Postsecondary Enrollment Research Articles

A multi-level approach to examining food security, race, academic performance, and post-secondary confirmation in a Toronto high school cohort, 2011-2014

ABSTRACT The following study examines how a class-based measure of food security was associated with high school grades and later post-secondary enrollments by self-identified race. We use multilevel regression to analyze data merged among the 2011 Toronto District School Board Student Census, administrative records, and college and university application information. Statistical interaction terms examine if food security is differentially associated with educational outcomes by race. The results show there is a positive association between food security and Grade 12 grades as well as post-secondary confirmation. This association, however, varies by self-identified race. Food security is less important for the academic success of East Asians students compared to Whites. For Black students, food security has a comparably flat association with grades, but reduces their likelihood of having a rejected post-secondary application. The findings highlight that food security, as a class-based resource, differentially benefits racial groups in terms of their educational outcomes.

Bridging the Gaps: Parental Involvement and Asian Non-native English Speakers’ Postsecondary Enrollment

While the number of the Asian non-native English speakers (NNESs) is increasing, their postsecondary education (PSE) enrollment rate has remained low in comparison to enrollment rates of Asian native English speakers (NESs). The achievement gap in postsecondary enrollment between NNESs and NESs has widened, due not only to content areas such as reading and language arts that require higher English proficiency but also sociocultural factors, such as parental involvement. The current study aims to investigate the extent to which parental involvement factors predict the likelihood of Asian NNESs PSE enrollment after controlling for socioeconomic and linguistic factors. This study, being an expansion of previous work, which explored parental involvement and NNESs' PSE in the U.S., uses the national representative data from the Education Longitudinal Study dataset in 2002 (ELS: 2002) and a binary multilevel logistic regression model analysis. The results indicate that parental involvement is related to a greater likelihood of attending PSE institutions. Among the various forms of parental involvement, parent-student involvement and parent-school involvement have the greatest impact on Asian NNESs' PSE enrollment. The results also showed that Asian NNESs' enrollment is higher if their parents participate in school volunteer work. Limitations, future studies, and implications for educators, parents and school policy makers will also be discussed.

Hispanic Students’ Sense of Control in Relation to Post-Secondary Enrollment Outcomes

U.S. Hispanics are the fastest growing minority population pursuing post-secondary education, yet their bachelor degree attainment lags behind other ethnic–racial groups. Previous work supports the theory that having a high locus of control (LOC) can enable persistence in challenging post-secondary settings. We examine LOC as a potential mitigate against low college enrollment, and hypothesize that Hispanic students’ capability to enroll in post-secondary institutions (e.g., community college, 4-year colleges), in the face of personal, academic, and financial challenges, is likely predicated on their belief that they control their academic futures. We modelled college enrollment using a path-model using a generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) approach. Our findings indicate that LOC decreases the likelihood of Hispanic students’ post-secondary enrollment. This work advances the current state of knowledge on how we understand Hispanic students’ transition to college, and informs the development of potential interventions supporting the academic success of this growing and significant community.

Outdoor activity involvement and postsecondary status among rural adolescents: Results from a longitudinal analysis

Outdoor recreation and leisure are being promoted in some rural communities as an economic revitalization strategy and an arena for youth development. This research brief reports on a study analyzing a five-wave longitudinal dataset that examined the influence of outdoor activity involvement on postsecondary educational status in a sample of emerging adults from a large, rural county in the northeastern U.S. (N = 114). Differences in educational predictors were found between individuals participating in different outdoor activity types and at different levels throughout adolescence. Multinomial regression found the degree of outdoor activity involvement and parental education levels to predict postsecondary enrollment status two years after high school. Additionally, postsecondary enrollment was associated with living outside the area after high school. Results illustrate the importance of considering the relationship between leisure activities, education, and residential decision making when conducting research on youth and community development in rural areas.

Promoting Educational Success: Which GEAR UP Services Lead to Postsecondary Enrollment and Persistence?

