College Completion
Additional Efforts Could Help Education with Its Completion Goals
Gao ID: GAO-03-568 May 23, 2003
Because of concerns that not enough students who start college are completing a bachelor's degree, we examined (1) the extent to which students who enroll in a 4-year college complete a bachelor's degree and identify the factors that affect completion; (2) what states and 4-year colleges and universities are doing to foster bachelor's degree completion; and (3) what the Department of Education (Education) is doing to foster degree completion.
More than half of all students who enrolled in a 4-year college completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years. Students were less likely to complete if neither parent had completed a degree, they were black, they worked 20 or more hours per week, or they transferred to another college. Students had a greater likelihood of completing if they were continuously enrolled, attended full-time, or had more rigorous high school curriculum. After controlling for other factors, GAO found that disadvantaged students were no less likely to complete a degree than other students. However, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place. States are beginning to hold colleges accountable for retaining and graduating their students, and Education has been discussing this with the higher education community. Many states are publishing retention and graduation rates for their colleges, and some have tied performance in these areas to funding. According to Education, providing information on colleges' retention and graduation performance can help prospective students make informed decisions. However, the measure used by Education may not fully reflect an institution's performance because institutional goals and missions are not captured in the measure. In its strategic plan, Education has identified goals to reduce gaps in college completion and increase overall completion. It also has some evaluation and dissemination efforts related to retention and completion, however, these efforts do not systematically identify and disseminate promising retention and graduation practices to help states and institutions.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
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GAO-03-568, College Completion: Additional Efforts Could Help Education with Its Completion Goals
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Report to Congressional Requesters:
United States General Accounting Office:
GAO:
May 2003:
College Completion:
Additional Efforts Could Help Education with Its Completion Goals:
GAO-03-568:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-03-568, a report to the Ranking Minority Members,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States
Senate, and Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of
Representatives
Why GAO Did This Study:
Because of concerns that not enough students who start college are
completing a bachelor‘s degree, we examined (1) the extent to which
students who enroll in a 4-year college complete a bachelor‘s degree
and identify the factors that affect completion; (2) what states and
4-year colleges and universities are doing to foster bachelor‘s degree
completion; and (3) what the Department of Education (Education) is
doing to foster degree completion.
What GAO Found:
More than half of all students who enrolled in a 4-year college
completed a bachelor‘s degree within 6 years. Students were less
likely to complete if neither parent had completed a degree, they were
black, they worked 20 or more hours per week, or they transferred to
another college. Students had a greater likelihood of completing if
they were continuously enrolled, attended full-time, or had more
rigorous high school curriculum. After controlling for other factors,
GAO found that disadvantaged students were no less likely to complete
a degree than other students. However, students from disadvantaged
backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place.
States are beginning to hold colleges accountable for retaining and
raduating their students, and Education has been discussing this with
the higher education community. Many states are publishing retention
and graduation rates for their colleges, and some have tied
performance in these areas to funding. According to Education,
providing information on colleges‘ retention and graduation
performance can help prospective students make informed decisions.
However, the measure used by Education may not fully reflect an
institution‘s performance because institutional goals and missions are
not captured in the measure. In its strategic plan, Education has
identified goals to reduce gaps in college completion and increase
overall completion. It also has some evaluation and dissemination
efforts related to retention and completion, however, these efforts
do not systematically identify and disseminate promising retention
and graduation practices to help states and institutions.
what GAO Recommends:
As Education moves forward with its plan to hold colleges and
universities accountable for their performance in graduating their
students, GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education
* consider multiple measures that would help account for the other
goals of higher education and differences among colleges and
* take steps to identify and disseminate information about promising
practices in the areas of retention and graduation.
Education agreed with GAO‘s recommendations, but expressed concerns
with some aspects of the report. Among other things, Education was
concerned with the scope of GAO‘s review and said that, for example,
GAO should have included information on graduation rate trends;
however, its suggested data would not be comparable for these
purposes.
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-03-568.
To view the full report, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Cornelia M. Ashby at
(202) 512-8403 or ashbyc@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Contents:
Letter:
Results in Brief:
Background:
Over Half of Students Enrolled in a 4-Year College or University
Completed Their Degree within 6 Years, but Certain Factors Affect the
Likelihood of Doing So:
States and 4-Year Institutions Had Various Methods to Foster Bachelor's
Degree Completion:
Education Has Programs to Foster College Completion, but No Systematic
Efforts to Identify and Disseminate Information on Promising Practices:
Conclusions:
Recommendations:
Agency Comments:
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
Appendix II: Bachelor's Degree Completion Status of 1995-96 Beginning
Postsecondary Students 6 Years after Enrolling:
Appendix III: Results of Regression Models for Bachelor's Degree
Completion within 6 Years of Beginning College:
Appendix IV: Comments from the Department of Education:
Appendix VGAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments:
Contacts:
Acknowledgments:
Table:
Table 1: Overview of Education Programs That Have College Completion as
a Primary Goal:
Figures:
Figure 1: Educational Attainment of Students Who Were in the Eighth
Grade in 1988, 12 Years Later, by Income, Race/Ethnicity:
Figure 2: Status of Students 6 Years after Beginning in 1995-96 at a 4-
Year Institution:
Figure 3: Bachelor's Degree Completion Status for Students Enrolled at
4-year Institutions, 6 Years after Beginning College:
Figure 4: Bachelor's Degree Completion by Number of Hours Worked Per
Week:
Figure 5: Bachelor's Degree Completion by Type of First Institution
Attended and Transfer Status:
Abbreviations:
BPS: Beginning Postsecondary Students:
GEAR UP: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate
Programs:
GRS: Graduation Rate Survey:
NPSAS:96: National Postsecondary Student Aid Study:
United States General Accounting Office:
Washington, DC 20548:
May 23, 2003:
The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
United States Senate:
The Honorable George Miller
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Education and the Workforce
House of Representatives:
A college degree is a key ingredient for success in the job market.
Those with postsecondary degrees on average earn more than those
without such degrees and bring important skills to the workplace.
Completing college can serve as a means for disadvantaged
students[Footnote 1] to improve their economic and social
circumstances. Beyond the societal benefits, the federal government has
additional interests in encouraging college completion. Research
indicates that those who stay in college and advance toward a degree
are less likely to default on a student loan--the federal government
provided student borrowers with $35 billion in new loans in fiscal year
2001.[Footnote 2] In addition to the investment the federal government
makes in higher education, states, parents, and students make
substantial investments. To help protect these investments,
policymakers have begun to focus on accountability of colleges and
universities, especially regarding college completion rates. The
Department of Education (Education) has begun to discuss this issue
with the higher education community.
Because of concerns that not enough students who start college are
completing a bachelor's degree, you asked us to determine (1) the
extent to which students--including those from lower socioeconomic
backgrounds--who enroll in a 4-year college or university complete a
bachelor's degree and the factors that affect bachelor's degree
completion; (2) what states and 4-year colleges and universities are
doing to foster bachelor's degree completion and what is known about
the effectiveness of these efforts; and (3) what Education is doing to
foster bachelor's degree completion.
To determine the extent to which students complete bachelor's degrees
and the factors that affect completion, we conducted a logistic
regression using data from Education's 1995-1996 Beginning
Postsecondary Students study, which tracked over a 6-year period the
academic progress and degree completion of individual students
beginning with the time they first enrolled in postsecondary study in
1995-1996. We analyzed data for those students who in 1995-1996 were
enrolled in a 4-year institution or were enrolled at some other type of
institution, but transferred to a 4-year institution at some point
during the 6-year period. As a result, our analysis excludes other
types of students, such as community college students who did not
transfer to a 4-year institution. To identify what states and 4-year
colleges and universities are doing to foster bachelor's degree
completion, we conducted a survey of state higher education executive
officer agencies representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico.[Footnote 3] We received responses representing 48 of
the 52 jurisdictions (92 percent). We also interviewed state officials
and administrators at 11 public colleges and universities in Florida,
Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. We selected these states and
institutions based on geographic dispersion and the variety of efforts
reported to us by experts and in the survey. To identify what Education
is doing to foster bachelor's degree completion, we talked with
Education officials and reviewed program and planning documents. A more
detailed explanation of our methodology is included in appendix I. We
conducted our work between April 2002 and May 2003 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
More than half of all students who enroll in a 4-year college or
university complete a bachelor's degree within 6 years of beginning
postsecondary education. On the basis of our analysis, select
background characteristics, work and college attendance patterns, as
well as academic preparation and performance are correlated with
bachelor's degree completion. Specific factors associated with a lower
likelihood of completing a bachelor's degree include coming from a
family in which neither parent had earned a bachelor's degree, being
black, working 20 or more hours per week, or transferring to another
institution. Students were more likely to complete their degree work if
they were continuously enrolled during the 6-year period or attended
full-time. The likelihood of a student graduating within 6 years also
increased as rigor of their high school curriculum, high school grade
point average, and first-year college grade point average increased.
After controlling for other factors, we found that disadvantaged
students were no less likely to complete a bachelor's degree than other
students. Notwithstanding this fact, students from disadvantaged
backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place.
