndrome. I advocate the replacement of the within-the-person term “impostor syndrome” with the sociological term “impostorization.”

Salient Features of Tertiary Education Subsidy on University Students’ Persistence

The study determined the extent of awareness of students on the critical features of the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) program towards their college persistence. It then sought data on their demographics, determined the extent of awareness of TES salient features and the level of persistence in their studies on the nine factors, and identified the difference between their profile and their persistence. It also determined the correlation between the level of awareness of TES salient features and persistence. The descriptive-correlational survey method and the stratified random sampling technique obtained 171 TES grantees as respondents. It revealed that they were so much aware of TES salient features and were persistent in their studies. There was no significant difference in sex and top priority items spent on their persistence in schooling; however, it resulted in a positive difference between their chosen course and marital status on their persistence level. The study also yielded a significant relationship between the extent of awareness and their persistence. It is indicative, therefore, that being cognizant of any government program for students’ welfare would lead them toward better decision-making.

The Impact of Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution Program on College Persistence, Completion Rates, and Student Debt

The Impact of Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution Program on College Persistence, Completion Rates, and Student Debt

Assessing Atlanta’s Placed-Based College Scholarship

We investigate whether and how Achieve Atlanta’s college scholarship and associated services impact college enrollment, persistence, and graduation among Atlanta Public School graduates experiencing low household income. Qualifying for the scholarship of up to $5,000 per year does not meaningfully change college enrollment among those near the high school GPA eligibility thresholds. However, scholarship receipt does have large and statistically significant effects on early college persistence (i.e., 14%) that continue through BA degree completion within 4 years (22%), although scholarship receipt does not impact graduation from 2-year colleges. We discuss how the selection criteria and processes of place-based programs intended for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds may influence results for different types of students.

Early Childhood Professionals’ Challenges, Persistence, and Sensemaking in Teacher Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective/Research Question: Community college coursework is a crucial entry point for early childhood professionals seeking to advance their careers in education. In this study, we examine how degree candidates at a small community college experienced the shift to online learning and their reasons for persistence in college during the pandemic. Methods: Drawing on the theoretical framework of sensemaking, we conducted a thematic analysis of data from interviews with 19 early childhood professionals enrolled in teacher education coursework within one community college. Results: We found that degree candidates experienced the shift to online learning as both a barrier and facilitator to their educational obtainment, and that, during the pandemic, they remained highly committed to completing their degrees, motivated by financial advantages, career advancement, professional skill development, and the opportunity to be a role model for their own children. Conclusions/Contributions: Increasing the proportion of early childhood professionals who complete college degrees holds promise for improving children’s educational opportunities and addressing persistent structural inequities in the teacher workforce. By investigating how early childhood professionals made sense of the educational changes associated with the pandemic, this study provides insight into how community colleges can support students in their educational pursuits moving forward.

Coping Responses and psychological Well-being as predictors of College Persistence in New Normal among Science Majors

Coping Responses and psychological Well-being as predictors of College Persistence in New Normal among Science Majors

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Examining Persistence Factors Among Rural First-Year Community College Students

ABSTRACT College completion is an important focus for policy and practice and is impacted by student academic and non-academic factors. Participation in non-classroom activities is well documented to extend positive intellectual, social, and psychosocial outcomes associated with college completion, yet this association is understudied for community college students. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rural community college full-time first-year students who participate in non-classroom activities differ from nonparticipants. An adapted form of the College Persistence Questionnaire Version 2 (CPQ-V2) was utilized to examine five factors previously demonstrated to influence student persistence including academic integration, social integration, degree commitment, collegiate stress, and institutional commitment. The CPQ-V2 was administered using an electronic instrument during the Fall 2021 semester wherein respondents provided details about their pre-college background and involvement in non-classroom activities. Data analysis consisted of the chi-square test of independence and one-way ANOVA to identify significant associations or relationships between variables. Results demonstrated variation among student groups in non-classroom involvement and the outcomes correlated to such involvement. The findings offer insights for community colleges considering supports to increase persistence (and completion) through student engagement and recommendations for monitoring the effectiveness of non-classroom opportunities to meet residential and nonresidential students’ needs.