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal program designed to promote postsecondary readiness and success among low-income students. Some evidence suggests that this program promotes college enrollment and persistence, but GEAR UP may include a wide variety of services, and it is unclear which ones actually contribute to these apparent overall effects. The present study investigates this issue using doubly robust propensity score analyses to provide stronger causal conclusions. Four general service types and seven specific services were examined; the results provide important implications for GEAR UP and other programs designed to promote postsecondary attainment.

Is post-secondary education a safe port and for whom? Evidence from Canadian data

Previous studies document that adverse labor market conditions, proxied by the unemployment rate, stimulate post-secondary enrollment. This paper shows for the first time that unemployment not only affects enrollment but also changes the composition of the student body and students’ educational path, with important consequences for intergenerational mobility. Results show that unemployment stimulates university enrollment especially among individuals with highly educated parents. This has consequences for educational inequality. Students are also more likely to choose university over community college when unemployment rises. Thus, labor market conditions affect the type of education and skills that students acquire. Further, unemployment is shown to affect the decision of workers to return to school and complete their unfinished studies or acquire additional training.

The Sensitivity of Impact Estimates to Data Sources Used: Analysis From an Access to Postsecondary Education Experiment.

This article reports on the Future to Discover Project-a Canadian randomized controlled trial of two high school interventions-where data on key postsecondary enrollment outcomes were collected for two phases. During the initial phase, outcomes were recorded from administrative data and follow-up surveys. During the later phase, data came from administrative records only. The article provides analyses that are informative about the consequences of a change from administrative-only data to survey-only data (and vice versa) for the estimation of impacts. The change from administrative-only to survey-only data tended to produce apparent drops in postsecondary enrollment rates that varied by subgroup and education outcome. Nonetheless, levels and significance of impact with respect to postsecondary enrollment remained relatively stable. The findings of the article provide evidence that estimating education program impacts in the context of a randomized experiment can be relatively robust to the data sources chosen. They suggest that internal validity and conclusions for policy need not be affected by changing data sources even when the change produces marked changes in levels of the outcome of interest observed.

Foster Care Alumni and Higher Education: A Descriptive Study of Post-secondary Achievements of Foster Youth in Texas

In 1993, Texas became one of the first states to adopt a post-secondary tuition and fee waiver for foster youth. In the present study, we examine the post-secondary achievements of a cohort of foster youth in Texas. Youth formerly in care were followed from age 18 to 24. Academic data reveal that only 1.5% of the youth received a bachelor’s degree and 2% received an associate’s degree or certificate, despite the state tuition and fee waiver. While we cannot assess causality, our descriptive data indicate potential waiver benefits in terms of post-secondary enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. However, results reveal that a significant percentage of emancipated youth who enroll in college (all waiver eligible), do not utilize the waiver (46%). In addition, the graduation rate for waiver recipients, while higher than non-recipients, is low. Study findings suggest that waivers may be a viable strategy for promoting higher education among foster youth. However, to substantively improve post-secondary outcomes for foster youth, tuition legislation must be supplemented with initiatives specifically designed to promote waiver utilization as well as college retention and graduation.

The Influences of Family and Place on Rural Adolescents' Educational Aspirations and Post-secondary Enrollment.

Despite the large contingent of students living in rural areas, existing research on the processes that precede the college enrollment of rural adolescents is limited. With a particular focus on gender, this study investigated rural adolescents' perceptions of family and place and how these perceptions related to their educational aspirations and subsequent college enrollment using a nationwide sample of rural adolescents (N = 3456; 52.5% female). Female adolescents reported higher academic achievement, educational aspirations, parental expectations, and family responsibility and enrolled in two-year and four-year institutions at greater rates compared to male adolescents, who reported significantly higher rural identity and perceptions of job opportunities in the rural community. Utilizing a multiple group moderated mediation approach, the results provided evidence that adolescents' increased perceptions of their parents' educational expectations were associated with increased educational aspirations and college enrollment and that adolescents' increased perceptions of job opportunities in their rural community were associated with decreased educational aspirations. In addition, the results showed that gender moderated the relation between perceptions of job opportunities in the rural community and postsecondary enrollment. These findings highlight how the developmental resources of family and place relate to adolescents' educational aspirations and subsequent postsecondary enrollment.