States and 4-year colleges and universities are employing various
methods to foster bachelor's degree completion, but information on the
effectiveness of these efforts is limited. Over two-thirds of the
states responding to our survey reported having at least one effort in
place to foster bachelor's degree completion. Most of these efforts
fell into three categories: (1) increasing the number of students
entering postsecondary education; (2) helping colleges improve their
performance in retaining and graduating students; and (3) helping
individual students remain in college and encouraging timely completion
for these students. For example, in an attempt to increase the number
of students entering college, Kentucky has aligned high school
graduation standards with college admissions standards by creating a
single high school curriculum for all students. Also, in an effort to
help students remain in college, seven states reported efforts to
facilitate transfer from one college to another. Officials in Florida
told us that establishing policies that help students transfer from
community colleges to 4-year institutions was important because the
community college system is considered the point of entry for most
college students in the state. States reported that almost half of
these efforts have been evaluated, but provided few specific evaluation
results. As a way to foster bachelor's degree completion, 4-year
colleges and universities we visited were engaged in activities
designed to improve the learning experience for students by creating
smaller learning communities that foster greater connections to the
institution, along with strengthening support of students to promote
academic success. For example, some colleges have created residential
learning opportunities for students. These "living-learning"
communities are operated through the residence halls where students
live together and take a class together. In some cases, officials
attributed increases in retention to their efforts.
Education fosters bachelor's degree completion by making financial aid
available to students and providing support services for students who
are low-income, come from families in which neither parent has a
bachelor's degree, or are disabled. Education administers the federal
student aid programs, primarily through grants and loans to help
students finance college. In September 2002, we reported that little
information is available on the relative effectiveness of federal
grants and loans on completion. Education also administers programs
that provide support services, such as tutoring, at the pre-college and
college levels to help ensure successful outcomes for students who are
low-income, come from families in which neither parent has earned a
bachelor's degree, or are disabled. Information on the effectiveness of
these programs in fostering college completion is still being
collected. Through its strategic plan, Education has identified
priorities for reducing gaps in college completion among certain
student populations and increasing completion overall. Its strategic
plan also identifies strengthening the accountability of postsecondary
institutions to ensure colleges are graduating their students in a
timely manner as a priority. According to Education, providing
prospective students with information on graduation and retention rates
to help them make informed choices about where to attend college is one
way to hold institutions accountable for their performance. Education
has some evaluation and dissemination efforts related to retention and
completion; however, it does not have a systematic way to identify and
share promising practices in these areas with states and colleges that
are looking for strategies to help them better retain their students.
In this report, we make recommendations to the Secretary of Education
to (1) consider multiple measures in holding institutions accountable
for their performance in graduating their students and (2) identify and
disseminate promising practices in the areas of retention and
graduation.
In written comments on a draft of this report, Education agreed with
our recommendations, but expressed concerns with some aspects of the
report. Among other things, Education had concerns with the scope of
our review and commented that, for example, we should have provided
information on trends in graduation rates; however, the studies it
suggested we use are not comparable and should not be used for these
purposes. Education also provided technical comments, which we
incorporated where appropriate.
Background:
Many factors affect why some students graduate from college and our
review would not be complete without first considering the extent to
which students with different characteristics advance to higher levels
of education. Many students will complete their education without ever
having enrolled in college. Figure 1 shows some of the differences in
educational participation and attainment for a group of students who
were followed over a 12-year period starting in the eighth grade.
Figure 1: Educational Attainment of Students Who Were in the Eighth
Grade in 1988, 12 Years Later, by Income, Race/Ethnicity:
[See PDF for image]
Note: GAO analysis of Education's National Educational Longitudinal
Study of 1988.
[End of figure]
We reported in February 2002 that low-income, black, and Hispanic
students complete high school at lower rates than other
students.[Footnote 4] Students from these groups who graduate from high
school also enroll in college at lower rates than their peers, even
though the overall rate at which students enter college directly from
high school has been increasing. According to research, factors such as
family income and parents' educational attainment influence students'
expectations about college. Low-income students and students from
families in which neither parent has earned a bachelor's degree were
less likely to expect to finish college and ultimately enrolled at
lower rates than other students. Academic preparation was also cited as
a factor affecting postsecondary enrollment. Low-income, black, and
Hispanic high school graduates were less likely to be well prepared
academically to attend a 4-year college. Even among those who were
qualified for college, however, low-income and Hispanic students were
less likely to take college entrance examinations and apply for
admission, two necessary steps for enrolling in a 4-year institution.
There are a variety of postsecondary options for students after high
school. Over 15 million students were enrolled in some type of higher
education in the fall of 2000. Most students were enrolled in degree-
granting 2-year or 4-year institutions.[Footnote 5] After considering
their academic qualifications, students can choose to apply to
institutions with varying levels of selectivity. Community colleges,
for example, provide postsecondary opportunities for students who might
not have the qualifications to start at most 4-year institutions.
Additionally, students may wish to choose an institution based on its
mission. For example, Minority Serving Institutions are recognized by
statute, in part, for their mission to educate minority students.
The institutions students attend have differing graduation rates.
Institutional graduation rates may vary based upon such factors as the
mission, selectivity, and type of institution. For example,
institutions that focus on providing postsecondary opportunities to
disadvantaged students--addressing Education's goal of increasing
participation in higher education--may have lower graduation rates than
institutions that do not serve many disadvantaged students. To ensure
that students and their parents have some information about how
colleges are performing with respect to graduating their students,
Congress passed the Campus Security and Student Right-to-Know
Act.[Footnote 6] This act, as amended, requires that institutions
participating in any student financial assistance program under Title
IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 disclose to current and
prospective students information about the graduation rates of first-
time, full-time undergraduate students. The law requires that
institutions report the percentage of students who graduate or complete
within 150 percent of the normal program completion time. This would
mean that 4-year institutions would track groups of entering students
over a 6-year period, and 2-year institutions would track groups of
entering students over a 3-year period. While information collected as
part of this act is the principal federal measure available to hold
institutions accountable for their performance in graduating their
students, there are currently no federal sanctions or incentives
associated with college graduation rates. As part of discussions with
the higher education community, Education has held panel discussions
with student-aid experts, state officials, and business leaders, among
other participants, about improving accountability.
Four-year institutions calculate their graduation rate by determining
the proportion of first-time, full-time students who enroll in a given
year and have graduated from the same institution within a 6-year
period.[Footnote 7] Students who have not graduated from the
institution where they first enrolled by the end of the 6-year period
are classified as not having finished a degree, even if they
transferred and completed a degree at another institution. Data from
Education's 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) study--a
longitudinal study[Footnote 8] which followed the retention and degree
completion of students from the time they enrolled in any postsecondary
institution over a 6-year period--illustrates how graduation rates are
understated due to this treatment of transfer students. Figure 2 shows
the completion status of the nearly 1.4 million students who started
their postsecondary education at a 4-year institution in 1995-96 (no
transfers into 4-year institutions from 2-year institutions or
certificate programs were included). Over one-quarter of the students
who started at a 4-year institution transferred from their first
institution to another institution. If only those who completed a
bachelor's degree at the first institution of attendance are
considered, the graduation rate is 51 percent. However, an additional 8
percent transferred to another institution and completed a bachelor's
degree within the 6-year period.
Figure 2: Status of Students 6 Years after Beginning in 1995-96 at a 4-
Year Institution:
[See PDF for image]
Note: GAO analysis of BPS 1995-96 data.
[End of figure]
Over Half of Students Enrolled in a 4-Year College or University
Completed Their Degree within 6 Years, but Certain Factors Affect the
Likelihood of Doing So:
Over half of students who enrolled in a 4-year college or university
completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years of beginning postsecondary
education, according to our analysis of BPS data. However, background
characteristics such as being black or a first-generation college
student[Footnote 9] were associated with lower rates of completion.
Whereas students were more likely to complete a bachelor's degree
within 6 years if, among other things, they had a more rigorous
curriculum in high school, attended college full-time, were
continuously enrolled, worked less than 20 hours per week, or did not
transfer. After controlling for other factors, we found that
disadvantaged students were no less likely to complete a bachelor's
degree than other students. Notwithstanding this fact, as we have
noted, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to
attend college in the first place.
For various reasons, not all students who enroll in college will
ultimately attain a degree. Based on Education's 1995-96 BPS study, 52
percent of the estimated 1.8 million students who enrolled in a 4-year
institution at some point during the subsequent 6-year period
(including approximately 450,000 students who transferred from a less
than 4-year institution[Footnote 10]) completed their bachelor's
degree.[Footnote 11] Of the 48 percent of students who had not attained
a bachelor's degree, nearly 14 percent were still enrolled in a 4-year
institution at the end of the 6-year period, as shown in figure 3. See
appendix II for completion rates by characteristics and appendix III
for descriptions of the variables used in our analysis and a discussion
of their levels of significance.
Figure 3: Bachelor's Degree Completion Status for Students Enrolled at
4-year Institutions, 6 Years after Beginning College:
[See PDF for image]
Note: GAO analysis of Education's BPS 1995-96 data.
[End of figure]
Of the background characteristics we analyzed, being black or a first-
generation college student was associated with lower completion rates.
Students with either of these characteristics were about a third less
likely to complete college as students without these characteristics.
The completion rate for black students was 38 percent compared with 55
percent for both white and Asian students. As for students who had at
least one parent with a bachelor's degree, their rate of completion was
59 percent compared with 43 percent for students who were first-
generation college students. Being a first-generation student affected
completion regardless of race. For example, first-generation white
students were no more likely to complete college than first-generation
black students.
Students who had a more rigorous high school curriculum and achieved
better grades in high school and during the first year of college were
more likely to complete college.[Footnote 12] About 80 percent of
students who had the most rigorous high school curriculum completed
college compared with 47 percent who had the least rigorous curriculum.
Additionally, the higher the grades a student earned both in high
school and in the first-year of college, the higher the likelihood of
completion. Regarding first-year college grade point average, about 71
percent of students who earned higher than a 3.0 had completed college
compared with 51 percent who earned between a 2.0 and 3.0. Students
were more than twice as likely to complete college for every one-point
increase in first-year college grade point average.