The Long-Term Effects of Grade Retention: Evidence on Persistence through High School and College

Debates about grade retention weigh the academic benefits of remediation against its social and psychological costs. Louisiana adopted a retention policy aimed at capturing these benefits while mitigating the harm. It used test score thresholds to distinguish between retention in grade 8, promotion to grade 9, and a grade “8.5” where students would move with their peers to high school (social promotion) but receive 8th grade instruction once there (academic remediation). We use regression discontinuity designs to assess the effects of receiving these placements. By linking students’ K-12 and higher education records, we examine educational attainment through high school and college. We find that more retention-oriented placements result in substantially lower educational attainment at each margin: grade 8 versus 8.5, 8.5 versus 9, and 8 versus 9. This suggests negative effects from both grade retention and academic remediation when administered in high school. Notably, these effects extend beyond high school to college enrollment. They do not appear to extend to college persistence or graduation.

Estimating students’ valuation for college experiences

Quantifying the consumption value of college – the utility students derive from in-person instruction and on-campus social activities – has been challenging. We leverage the COVID-19 shock to elicit students’ intended likelihood of enrolling in higher education under different costs and possible states of the world, that vary in terms of class formats (i.e., in-person vs. remote instruction) and restrictions to campus social life. We show how such data can be used to recover students’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for college-related activities in the absence of COVID-19, without parametric assumptions on the underlying heterogeneity in WTP. We find that the average WTP for in-person instruction (relative to a remote format) represents around 6.5% of the average annual net cost of attending university, while the average WTP for on-campus social activities is 10.2% of the average annual net costs. Lower-income and first-generation derive substantially lower value from university social life, partly due to time and resource constraints. Beyond providing an explanation for why college persistence rates may differ by socioeconomic background, our results have implications for how college costs should be structured.

Mental health among first-generation college students: Findings from the national Healthy Minds Study, 2018-2021.

A mounting body of evidence reveals that college mental health outcomes are worsening over time. That said, little is known about the mental health needs of the nearly eight million first-generation students in U.S. postsecondary education. The present study uses population-level data from the national Healthy Minds Study to compare prevalence of mental health symptoms and use of services for first-generation and continuing-generation students from 2018-2021. The sample includes 192,202 students at 277 campuses, with 17.3% being first-generation. Findings reveal a high prevalence of mental health symptoms among both first-generation and continuing-generation students. Controlling for symptoms, FG students had significantly lower rates of mental health service use. Just 32.8% of first-generation students with symptoms received therapy in the past year, relative to 42.8% among continuing-generation students, and this disparity widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings have important implications for the design and implementation of higher education policies, mental health delivery systems, college persistence and retention initiatives, and public health efforts in school settings.

Professed Student Satisfaction on Scholarship Services and its Relation to College Persistence in One State University in Laguna

Lack of studies linking student support services and financial assistance, particularly the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) undergraduate scholarship, to college outcomes such as persistence has been one of the issues in STEM education in the Philippines. Even though previous findings have shown the clear impact of financial support on student success, local researchers have only focused on student satisfaction with the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) and persistence. This is why the researchers decided to determine the relationship between the satisfaction of scholarship services provided by the DOST in terms of scholarship updates, support for scholars’ organizations and activities, staff assistance, support for scholarship-related problems, and scholarship benefits and college persistence components, namely: academic integration, social integration, support service satisfaction, degree commitment, institutional commitment, and academic conscientiousness. A descriptive-correlational design was utilized with a convenience sampling technique to select 67 DOST scholars as respondents. Self-reported assessments were used to measure the variables. The results show that the students were very satisfied with the scholarship services, and they are highly persistent in all indicators except academic conscientiousness. However, there is no significant relationship between satisfaction with scholarship services and college persistence. Studying other potential variables related to scholarship services and implementing policies to improve college persistence is recommended.

Professed Student Satisfaction on Scholarship Services and its Relation to College Persistence in One State University in Laguna

Professed Student Satisfaction on Scholarship Services and its Relation to College Persistence in One State University in Laguna

“It's Just Hard Reaching Out”: Factors Affecting Help-Seeking Behaviors among Independent College Students

Independent students pursue higher education without financial, practical, and sometimes emotional support from family. For these students, asking for assistance when needed is key for college persistence. Decisions around help-seeking are shaped by multiple factors but are often portrayed as a solely individual decision. This study examined factors affecting help seeking among independent students enrolled in a four-year university. Within a process evaluation of a campus support program for independent students, we conducted in-depth, individual interviews with 23 independent students ages 18–23, as well as 5 university staff. Students described a range of psychological and relational factors influencing their willingness to seek assistance and identified significant barriers to help-seeking. In contrast, staff interviews focused more on perceived student deficits in help-seeking. Both groups also identified institutional factors that influenced student efforts to seek assistance. Findings can inform the development of effective campus-based services to support the retention of independent students.