Career oriented and university bound: higher education outcomes of IB Career-related Programme graduates in the US

ABSTRACTThe Career-related Programme (CP) is an innovative education programme by the International Baccalaureate (IB). Designed to promote college and career readiness equally in the last two years of high school, the CP combines rigorous university preparatory coursework with targeted career-related studies. This study examines the patterns of higher education enrolment, destination and persistence of all CP graduates from high schools in the US between 2013 and 2015. The results indicate that CP graduates enrol in higher education at higher rates than do all high school graduates nationally and career and technical education concentrators specifically: 81% versus 68% versus 70%, respectively. They persist for 1 year at higher rates than do all high school graduates: 89% versus 72%, respectively. Results of logistic regression show that the number of IB exams and the completion of the CP certificate are significant predictors of postsecondary enrolment and that higher mean IB exam scores predict higher odds of a student attending a 4-year institution over a 2-year institution. The results suggest that students who engage in career and technical education alongside rigorous university preparatory coursework within the CP are well-prepared to succeed in higher education.

Spring undergrad enrollment down from previous year

Postsecondary enrollments for the spring 2018 term were at 17.8 million, a decline of 1.3 percent compared with spring 2017. Although enrollments in graduate and professional programs increased, they were outweighed by a decline in undergraduate enrollments. That's according to Current Term Enrollment Estimates Spring 2018, a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Spring undergrad enrollment down compared to the previous year

Postsecondary enrollments for the spring 2018 term were at 17.8 million, a decline of 1.3 percent compared with spring 2017. Although enrollments in graduate and professional programs increased, they were outweighed by a decline in undergraduate enrollments. That's according to Current Term Enrollment Estimates Spring 2018, a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Spring undergrad enrollment down from previous year

Postsecondary enrollments for the spring 2018 term were at 17.8 million, a decline of 1.3 percent compared with spring 2017. Although enrollments in graduate and professional programs increased, they were outweighed by a decline in undergraduate enrollments. That's according to Current Term Enrollment Estimates Spring 2018, a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

Improving College Access at Low-Income High Schools? The Impact of GEAR UP Iowa on Postsecondary Enrollment and Persistence

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal program designed to promote college access and success for students from low-income backgrounds. Although some literature has examined K–12 outcomes, little research has explored the extent to which GEAR UP achieves its intended postsecondary objectives. The present study used a difference-in-differences design with a sample of 17,605 students to explore the impact of GEAR UP Iowa on college enrollment and persistence. The findings indicate that GEAR UP Iowa promotes the college enrollment of high school graduates by 3 to 4 percentage points, whereas it appears to have no effect on college persistence. Results are similar regardless of students’ socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sex, and K–12 special education status.

Integrating the engineering design process into K-12 schools: The Kansas experience

The Information Age has brought with it an increased demand for more highly educated workers, especially in STEM-related fields. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that by 2020, 60% of U.S. jobs will require some sort of postsecondary education [1]. Kansas City has a goal of 60% of its adults over the age of 25 holding at least an Associate's degree by 2025 [2]. Student enrollment in postsecondary education peaked at 18.3 million in 2010 and has been declining since that time, in part because of a drop in the birth rate. Postsecondary enrollments are projected to increase again in 2023, but the bulk of new enrollments will be students from low-income families and/or who are the first in their families to seek postsecondary education. In response to workforce needs, we need to be thinking in terms of a K-16 system-a system that ensures that students who graduate from high school are well prepared for postsecondary education and that postsecondary institutions are focused on ensuring student success. Changes being made in K-12 education will most certainly affect faculty members in postsecondary education.