Decisions students make regarding attendance, participation in
collegiate clubs, and work had varying effects on completion. Students
who were continuously enrolled during their studies were more than 6
times as likely to graduate than students who experienced one or more
breaks from enrollment[Footnote 13] Additionally, students who attended
college full-time were more than twice as likely to graduate as
students who attended part-time or some combination of part-time and
full-time, all other factors equal. Students who reported participating
in collegiate clubs were one and one-half times as likely to graduate
as students who did not participate. Less than half of students
reported such participation. Students who worked 20 or more hours per
week were less likely to complete a bachelor's degree than students who
did not work. However, working less than 20 hours per week was not
associated with lower completion rates. Figure 4 illustrates bachelor's
degree completion rates by the number of hours worked per week.
Figure 4: Bachelor's Degree Completion by Number of Hours Worked Per
Week:
[See PDF for image]
Note: GAO analysis of Education's BPS 1995-96 data.
[End of figure]
Transferring between institutions was also associated with a lower
likelihood of completion in that students who transferred were a little
less than half as likely to complete as students who did not. About 69
percent of students who started at a 4-year institution and did not
transfer attained a bachelor's degree compared with 47 percent of
students who started at a 4-year institution and transferred to another
4-year institution. The rate of completion for students who started at
a 2-year institution and transferred to a 4-year institution was
roughly half of those who started at a 4-year institution and did not
transfer.[Footnote 14] Figure 5 illustrates the bachelor's degree
completion rate after 6 years according to type of institution first
attended and transfer status.
Figure 5: Bachelor's Degree Completion by Type of First Institution
Attended and Transfer Status:
[See PDF for image]
Note: GAO analysis of Education's BPS 1995-96 data.
[End of figure]
After controlling for other factors, we found that disadvantaged
students were no less likely to complete a bachelor's degree than other
students. However, as we have noted, students from disadvantaged
backgrounds are less likely to attend college in the first place.
States and 4-Year Institutions Had Various Methods to Foster Bachelor's
Degree Completion:
While states and 4-year colleges and universities are employing various
methods to foster bachelor's degree completion, information on the
effectiveness of these efforts is limited. Over two-thirds of the
states responding to our survey reported having at least one effort in
place to foster bachelor's degree completion. Half the states indicated
additional actions they would like to take to foster bachelor's degree
completion, but cited state budget constraints as a factor preventing
them from moving forward. As a way to foster bachelor's degree
completion, 4-year colleges and universities we visited were engaged in
activities designed to improve the learning experience for students and
strengthen support of students. In some cases, officials attributed
increases in retention to their efforts to foster completion.
States Are Using a Variety of Efforts to Foster Bachelor's Degree
Completion, but Would Like to Do More:
Thirty-four of the 48 states responding to our survey, including the 5
states we visited--Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia--
reported having at least one effort in place to foster bachelor's
degree completion. Most of these states reported efforts that fell into
three broad categories: (1) efforts to increase the overall number of
college graduates by increasing the number of students entering
postsecondary education; (2) efforts to help colleges improve their
performance in retaining and graduating students; and (3) efforts to
help individual students remain in college and to encourage timely
completion for these students. While states reported that almost half
of their approaches have been evaluated, the instances where states
provided specific evaluation results were limited. Half of the states
indicated that there were additional actions they would like to take to
foster bachelor's degree completion, but cited state budget constraints
as a factor preventing them from moving forward.
States Seek to Increase the Number of Students Entering Postsecondary
Education:
Nineteen states have efforts to increase the number of bachelor's
degrees awarded by increasing the number of students enrolling in
postsecondary education. This approach includes efforts such as
increasing the number of students ready for college, educating students
and parents about college requirements and costs, and providing
financial assistance to help cover college costs.
Increasing student readiness for college. Some states have efforts to
improve the academic readiness of students so that more students have
the opportunity to attend college. Kentucky has a P-16 partnership that
focuses on aligning standards between high school and college to ensure
students are academically prepared for college.[Footnote 15] Kentucky
reported in our survey that the state had aligned high school
graduation standards with college admissions standards by creating a
single high school curriculum for all students. The state has adopted
an online diagnostic test designed for sophomores and juniors to test
their readiness for college mathematics in time to improve these skills
and avoid remedial placement in college. Oregon has implemented
proficiency-based admissions standards that specify certain knowledge
and skills students should demonstrate for admission to its public
universities. The standards are intended to provide more accurate
information about student readiness for college and encourage students
to choose challenging coursework that will prepare them for college.
Oklahoma uses assessments in the eighth and tenth grades to provide
students feedback on their progress in preparing for college. In
addition to student feedback, colleges use assessment results to
improve curricula and instruction. The state reported that since this
effort began 10 years ago there have been increases in the number of
high school students taking college preparatory courses, particularly
among black students.
Educating students and parents about college. To increase the numbers
of students enrolling in postsecondary education and ultimately
completing a bachelor's degree, some states are focusing on raising
awareness among students and parents about the benefits and costs of
postsecondary education. Texas, for example, has a plan that centers on
counseling students and their parents about what is necessary to enroll
in postsecondary education. The state provides information on the
benefits of postsecondary education, the academic preparation necessary
for enrolling, and the costs of attending, including information about
available financial aid and how to qualify. These efforts are designed
to support its goal of increasing its enrollment from just under 1
million students in 2000 by adding 500,000 new college students by
2015.
Providing financial aid for college. Financial assistance is another
way states seek to increase the number of students enrolling in
college. Several states have programs that provide monetary assistance
to academically qualified students based on academic merit, financial
need, or some combination of the two. For example, Oklahoma provides
free tuition at public institutions for students whose families have
incomes below $50,000 and meet other requirements, including completing
a prescribed high school course of study with at least a 2.5 grade
point average. Oklahoma reported that the performance of students in
this program has exceeded that of the general student population.
Another example is the West Virginia Higher Education Grant Program,
which provides assistance to academically qualified, but needy students
who attend college in West Virginia or Pennsylvania. West Virginia's
evaluation of the program revealed that grant recipients had higher
graduation rates than students receiving other types of financial aid
and students who received no financial aid.
State Efforts to Help Colleges Improve Their Performance in Retaining
and Graduating Students:
Many states reported efforts to improve the performance of colleges in
the areas of retaining and graduating their students. Such efforts
include promoting accountability for colleges by collecting and, in
some instances, publishing retention and graduation rates. States also
promote accountability by tying funding--mainly for public colleges--to
performance. States are also sharing information with colleges about
retention strategies to foster increased rates of bachelor's degree
completion.
Promoting accountability for colleges. In order to hold colleges and
universities accountable for their performance in the areas of student
retention and graduation, states must first collect consistent
information from these institutions. Three-fourths of the states that
responded to our survey reported that they collect data that allow them
to calculate and track retention and graduation rates for individual
institutions and across the state. Specifically, 24 of these states
reported that they collect enrollment and graduation data on individual
students from public institutions only, and 9 states reported
collecting these data from both public and private institutions in
their states.[Footnote 16] Having these data allows the state to
calculate retention and graduation rates for each institution and the
system as a whole. Additionally, because the institutions provide the
state with individual student records, the state can track the
educational progress of a student who attends more than one
institution. This enables the states to include transfer students in
their graduation rate. The data are limited to student transfers within
the state.
Eighteen states reported that they promote accountability by publishing
the performance of their colleges and universities on measures,
including retention and graduation rates because some officials believe
that this motivates colleges to improve their performance in those
areas. In Virginia, a state that uses multiple accountability measures,
officials told us that institutions are not compared with other
institutions in the state with respect to the various performance
measures. Rather, each institution works with the state to identify a
national peer group of institutions with similar characteristics with
which to be compared. In this way, institutions can see whether their
performance is on par with institutions that have similar missions and
serve similar types of students. In addition to measuring retention and
graduation rates, Virginia requires its public institutions to measure
and report on certain student learning outcomes to demonstrate the
value of each institution to its students.
Nine states reported accountability efforts that have financial
implications for colleges and universities to encourage them to
graduate their students in a timely manner. These efforts include
linking a portion of state funding to an institution's performance on
multiple measures or making incentive payments to institutions based on
their performance in the areas of retention and completion. Tennessee
has a performance-funding program in which institutions earn about 5
percent of their state funding for performance on multiple indicators,
such as retention and graduation. In another variation, Pennsylvania
provides a financial bonus to any 4-year institution in the state,
whether public or private, that graduates more than 40 percent of in-
state students within 4 years.[Footnote 17]
Sharing retention strategies. Five states reported efforts to improve
institutional performance by sharing information among state and
college officials about strategies to help students remain in college.
For example, the Oregon University System formed a retention work group
to provide a forum for developing and sharing campus initiatives to
enhance retention. The group has used annual systemwide and
institutional data on retention and graduation to identify areas that
need to be addressed to increase retention. The group looks at
retention efforts that seem to be working on specific campuses and
shares information with other campuses. As a result of its work with
tribal governments to increase retention of Native American students,
the system developed a Native American resource guide that includes
information about topics such as outreach and retention efforts of
colleges, financial assistance, childcare programs, and community
college transfer procedures. Officials in Oregon attribute the
increases in graduation rates at most campuses in the system to the
work of this group.
State Efforts to Help Individual Students Remain in College and to
Encourage Timely Completion:
Twenty-two states reported efforts directly aimed at helping students
remain in college and encouraging timely completion for these students.
Many such state-level programs provided funding to support efforts
carried out by individual colleges, such as programs that provide
academic and social support directly to students. Other efforts seek to
ease student transfers among colleges, utilize technology to help
students complete their degree, or include financial incentives to
encourage students to complete their bachelor's degrees in a timely
manner.
