This meta-analytic path analysis presents evidence that first-year academic performance (FYAP), measured by first-year grade point average (FYGPA) plays the major role in determining second-year student retention and that socioeconomic status (SES), measured by parental income, plays a negligible role. Based on large sample data used in a previous…

This study examines the effect of beginning at a community college on baccalaureate success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. In addition, drawing upon a new concept of "STEM momentum," this research explores whether and how STEM baccalaureate success is related to early STEM momentum, as well as whether…

The current short-term longitudinal study investigated the role of college students' identity development and motivational beliefs in predicting their chemistry achievement and intentions to leave science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors. We collected 4 waves of data over 1 semester from 363 diverse undergraduate STEM students…

To explore the divergent academic experiences and outcomes of U.S.-origin and immigrant-origin Black Americans, we drew on Tinto's (1993) model of persistence to test a 3-wave longitudinal model of college persistence using path analysis. Our sample comprised 101 ethnically diverse Black students who were randomly selected from 9 public high…

The Hispanic population in the United States is the fastest growing ethnic group. It is also one of the least-educated and poorest groups and one of the least researched nationally. The purpose of the study was to identify the variables that affect the persistence of Hispanic college students who begin their postsecondary educations at community…

Researchers express growing concern over the increasing higher education achievement gap between subgroups of Black American students (e.g., Massey, Mooney, Torres, & Charles, 2007). Whereas the number of degrees awarded to Black females has consistently grown for each of the past twenty years, the number of degrees awarded to Black males during…

Path analysis was used to provide a comprehensive test of the validity of Tinto's causal model of voluntary withdrawal from a postsecondary institution. This study also tests Tinto's hypothesis of compensatory interactions between social and academic integration and between institutional and goal commitment. (Author/PN)

An earlier path analytic study of the predictive validity of Tinto's theory of college student attrition was replicated using an independent sample of students from another university. Tinto conceived of the attrition/retention process as a series of sociopsychological interactions between the characteristics students bring with them to college…

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine associations among background characteristics, commitment levels, institutional involvements, and persistence for male and female university students. Data were collected from college records and surveys completed by 316 university freshmen at the beginning of and 10 weeks into the 1984 fall…

Characteristics and attendance patterns of persisters and dropouts from college and vocational/technical schools were studied, and a model of the persistence process was tested using data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS), which surveyed high school seniors in 1972, with followup surveys in 1973 and 1974. Student persistence was defined…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) including the 1976 follow-up were used to examine the effects of interrupting or delaying school attendance on the eventual educational attainment of white male students. Background variables include socioeconomic and other family characteristics. Achievement test…

To track student progress and develop a model of the total academic process at Prince George's Community College (PGCC), the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis acquired 5 years of background, behavioral, and outcome data for a cohort of first-time students entering the college. The academic process was broken down into three divisions:…