A Little Can Go a Long Way: The Impact of Advertising Services on Program Take-Up

The success of policy interventions is frequently stymied by the inability to induce take-up in target populations. In this article, I show that local advertising in combination with small financial lotteries increases the likelihood that low-income students apply for and receive state aid. I isolate causal impacts by estimating the change in completed aid applications in high schools where the advertising program was canceled due to the expiration of private funding compared with high schools that never participated in the advertising program. Using this differences-in-differences framework, I find that state aid applications declined by approximately 3% to 4% (or roughly four to six applications per high school). Furthermore, postsecondary enrollment in 4-year public colleges declined by about one-half to one percentage point in impacted high schools. These results suggest that small incentives may be a cost-effective means of promoting program take-up for marginal students.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Relationship Between Educational Mobility and Crime

Increases in postsecondary enrollment among minorities, decreases among Whites, and the growing concern of downward intergenerational mobility in the United States suggest potentially meaningful variation in the role of education on well-being across the life course. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, the present study examines the relationship between intergenerational educational mobility (i.e., a comparison of one’s educational achievements to those of one’s parents’) and crime, as well as the degree to which this association is moderated by race and ethnicity. Results suggest that upward mobility particularly when one completes a 4-year degree is associated with decreases in crime. Downward mobility, however, is associated with increases in crime only among Whites. Moreover, and consistent with theories of social mobility, strain, and social control, these associations are partially mediated by familial and socioeconomic attainments as well as social–psychological measures. Findings are discussed as they relate to the subjective and objective meaning of education across generations for Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.

Start to Finish: Examining the Impact of the El Dorado Promise on Postsecondary Outcomes

The El Dorado Promise is a universal “first dollar” Promise program that guarantees a full tuition scholarship to all students who attend the El Dorado School District from grades K-12, and a partial scholarship for those who enroll in for at least 9th-12th grade. While prior research on Promise Programs has found that Promise scholarships increase postsecondary matriculation, few studies have examined the impact of a Promise scholarship on college completion or the differential impact of a Promise scholarship on college completion by student characteristics. We use a difference-in-differences strategy to examine the impact of the El Dorado Promise on college enrollment, AA completion, and BA completion on average and by student subgroup (students of color, white students, students with above-average GPAs, and students with below-average GPAs). We find that overall the Promise was associated with an 11.4 percentage point increase in postsecondary enrollment, no change in AA completion, and a 10.7 percentage point increase in BA completion. Students of color and students with below-average GPAs saw the biggest gains in college enrollment, while students of color and students with above-average GPAs saw the biggest gains in BA completion. These results indicate that Promise programs operating in rural areas can have a positive and significant impact on postsecondary outcomes for students, particularly students traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary institutions.

Pathways to Education: An Integrated Approach to Helping At-Risk High School Students

Pathways to Education is a comprehensive youth support program developed to improve academic outcomes among those entering high school from very poor social-economic backgrounds. The program includes proactive mentoring to each student, daily tutoring, group activities, career counseling, and college transition assistance, combined with immediate and long-term incentives to reinforce a minimum degree of mandatory participation. The program began in 2001 for entering Grade 9 students living in Regent Park, the largest public housing project in Toronto, and expanded in 2007 to include two additional Toronto projects. In all three locations, participation rates quickly rose, to more than 85 percent, even though parents and students were required to commit in writing to conditions and high expectations of the program. Comparing students from other housing projects before and after the introduction of the program, high school graduation and post secondary enrollment rates rose dramatically for Pathways eligible students, in some cases by more than 50 percent.

Follow the Leader: Student Strikes, School Absenteeism and Long Term Implications for Education Outcomes

The 2011 Chilean student strikes, led by university students but promptly joined by hundreds of thousands of secondary school students, triggered a significant drop in public secondary school attendance (a decline of about 15 percentage points in all four grades). Attendance returned to normal levels in 2012. Using the type of school that students attended in 2011 as an instrument for school absenteeism, I show that school absenteeism has negative effects on secondary school students’ results in a post-secondary high-stakes math exam and university enrollment rates. Instrumental variables estimations suggest that a 10 percentage point decrease in attendance during secondary school is related to a 9.5 percent of a standard deviation decline in the math exam score, and a 3.2 percentage point reduction in the associated probability of university enrollment. I do not find any significant effect on the high-stakes language exam at the 5 percent level. A key finding is the persistent negative effect of school absenteeism on students' academic performance: this negative effect is present even for those students who sat the high-stakes exams three years after the strikes had ended, that is, after three years of regular schooling following the negative shock to their attendance. These results are not driven by inputs to the education production function that might have been affected by the student strikes, such as disruptiveness at the time of the high-stakes exams, school environment, teachers, class instruction, or class size.