Funding college programs that provide support services for students.
Several states provide funding for college-run programs designed to
support students in need of assistance. For example, through its Access
and Success program, the Maryland Higher Education Commission provides
funds to colleges and universities[Footnote 18] for the operation of
programs to increase retention and graduation rates of their
undergraduates. The colleges have used these funds to, among other
things, operate summer bridge programs that acclimate students to
college the summer before they enroll and provide advising, tutoring,
and counseling services to students who are already enrolled. New
York's Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program, aimed at
increasing the number of low-income students who pursue careers in
math, science, technology, or health-related fields, provides funding
for services such as enriched science and math instruction, graduate
school test preparation, and career awareness.
Facilitating transfer among institutions. Seven states reported efforts
to facilitate transfer from one college to another as an approach to
foster bachelor's degree completion. Officials in Florida told us that
establishing policies that help students transfer from community
colleges to 4-year institutions was important because the community
college system is considered the point of entry for most college
students in the state. Florida has common course numbering for all
public institutions in the state and requires public institutions to
accept transfer credits for any course they offer that a student
completes at another institution. Officials told us this policy
prevents students from needlessly duplicating coursework, saving both
the state and students money, along with reducing the time it takes to
complete a degree. Florida also has a statewide policy that guarantees
admission to the state university system as a junior for any student
who completes an Associate of Arts degree. Officials in Florida told us
that without these policies it would be difficult for community college
students or other transfer students to complete their degrees. They
acknowledged, however, that these policies could be at odds with
encouraging timely degree completion because they make it easier for
students to exit and reenter postsecondary education.
Using distance learning. A few states reported using technology to
enhance access and make it easier for students to complete a degree.
Kentucky, for instance, has a virtual university and library that
offers credit courses and academic advising for those who work or have
family situations that may not allow them to come to campus. This also
aids on-campus students who need greater course availability. Students
taking advantage of these electronic offerings have grown from fewer
than 300 students in 1999 to nearly 10,000 in 2002.
Using financial incentives to encourage students' timely completion.
Some states have financial aid programs to encourage timely degree
completion. These programs may have time limits and/or may require
students to earn a minimum number of credits each year for
participation. For example, the University of Alaska Scholars Program,
targeted at the top 10 percent of high school graduates, offers
financial aid for eight semesters provided that the scholar remains in
good standing. Other states have programs that impose financial
penalties if students repeat coursework or take too long to graduate.
Florida's in-state students must pay the full tuition rate--without
state subsidies--for any courses they repeat more than once. Utah
requires that students who enroll for credits in excess of 135 percent
of what is usually needed for a degree pay higher tuition for the
excess credits. Texas passed a law designed to encourage students to
minimize the number of courses they take to complete their degree.
State residents who complete their coursework and degrees in the state
with no more than three attempted hours in excess of the minimum
required for graduation are eligible to apply for a $1,000 tuition
rebate from their institution. Officials told us that about 1,500
students received tuition rebates in the 2001-2002 academic year.
Half the States Would Like to Do More to Foster Bachelor's Degree
Completion:
Twenty-four states listed at least one area in which they would like to
do more to increase bachelor's degree completion rates. Many of these
desired actions dealt with increasing financial aid for students and
increased financial support to colleges to help their students succeed.
Some wanted to offer special funding for colleges that perform well in
certain areas related to retention and college completion. Others
wanted to improve preparation of high school graduates for college or
improve transitions from one level of education to another. Almost
without exception, the states cited state budget constraints as a
significant factor preventing them from moving forward with these
actions.
Four-Year Institutions Foster Completion by Improving Learning and
Support of Students:
Our visits to 11 colleges and universities in five states showed that
initiatives in these institutions cluster around two main approaches to
foster bachelor's degree completion: (1) enhancing the learning
experience by creating smaller learning communities that foster greater
connections to the institution and (2) strengthening support of
students to promote academic success. In some cases, officials
attributed increases in retention rates or higher retention rates for
certain groups of students to these approaches.
Enhancing the Learning Experience:
Nearly all of the colleges and universities we visited were engaged in
efforts designed to enhance the learning experience for students,
primarily by creating smaller communities that foster greater
connections to the institution. These approaches aim to increase
students' engagement in academics and provide them with a network of
faculty and other students who can support them academically and
socially. These approaches are employed both in and out of the
classroom, and most focus on easing the transition from high school to
college for first-year college students.
Linking courses. Several of the colleges we visited are trying to
enhance the learning environment by giving students a small classroom
experience that will provide them greater opportunities to connect with
faculty and their peers, not unlike the experience they would have had
in high school. For example, Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi,
a Hispanic Serving Institution,[Footnote 19] requires all full-time,
first-year students to enroll in learning communities--clusters of
three or four classes in which the course content is linked. Students
are typically enrolled in a large lecture course with 150 or more
students and two other courses with 25 or fewer students from the
lecture course. In addition to covering course content, instructors
help students learn how to succeed in their first year of college,
helping with topics such as study skills on an as needed basis.
Portland State University provides its students smaller learning
communities in the freshman and sophomore years through its University
Studies program. According to officials there, the university developed
the program in 1994 to address disappointing retention rates from the
freshman to sophomore year. Officials told us that, because few
students live on campus, the university has to create opportunities for
students to connect to the campus via the classroom. The required
freshman and sophomore courses are comprised of 35-40 students who meet
as a whole with faculty and in smaller mentor sessions, led by upper-
level or graduate students. Officials told us they think the upper-
level students who serve as peer mentors for the freshman classes are
particularly helpful for many first-generation college students who
attend the university and may find college more difficult to navigate.
Officials at both universities reported positive outcomes for these
learning programs. Specifically, at Texas A & M students withdrew from
the large lecture courses at lower rates and had higher grades in these
courses when taken as part of the learning community. They also
attributed retention rates for first-year minority students that are on
par with other first-year students to the learning communities. At
Portland State, officials attributed increases in retention from the
freshman to sophomore year, as well as from the sophomore to junior
year, to its University Studies program.
Using service learning. Connecting classroom learning to the community
is another approach colleges are taking to enhance the learning
experience and create a sense of belonging. The Regional Ecosystem
Applied Learning Corps was established in 1997 through partnership
between Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon, and community
and government organizations. This AmeriCorps[Footnote 20] program
engages students in the classroom and through community-based projects
dealing with land management issues. One student, who went to college
directly from high school but left after 2 years, told us that the
Regional Ecosystem Applied Learning Corps played a large part in his
decision to finish his bachelor's degree because it allowed him to
connect his studies to the community while working. He noted that it
was difficult to return after a 4-year break because college life felt
unfamiliar to him.
Providing residential learning opportunities. For those students who
live on campus, some colleges are aiming to improve the learning
experience by enhancing educational opportunities available to students
in the residence halls. Florida State University in Tallahassee,
Florida, instituted its first "living-learning community" in a
residence hall in the fall of 1997 as a way to provide freshmen with a
smaller community that would facilitate connections with faculty and
students. An official at the institution told us that the size of the
institution is an obstacle in retaining students because it is easy for
students at a large research university with over 36,000 students to
feel lost. Students live in a residence hall together and have to take
at least one class in the building. Required weekly meetings help
students navigate services available to them on the campus. Florida
State reported that 5 years after the freshman class of 1997 entered
the institution, 77 percent of students who participated in the first
living-learning community had graduated, while the graduation rates of
other on-campus students and those living off campus was around 60
percent.[Footnote 21]
Promoting Scholarship. The University of Maryland-Baltimore County
established the Meyerhoff Scholars Program to increase the numbers of
minorities pursuing doctoral study in math, science, engineering, and
computer science.[Footnote 22] In addition to the academic
requirements, the scholars participate in activities designed to expose
them to scientific careers, such as field trips and research
experiences. University officials credit the program with much of the
success the university has had with minority students--the 6-year
graduation rate is higher for black students than for white. Officials
attribute part of this success to the role Meyerhoff scholars play in
motivating other minority students at the institution.
Strengthening Support of Students:
All of the colleges and universities we visited were engaged in efforts
to strengthen support of their students to ensure their academic
success and retention. Colleges support their students by providing
services such as academic advising, financial aid counseling, and
academic support services such as tutoring. Colleges also provide
supports designed to ease the transition from high school or community
college to a 4-year institution. In some cases, colleges are changing
how they deliver support services to ensure the needs of students are
met. For example, colleges may colocate many of their support services
to make it easy for students to access them.
Colocating support services. During our site visits, we found that
several of the institutions we visited are colocating support services
to make it easier for students to access those services. In 2000,
Prairie View A & M University, a historically black institution in
Prairie View, Texas, implemented a comprehensive support system for
freshmen. By groups of 100-125 students, freshmen are assigned to 1 of
12 academic teams. These teams consist of a professional adviser,
residence hall staff, and a faculty fellow. The groups generally live
together in residence halls close to all the services they might need,
such as advising, academic support services such as tutoring, and
financial aid counseling. Advisers work closely with the learning
community manager and two community assistants, professional staff who
reside in each hall. Officials think having advisers and residence hall
staff working together provides many opportunities to intervene with
students in time to get them connected with the services they need.
Consolidating offices. Some of the institutions have also made
organizational changes to ensure that most of the offices providing
support to students are working together. The University of Central
Florida, for example, merged the student affairs office with the
enrollment management office and, according to officials, having this
one office responsible for recruitment and retention ensures that a
wide range of efforts can be coordinated across the cycle of student
life.
Improving academic advising. Most of the colleges we visited had made
changes to improve academic advising services provided to students with
the idea that students need consistent and accurate advisement to stay
on the path to graduation. To respond to student complaints that
advisers in their majors did not know enough about general graduation
requirements, Florida State University centrally hired a total of 40
full-time advisers to work in the individual departments. According to
one official, when individual departments hired advisers, the amount of
time spent advising students declined over time as other
responsibilities were assigned to those advisers. Retaining central
control of the advisers ensures that advising is consistently available
to students and that students receive advisement on both departmental
and nondepartmental issues. Portland State University developed a
system that allows students to stay abreast of where they are in terms
of graduating. Advisers can use the system to help students develop a
course plan and identify any remaining coursework they need for
graduation.
Using proactive intervention strategies. Many of the institutions we
visited have approaches designed to proactively intervene with students
in an effort to retain them to graduation. Several of the institutions
reported that they have a warning system in place to identify students
whose mid-term grades or cumulative grade point averages drop below a
certain level. These students are contacted and encouraged to meet with
an adviser and to make them aware of the different services available
to help them. Contacting students by telephone is an approach some of
the smaller institutions we visited employ to intervene with students.
For example, Southern Oregon University, in Ashland, Oregon, is
proactive in calling students who are not attending classes based on
faculty reports. To improve its 6-year graduation rate, Coppin State
College, an historically black institution, in Baltimore, Maryland, has
been contacting those students who have not pre-registered for the fall
semester, but are within reach of graduating within 6 years of when
they started. Officials believe calling students lets them know that
someone at the college is interested in them as an individual and
reinforces their commitment to return.
Providing academic support services. Most institutions cited academic
support services as an approach to retaining students. Examples of
these services include tutoring, walk-in centers that provide
assistance with areas like writing and math, and programs that support
special populations such as low-income and first-generation college
students. Over half of the institutions we visited provide these types
of services to students before they have enrolled in college to ease
the transition from high school to college. In these summer bridge
programs, students typically take a couple of courses, along with
seminars that cover topics designed to help them succeed in college,
such as time management and study skills. Generally, fewer than 100
students participate in these programs, which allows the institution to
provide more intensive and personalized services. Institutions
generally reported that the retention rate from the freshman to
sophomore year for these students is comparable to or higher than the
general population. A couple of institutions reported higher graduation
rates for these students, but some officials noted that their 6-year
graduation rates may lag because some of these students take longer to
graduate.
Easing the transition for transfer students. Some institutions are
engaged in efforts to encourage and ease the transition of students
from a 2-year institution to a 4-year institution. For example, the
University of Central Florida has forged relationships with area
community colleges and has established satellite campuses at community
colleges in Orlando and the surrounding area. The university's
satellite campuses are designed for those students for whom
transferring to a 4-year college may be difficult because of work and
family commitments. The university has dedicated faculty and staff at
these satellite campuses to ensure students receive the same education
and services they would at the main campus. Advisers who travel among
the satellite campuses ensure that students can obtain academic
advising without traveling to the main campus.
Education Has Programs to Foster College Completion, but No Systematic
Efforts to Identify and Disseminate Information on Promising Practices:
Education fosters bachelor's degree completion through programs that
provide financial and academic support to students, but little is known
about the effects of these programs on college completion. Education
has also established goals for increasing college completion and
strengthening the accountability of colleges. While Education has some
dissemination efforts--mainly through its academic support programs and
through its Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
program--it does not have systematic efforts in place to identify and
share promising practices in the areas of retention and graduation with
states and colleges that are looking for strategies to help them better
retain their students.
Programs Provide Financial Resources and Academic Support to Students,
but Little Is Known about Their Effectiveness:
In order to help students pay for a college degree, the federal student
aid programs provide billions of dollars to help students finance
college with the objective that students will complete their programs.
The Federal Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford
Federal Direct Loan Program, two major federal student loan programs
authorized in Title IV of the Higher Education Act, together provided
student borrowers with about 9 million new loans totaling $35 billion
in fiscal year 2001. The Pell Grant Program, designed to help the
neediest undergraduate students, expended $8 billion to provide grants
to nearly 4 million students in 2000-2001. To be eligible for these
programs, students must be enrolled in a degree-or certificate-granting
program. While Education has made these funds available, we reported in
September 2002 that little information is available on the relative
effectiveness of Title IV grants and loans in promoting postsecondary
attendance, choice, and completion, or their impact on college
costs.[Footnote 23] Among other things, we noted that data and
methodological challenges make it difficult to isolate the impact of
grants and loans.
Education administers three academic support programs aimed at students
who are low-income, first-generation, or disabled that have college
completion as a primary goal. Student Support Services provides
academic support to students at the college level, while the Upward
Bound program and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve students before they enter
college.[Footnote 24] GEAR UP differs from Student Support Services and
Upward Bound, which identify and invite individual students to
participate. GEAR UP serves an entire grade of students at
participating schools beginning no later than the seventh grade and
follows them through high school. According to program officials, the
program begins no later than the seventh grade because high school is
too late to begin working with students on the preparation that leads
to college. Table 1 provides an overview of the three programs.
Table 1: Overview of Education Programs That Have College Completion as
a Primary Goal:
Program: TRIO Student Support Services; Purpose: Increase graduation
and retention rates; Target population: Low-income, first-generation,
or disabled college students; Services provided: Counseling, tutoring,
supplemental grants for qualifying students; FY 2002 funding: (in
millions): $263; Students served: 198,551.
Program: TRIO Upward Bound; Purpose: Increase postsecondary enrollment
and success.[A]; Target population: High school students who are from
low-income families or from families where neither parent has a college
degree; Services provided: Instruction required in subjects such as
math, science, and composition. Services such as counseling, tutoring,
mentoring, assistance completing financial aid and college entrance
applications; information on postsecondary opportunities, and work
study positions; FY 2002 funding: (in millions): $264; Students
served: 56,324.
Program: GEAR UP; Purpose: Increase the number of low-income students
who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education;
Target population: Entire grades of students at participating low-
income schools starting no later than the seventh grade; Services
provided: Relies on participating schools and partners to provide
services that promote academic preparation and an understanding of
college costs, provide professional development, and continuously build
capacity to sustain projects beyond the grant term. Also provides
scholarships for participants who enroll in postsecondary education;
FY 2002 funding: (in millions): $285; Students served: 1,236,606.
Source: Department of Education.
[A] Education interprets success as graduating from institutions of
postsecondary education.
[End of table]
In 2001, Student Support Services added a financial assistance
component as a tool to increase retention and graduation of student
participants. Specifically, Student Support Services permits the use of
grant aid for current Student Support Services participants who are
already receiving federal Pell Grants. These funds are intended to
increase retention and graduation by reducing the amount of financial
need or money eligible participants have to borrow in their first 2
years of study.[Footnote 25]
Student Support Services is the only program for which information on
the effectiveness of the program on college completion is available.
Specifically, a preliminary evaluation of the program found that
participants had higher bachelor's degree completion rates as compared
to a control group of similar students not receiving those services.
However, it is too early to determine the impact of the grant aid
component of the program, given that it was first implemented in the
2001-2002 academic year. According to Education officials, it is also
too early to determine the impact of Upward Bound and GEAR UP on
college completion because students are not expected to have completed
college yet.[Footnote 26]
Education Has Identified Priorities for Increasing College Completion
and Strengthening Accountability of Institutions:
In its 2002-2007 strategic plan, Education has established goals of
reducing the gaps in college participation and completion among certain
student populations and increasing completion rates overall. Education
has identified some strategies for meeting these goals, such as
focusing on improving the K-12 system, improving the readiness of low-
income and minority students for college, and improving the
effectiveness of support services for low-income and minority students.
The performance measure--institutional graduation rates--Education
uses for assessing its progress toward the goal of increasing
completion rates understates the percentage of students who actually
complete bachelor's degrees, because the measure does not account for
students who transfer and complete their degrees at institutions
different from where they started. However, this is the only
information available on an annual basis. Other longitudinal studies,
such as BPS, provide more information but are costly to administer.
Education has not established other performance measures for assessing
progress toward its college completion goal.
Education has also established a goal for strengthening accountability
of postsecondary institutions in its strategic plan. Specifically,
Education is looking to ensure that colleges are graduating their
students in a timely manner. Education thinks making information on
student achievement and attainment available to the public is one way
to hold institutions accountable for their performance because
prospective students can use this information to make informed choices
about where to attend college. Education has begun to discuss this
issue with the higher education community and asked the community for
ideas on how to strengthen accountability of postsecondary
institutions. As part of its efforts, Education has held panel
discussions with student financial aid experts, state officials, and
business leaders, among other participants, about improving
accountability. Additionally, Education is considering "performance-
based grants" to provide incentives to colleges for timely graduation.
In one state, however, where this was tried, there were concerns that
the grant created perverse incentives to increase graduation rates,
such as reducing the number of credits required for graduation.
Education Has Some Evaluation and Dissemination Efforts:
Education has some efforts to disseminate information on retention and
completion; however, it does not have a systematic effort in place to
identify and disseminate promising practices in these areas. Education
has commissioned studies on the factors that affect college completion,
and it has some evaluations on student retention--for example, one
study dealing with retention strategies for students with disabilities
and one on Hispanic students. It has not, however, systematically
conducted research to determine what strategies have been effective in
helping colleges and universities retain their students. Additionally,
Education has some retention and completion dissemination efforts in
place. For example, GEAR UP and TRIO grantees have the opportunity to
share information with each other at annual conferences organized by
private groups. Education facilitates information sharing through the
TRIO Dissemination Partnership Program, which provides funding for TRIO
grantees with promising practices to work with other institutions and
community-based organizations that serve low-income and first-
generation college students but do not have TRIO grants. The program is
intended to increase the impact of TRIO programs by reaching more low-
income, first-generation college students. Only a small number of
grantees are disseminating information through this program--in fiscal
year 2002, Education provided $3.4 million to 17 grantees. In these
instances, only institutions and organizations that formally partner
with grantees are likely to have the opportunity to learn about
promising practices. Furthermore, promising practices that are employed
by institutions outside these programs are not captured.
According to agency officials, another effort in which dissemination
occurs is within the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education's Comprehensive Program. This 30-year old program seeks to
help improve access and quality of postsecondary institutions by
funding small promising practices grants. According to an official of
the Comprehensive Program, the grants are for a 3-year period, with an
average annual award amount of between $50,000 and $200,000. Last year,
the program awarded $31 million for grant activities--including new
awards of about $10 million. The grants cover all aspects of
postsecondary improvement, and within the areas of retention and
completion there are grants for, among other things, creating learning
communities, reviewing remedial and introductory courses to find more
effective approaches, and developing innovative methods of delivering
support services. Dissemination efforts include a searchable project
database on its Web site; four published volumes of promising practices
(the most recent publication was in 2000); specific dissemination
grants expressly aimed at replicating particularly promising practices
for retention and completion; dissemination plans built into the actual
grants; and annual meetings where project information is shared. Each
grant has an evaluation component and the Comprehensive Program is
currently being reviewed for, among other things, the efficacy of these
evaluation efforts.
Conclusions:
As policymakers and others consider what is necessary to ensure
accountability in higher education, the issue of how to measure
performance becomes more important. While some states have used
graduation rates to promote accountability, such measures may not fully
reflect an institution's performance. Graduation rates do not capture
differences in mission, selectivity, programmatic offerings, or student
learning outcomes. Nor do they account for another goal of higher
education, increasing participation. In other words, a college or
university could have a low rate of completion, but still be providing
access. As policymakers consider ways to hold colleges and universities
accountable for their performance, it may be possible to use multiple
measures that capture an institution's performance in regard to how
well its students are educated through the use of student learning
outcomes, in addition to its performance in graduating them.
States, institutions of higher education, and Education are engaged in
a variety of efforts to retain and graduate students. Education does
have some efforts to evaluate and disseminate information related to
retention and completion; however, it does not systematically identify
and disseminate information on those practices that hold promise for
increasing retention and graduation rates across all sectors of higher
education. Such information could benefit colleges and universities
that are looking for new approaches to better serve their students and
seek to avoid duplicating unsuccessful efforts. As policymakers
consider new ways to hold postsecondary institutions accountable for
retaining and graduating their students, it becomes more important to
widely disseminate promising practices in these areas. Having Education
identify and disseminate promising practices in the areas of retention
and graduation would help ensure that all colleges and universities
have access to the same level of information and can readily draw on
those practices they think might help them better serve their students.
Recommendations:
As Education moves forward with its plan to hold colleges and
universities accountable for their performance in graduating their
students, we recommend that the Secretary of Education consider
multiple measures that would help account for other goals of higher
education, such as increasing participation, as well as differences in
mission, selectivity, and programmatic offerings of postsecondary
institutions. Education should work with states and colleges to
determine what would be most helpful for strengthening the
accountability of institutions and ensuring positive outcomes for
students.
We also recommend that the Secretary of Education take steps to
identify and disseminate information about promising practices in the
areas of retention and graduation across all sectors of postsecondary
education.
Agency Comments:
In written comments on a draft of this report, the Department of
Education agreed with our recommendations but had some concerns about
certain aspects of the draft report. Education commented that we could
have included trend data on, for example, whether retention and
completion are increasing or decreasing. While such information might
have been interesting to include, we were specifically focusing on the
current status of college completion. Education suggested in its letter
that we could have used its two BPS studies for such an analysis. It
would not be appropriate to use these two studies for identifying
trends because they covered different time periods. For example, using
the first BPS study--which tracked students for 5 years--Education
reported that 53 percent of students who began at a 4-year institution
in 1989-90 earned a bachelor's degree. Using the second BPS study--
which tracked students for 6 years--we reported that 59 percent of
students who began at a 4-year institution in 1995-96 earned a
bachelor's degree. While the increase in graduation rates might have
resulted from any number of factors, the most likely reason is because
an additional year was included in the calculation.
The Department correctly noted that we did not address student
financial aid in our analysis. We have addressed this issue in our
discussion of the report's objectives, scope, and methodology section
(see app. I).
With respect to Education's comment about how the effects of being
disadvantaged are accounted for in our analysis, we agree that
performing a more sophisticated analysis to account for the indirect
effects of being disadvantaged on completion may have yielded a more
complete picture of college completion. However, our analysis was
designed to provide overall descriptive information on completion rates
while taking into account certain differences among students.
Education had concerns that our report did not sufficiently recognize
the role of its Graduation Rate Survey (GRS). While we did not directly
discuss GRS, we did explain the legislative requirements regarding
institutional reporting of graduation rates. Education developed GRS to
help institutions comply with this requirement. Additionally, with
respect to GRS, we sought clarification of Education's statement that
GRS is the basis for state efforts to track graduation rates; however,
officials did not provide us with information that would support this
statement. In looking at this issue, it is clear that the type of data
states collect is different from the GRS data. Specifically, GRS
collects only summary data from institutions on graduation rates,
whereas by using data on individual students, the states we highlighted
have the ability to not only calculate graduation rates but to track
student transfers across the state. Furthermore, officials in two
states we visited told us that they have had the ability to track
individual students for over 10 years, long before information from the
GRS would have been available--making it impossible for GRS to be the
basis of these systems as Education suggested. We also believe that
Education's statement that we do not acknowledge the limitations of the
state systems with respect to tracking student transfers is inaccurate.
Our draft clearly stated that tracking is limited to student transfers
within the state.
Finally, with regard to Education's concern that our report does not
recognize its efforts to identify and disseminate information on
retention and completion, we believe Education may have misunderstood
our discussion about their efforts. We clearly highlight Education's
efforts to identify and disseminate information through studies on the
factors that affect retention and completion. However, we conclude that
Education does not systematically identify and disseminate information
on those practices that hold promise for increasing retention and
graduation rates across all sectors of higher education.
Education also provided technical comments, which we incorporated where
appropriate. Education's comments appear in appendix IV.
As arranged with your offices, unless you publicly announce its
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this report until
30 days from its issue date. At that time, we will send copies of this
report to appropriate congressional committees, the Secretary of
Education, and other interested parties. Copies will also be made
available to others upon request. In addition, this report will be
available at no charge on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
If you have any questions about this report, please contact me on (202)
512-8403. Other contacts and acknowledgments are listed in appendix V.
Cornelia M. Ashby
Director,
Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues:
Signed by Cornelia M. Ashby:
[End of section]
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology:
You asked us to determine (1) the extent to which students--including
those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds--who enroll in a 4-year
college or university complete a bachelor's degree and the factors that
affect bachelor's degree completion; (2) what states and 4-year
colleges and universities are doing to foster bachelor's degree
completion and what is known about the effectiveness of these efforts;
and (3) what the U.S. Department of Education is doing to foster
bachelor's degree completion.
To determine the extent to which students--including those from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds--who enroll in a 4-year college or university
complete a bachelor's degree and to identify the factors that affect
bachelor's degree completion, we analyzed Education's 1995-96 Beginning
Postsecondary Students (BPS) study. BPS is a longitudinal
study[Footnote 27] that followed the retention and degree completion of
students from the time they enrolled in any postsecondary institution
over a 6-year period. It is based on a sample of students who were
enrolled in postsecondary education for the first time in 1995-1996 and
participated in Education's 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid
Study (NPSAS:96). NPSAS:96 consisted of a nationally representative
sample of all students enrolled in postsecondary education during the
1995-96 academic year. Information for NPSAS:96 was obtained from more
than 830 postsecondary institutions for approximately 44,500
undergraduate and 11,200 graduate and first-professional students. The
sample of undergraduates represented about 16.7 million students,
including about 3 million first-time beginning students, who were
enrolled at some time between July 1, 1995 and June 30, 1996. This BPS
study began with a sample of approximately 12,000 students who were
identified in NPSAS: 96 as having entered postsecondary education for
the first time in 1995-1996. Education followed up with these students
via computer-assisted telephone interviews in both 1998 and 2001. In
addition to obtaining data from students through these interviews, data
were obtained from other sources, including institutions and the
Educational Testing Service, which administers standardized tests, such
as the SAT I and Advanced Placement tests. Education has published
reports that provide information about student enrollment and the rates
of persistence, transfer, and degree attainment for students.
For our purposes, we analyzed a subset of these data. We only included
students who in 1995-96 were enrolled in a 4-year institution or were
enrolled at another type of institution, but transferred to a 4-year
institution at some point during the 6-year period. Our analysis
excluded other types of students, such as community college students
who did not transfer to a 4-year institution because the focus of our
study was on bachelor's degree completion. We first grouped students
into three categories: those who, after 6 years (1) had completed a
bachelor's degree; (2) had not completed a bachelor's degree, but were
still enrolled in a 4-year institution; and (3) had not completed a
bachelor's degree and were no longer enrolled in a 4-year institution.
We then calculated the percentage of our population in each group
overall and by various characteristics relating to personal background,
academic preparation and performance, college attendance and work
patterns, and social integration as shown in appendix II.
We focused on factors that affect whether or not students completed a
bachelor's degree by the end of the 6-year period and looked at the
effect of the various characteristics mentioned above on college
completion. We did not include student aid variables in our analysis.
Resource constraints and the timing of the release of the BPS data made
it difficult to examine the effect of student aid variables given their
complexity and year-to-year variation. We first examined the
independent effect of each characteristic on completion without
controlling for differences among individuals. Each of these
independent effects, with the exception of delaying entry into college,
was statistically significant. However, because of the strong
relationships among these characteristics, it is more accurate to
explain the variance in completion rates using multivariate analysis,
which tests the effect of each characteristic on completion while
controlling for the effects of all the other characteristics.
Logistic regression is a standard procedure used to estimate the effect
of a characteristic on a particular outcome. The model uses odds ratios
to estimate the relative likelihood of completing a bachelor's degree
within 6 years of beginning postsecondary education. The odds ratios
for various characteristics are shown in appendix III. For a particular
characteristic, if there were no difference between students who
completed within 6 years and those who did not, the odds would be
equal, and the ratio of their odds would be 1.00. The more the odds
ratio differs from 1.00 in either direction, the larger the effect on
completion. For example, an odds ratio below 1.00 indicates a lower
likelihood of completion for a student with that particular
characteristic, all else being equal. The odds ratios were generally
computed in relation to a reference group; for example, if the odds
ratio refers to being a dependent student, then the reference group
would be independent students. Some characteristics, such as grade
point average and age, are continuous in nature. In these cases, the
odds ratio can be interpreted as representing the increase in the
likelihood of completing college given a 1-unit increase in the
continuous variable. An odds ratio that is statistically significant is
denoted with the superscript a. The characteristics we used in our
model explain 38 percent of the variance in bachelor's degree
completion.
Because the estimates we use in this report are based on survey data,
there is some sampling error associated with them. This occurs because
observations are made on a sample of students rather than the entire
student population. All percentage estimates we present from the BPS
data have sampling errors of ±3 percentage points or less, unless
otherwise noted. Furthermore, tests of statistical significance were
performed using software to take into account the complex survey design
and sampling errors. In addition to the reported sampling errors, the
practical difficulties of conducting any survey may introduce other
types of errors, commonly referred to as nonsampling errors. For
example, differences in how a particular question is interpreted, in
the reliability of data self reported by students, or the types of
students who do not respond can introduce unwanted variability into the
survey results.
To identify what states and 4-year colleges and universities are doing
to foster bachelor's degree completion, we conducted a survey of the 59
state higher education executive officer agencies in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and visited 5 states and 11
public colleges and universities within those states.[Footnote 28] We
received completed questionnaires from 48 of the 52 states and
territories we surveyed, a response rate of 92 percent. We took steps
in the development of the questionnaires, the data collection, and the
data editing and analysis to minimize nonsampling errors. For example,
we pretested the questionnaire with 3 states to refine the survey
instrument, and we called individual respondents, if necessary, to
clarify answers.
We conducted site visits in Florida, Maryland, Oregon, Texas, and
Virginia. We chose states and colleges to visit based upon our
discussions with experts and preliminary information from our survey.
Additionally, we selected these states and institutions based on
geographic dispersion and the variety of efforts reported to us by
experts and in the survey. In each state, we met with state higher
education officials to discuss college completion in general and
specific efforts taking place in their states. In each of these states,
we also visited colleges that were viewed by state officials as doing
particularly well in working with their students to help them complete
a bachelor's degree. We met with college officials to discuss their
efforts to improve retention and help students attain a bachelor's
degree.
To identify what Education is doing to foster bachelor's degree
completion, we talked with Education officials and reviewed program and
planning documents. We conducted our work between April 2002 and May
2003 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing
practices.
[End of section]
Appendix II: Bachelor's Degree Completion Status of 1995-96 Beginning
Postsecondary Students 6 Years after Enrolling:
Numbers in percent:
Characteristic: Overall percentage;
Completed bachelor's: 52; Did not complete
bachelor's: 48; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 14; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
34.
Characteristic: Background characteristics:
Characteristic: Sex:
Characteristic: Female; Student
population by characteristic: 52; Completed
bachelor's: 57; Did not complete bachelor's: 43;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 18;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 25.
Characteristic: Male; Student
population by characteristic: 48; Completed
bachelor's: 47; Did not complete bachelor's: 53;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 25;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 29.
Characteristic: Race:
Characteristic: White, non-Hispanic; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 73;
Completed bachelor's: 55; Did not complete
bachelor's: 45; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 20; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
25.
Characteristic: Black, non-Hispanic; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 10;
Completed bachelor's: 38; Did not complete
bachelor's: 62; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 23; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
40.
Characteristic: Hispanic;
Student population by characteristic: 10; Completed
bachelor's: 40; Did not complete bachelor's: 60;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 28;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 32.
Characteristic: Asian/Pacific Islander; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 6;
Completed bachelor's: 55; Did not complete
bachelor's: 45; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 25; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
20.
Characteristic: Other; Student
population by characteristic: 1; Completed
bachelor's: 58; Did not complete bachelor's: 42;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 11;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 30.
Characteristic: Age when first enrolled:
Characteristic: 18 and under;
Student population by characteristic: 77; Completed
bachelor's: 59; Did not complete bachelor's: 41;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 19;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 22.
Characteristic: 19; Student
population by characteristic: 12; Completed
bachelor's: 36; Did not complete bachelor's: 64;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 30;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 34.
Characteristic: 20-23; Student
population by characteristic: 6; Completed
bachelor's: 21; Did not complete bachelor's: 79;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 33;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 46.
Characteristic: 24-29; Student
population by characteristic: 2; Completed
bachelor's: 27; Did not complete bachelor's: 73;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 33;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 40.
Characteristic: 30 and over;
Student population by characteristic: 3; Completed
bachelor's: 15; Did not complete bachelor's: 85;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 33;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 52.
Characteristic: Socioeconomic status disadvantaged index:
Characteristic: Not disadvantaged; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 58;
Completed bachelor's: 58; Did not complete
bachelor's: 42; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 20; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
22.
Characteristic: Disadvantaged;
Student population by characteristic: 42; Completed
bachelor's: 44; Did not complete bachelor's: 56;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 23;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 33.
Characteristic: Dependent status[B]:
Characteristic: Dependent;
Student population by characteristic: 90; Completed
bachelor's: 56; Did not complete bachelor's: 44;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 20;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 25.
Characteristic: Independent, no children; Numbers
in percent: Student population by characteristic: 4; Numbers in
percent: Completed bachelor's: 22; Did not complete
bachelor's: 78; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 35; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
43.
Characteristic: Independent, married with children;
Student population by characteristic: 3; Numbers in
percent: Completed bachelor's: 23; Did not complete
bachelor's: 77; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 36; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
41.
Characteristic: Independent, not married, with
children; Student population by characteristic: 3;
Completed bachelor's: 21; Did
not complete bachelor's: 79; No bachelor's, still
enrolled at 4-year: 36; No bachelor's, not enrolled
at 4-year[A]: 43.
Characteristic: First generation to attend college:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 57; Completed
bachelor's: 59; Did not complete bachelor's: 41;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 21;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 19.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 43; Completed
bachelor's: 43; Did not complete bachelor's: 57;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 22;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 35.
Characteristic: Academic preparation & performance:
Characteristic: High school completion:
Characteristic: Diploma;
Student population by characteristic: 97; Completed
bachelor's: 53; Did not complete bachelor's: 47;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 21;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 25.
Characteristic: GED/Other;
Student population by characteristic: 3; Completed
bachelor's: 27; Did not complete bachelor's: 73;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 27;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 46.
Characteristic: High school curriculum; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: [Empty]; Numbers in
percent: Completed bachelor's: [Empty]; Did not
complete bachelor's: [Empty]; No bachelor's, still
enrolled at 4-year: [Empty]; No bachelor's, not
enrolled at 4-year[A]: [Empty].
Characteristic: Did not meet new basics; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 27;
Completed bachelor's: 47; Did not complete
bachelor's: 53; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 23; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
30.
Characteristic: Met new basics, not rigorous;
Student population by characteristic: 7; Numbers in
percent: Completed bachelor's: 48; Did not complete
bachelor's: 52; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 19; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
33.
Characteristic: Slightly rigorous; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 30;
Completed bachelor's: 55; Did not complete
bachelor's: 45; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 18; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
28.
Characteristic: Moderately rigorous; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 19;
Completed bachelor's: 65; Did not complete
bachelor's: 35; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 18; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
17.
Characteristic: Highly rigorous; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 16;
Completed bachelor's: 81; Did not complete
bachelor's: 19; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 8; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
11.
Characteristic: High school grades:
Characteristic: A to A; Student
population by characteristic: 26; Completed
bachelor's: 78; Did not complete bachelor's: 22;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 11;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 11.
Characteristic: A-to B; Student
population by characteristic: 21; Completed
bachelor's: 60; Did not complete bachelor's: 40;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 18;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 23.
Characteristic: B to B-;
Student population by characteristic: 11; Completed
bachelor's: 39; Did not complete bachelor's: 61;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 25;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 36.
Characteristic: B-to C; Student
population by characteristic: 7; Completed
bachelor's: 33; Did not complete bachelor's: 67;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 26;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 41.
Characteristic: C to D; Student
population by characteristic: 36; Completed
bachelor's: 37; Did not complete bachelor's: 63;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 29;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 35.
Characteristic: SAT score[C]:
Characteristic: Lowest quartile (1100); Numbers
in percent: Student population by characteristic: 18; Numbers in
percent: Completed bachelor's: 79; Did not complete
bachelor's: 21; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 9; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
12.
Characteristic: First-year college GPA:
Characteristic: > 3.0; Student
population by characteristic: 34; Completed
bachelor's: 71; Did not complete bachelor's: 29;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 16;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 13.
Characteristic: 2.0 to 3.0;
Student population by characteristic: 39; Completed
bachelor's: 51; Did not complete bachelor's: 49;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 22;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 27.
Characteristic: < 2.0; Student
population by characteristic: 27; Completed
bachelor's: 29; Did not complete bachelor's: 71;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 27;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 44.
Characteristic: Attendance & work patterns:
Characteristic: Delayed college after high
school[D]:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 82; Completed
bachelor's: 59; Did not complete bachelor's: 41;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 18;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 23.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 18; Completed
bachelor's: 24; Did not complete bachelor's: 76;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 35;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 41.
Characteristic: College attendance:
Characteristic: Part-time or mix of part-and full-
time; Student population by characteristic: 43;
Completed bachelor's: 34; Did
not complete bachelor's: 66; No bachelor's, still
enrolled at 4-year: 35; No bachelor's, not enrolled
at 4-year[A]: 32.
Characteristic: Full-time;
Student population by characteristic: 57; Completed
bachelor's: 66; Did not complete bachelor's: 34;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 11;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 23.
Characteristic: Continuous enrollment:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 27; Completed
bachelor's: 15; Did not complete bachelor's: 85;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 45;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 40.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 73; Completed
bachelor's: 66; Did not complete bachelor's: 34;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 12;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 22.
Characteristic: Work during college:
Characteristic: Did not work;
Student population by characteristic: 31; Completed
bachelor's: 61; Did not complete bachelor's: 39;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 16;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 24.
Characteristic: Less than 10 hours; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 15;
Completed bachelor's: 61; Did not complete
bachelor's: 39; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 14; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
25.
Characteristic: Between 10 and 19 hours; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 17;
Completed bachelor's: 63; Did not complete
bachelor's: 37; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 16; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
22.
Characteristic: Between 20 and 31 hours; Numbers in
percent: Student population by characteristic: 24;
Completed bachelor's: 41; Did not complete
bachelor's: 59; No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-
year: 30; No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]:
29.
Characteristic: Full-time (32 hours or more);
Student population by characteristic: 13; Numbers
in percent: Completed bachelor's: 28; Did not
complete bachelor's: 72; No bachelor's, still
enrolled at 4-year: 34; No bachelor's, not enrolled
at 4-year[A]: 38.
Characteristic: Transferred to a 4-year institution:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 55; Completed
bachelor's: 69; Did not complete bachelor's: 31;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 9; Numbers
in percent: No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 22.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 45; Completed
bachelor's: 32; Did not complete bachelor's: 68;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 36;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 32.
Characteristic: Social integration:
Characteristic: Participated in study groups:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 33; Completed
bachelor's: 40; Did not complete bachelor's: 60;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 27;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 33.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 67; Completed
bachelor's: 59; Did not complete bachelor's: 41;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 18;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 23.
Characteristic: Participated in collegiate clubs:
Characteristic: No; Student
population by characteristic: 58; Completed
bachelor's: 41; Did not complete bachelor's: 59;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 26;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 32.
Characteristic: Yes; Student
population by characteristic: 42; Completed
bachelor's: 68; Did not complete bachelor's: 32;
No bachelor's, still enrolled at 4-year: 14;
No bachelor's, not enrolled at 4-year[A]: 18.
Source: Department of Education.
Note: GAO analysis of Education's BPS 1995/96 data.
[A] This includes students who were not enrolled in postsecondary
education and those who were enrolled at a 2-year institution or less
at the end of the 6-year period . These student may have earned an
associate's degree or certificate.
[B] Student dependency status for federal financial aid during 1995-96.
Students age 23 or younger were assumed to be dependent unless they met
the independent student criteria, including being married or having
legal dependents, other than a spouse.
[C] Student's SAT I combined score. This variable was derived as either
the sum of SAT I verbal and mathematics test scores or the ACT
Assessment (American College Testing program) composite score converted
to an estimated SAT combined score using a concordance table. The
primary source of data were from a match with the SAT files from the
Educational Testing Service and the ACT test files of the American
College Testing programs, supplemented by postsecondary institution
reported and student-reported information. The quartiles were derived
from the distribution of the test scores among the BPS cohort sample
students.
[D] Indicates whether student delayed enrollment in postsecondary
education, as determined by receipt of a high school diploma prior to
1995 or reaching the age of 20 before December 31, 1995.
[End of table]
[End of section]
Appendix III: Results of Regression Models for Bachelor's Degree
Completion within 6 Years of Beginning College:
Characteristic: Background characteristics:
Characteristic: Sex:
Characteristic: Female; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 57; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Male; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 47; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.66[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.83.
Characteristic: Race:
Characteristic: White, non-Hispanic; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 55; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Black, non-Hispanic; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 38; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 0.48[B]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 0.62[B].
Characteristic: Hispanic; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 40; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.53[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.68.
Characteristic: Asian/Pacific Islander; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 55; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 0.99; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 0.76.
Characteristic: Other; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 58; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 1.12; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.52.
Characteristic: Age:
Characteristic: 18 and under; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 59; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.86[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.93.
Characteristic: 19; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 36.
Characteristic: 20-23; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 21.
Characteristic: 24-29; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 27.
Characteristic: 30 and over; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 15.
Characteristic: Socioeconomic status disadvantaged index:
Characteristic: Not disadvantaged; Completed a bachelor's degree within
6 years: Background characteristics: 58; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Disadvantaged; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 44; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.56[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 1.06.
Characteristic: Dependent status[C]; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: [Empty]; Odds ratio-
independent effect: Background characteristics: [Empty]; Odds ratio-
net effect: Background characteristics: [Empty].
Characteristic: Dependent; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 56; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Independent, no children; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 22; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 0.22[B]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 0.52.
Characteristic: Independent, married with children; Completed a
bachelor's degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 23; Odds
ratio-independent effect: Background characteristics: 0.24[B].
Characteristic: Independent, not married, with children; Completed a
bachelor's degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 21; Odds
ratio-independent effect: Background characteristics: 0.21[B].
Characteristic: First generation to attend college:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 59; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 43; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.51[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.66[B].
Characteristic: Academic preparation & performance:
Characteristic: High School Completion; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years:
Characteristic: Diploma; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 53; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: GED/Other; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 27; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.32[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.63.
Characteristic: High school curriculum; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: [Empty]; Odds ratio-
independent effect: Background characteristics: [Empty]; Odds ratio-
net effect: Background characteristics: [Empty].
Characteristic: Did not meet New Basics; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 47; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 1.39[B]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 1.14[B].
Characteristic: Met New Basics, not rigorous; Completed a bachelor's
degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 48.
Characteristic: Slightly rigorous; Completed a bachelor's degree within
6 years: Background characteristics: 55.
Characteristic: Moderately rigorous; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 65.
Characteristic: Highly rigorous; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 81.
Characteristic: High school grades:
Characteristic: A to A-; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 78; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 2.08[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 1.17[B].
Characteristic: A-to B; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 60.
Characteristic: B to B-; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 39.
Characteristic: B-to C; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 33.
Characteristic: C to D; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 37.
Characteristic: SAT Score[D]:
Characteristic: Lowest quartile (1100); Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 79.
Characteristic: First-year college GPA:
Characteristic: > 3.0; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 71; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 2.45[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 2.24[B].
Characteristic: 2.0 to 2.9; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 51.
Characteristic: < 2.0; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 29.
Characteristic: Work & attendance patterns:
Characteristic: Delayed college after high school[E]:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 59; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 24; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.99; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 1.01.
Characteristic: College attendance:
Characteristic: Part-time or mix of part-and full-time; Completed a
bachelor's degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 34; Odds
ratio-independent effect: Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-
net effect: Background characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Full-time; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 66; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 3.89[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 2.31[B].
Characteristic: Continuous enrollment:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 15; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 66; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 10.81[B]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 6.22[B].
Characteristic: Work during college:
Characteristic: Did not work; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6
years: Background characteristics: 61; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Worked Less than 10 hours; Completed a bachelor's
degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 61; Odds ratio-
independent effect: Background characteristics: 1.00; Odds ratio-net
effect: Background characteristics: 0.86.
Characteristic: Between 10 and 19 hours; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 63; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 1.09; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 0.79.
Characteristic: Between 20 and 31 hours; Completed a bachelor's degree
within 6 years: Background characteristics: 41; Odds ratio-independent
effect: Background characteristics: 0.45[B]; Odds ratio-net effect:
Background characteristics: 0.62[B].
Characteristic: Full-time (32 hours or more); Completed a bachelor's
degree within 6 years: Background characteristics: 26; Odds ratio-
independent effect: Background characteristics: 0.25[B]; Odds ratio-
net effect: Background characteristics: 0.49[B].
Characteristic: Transferred to a 4-year institution:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 69; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A]:
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 32; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 0.21[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 0.41[B].
Characteristic: Social integration:
Characteristic: Participated in study groups:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 40; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 59; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 2.17[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: 0.99.
Characteristic: Participated in collegiate clubs:
Characteristic: No; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 41; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: [A]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: [A].
Characteristic: Yes; Completed a bachelor's degree within 6 years:
Background characteristics: 68; Odds ratio-independent effect:
Background characteristics: 3.04[B]; Odds ratio-net effect: Background
characteristics: 1.54[B].
Source: Department of Education.
Note: GAO analysis of Education's BPS 1995/96 data.
[A] denotes referent category.
[B] Odds ratio is statistically significant at p