abstract: As the retention rate of college freshmen increases, Tinto's (1993) model of academic persistence conceptualizes several dimensions of students' voluntary dropout. This study examined both personal and parental factors that may impact the academic persistence decisions of freshmen college students: 1) parental educational attainment; 2) parental valuing of education; 3) high school grade point average (GPA); 4) residential status (on- versus off-campus); 5) educational self-efficacy; 6) self-esteem; 7) personal valuing of education; 8) perceived academic preparation; and 9) academic expectations. The study sample consisted of 378 freshmen college students at a large southwestern university who were recruited from 23 sections of a 100-level class intended to promote academic success. The participants in this cross-sectional study were restricted to freshman level students and 18 and 19 years old in accordance with Erikson's (1968) Identity stage of psychosocial development. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that academic persistence decisions were predicted by residential status and self-beliefs, which consisted of: educational self-efficacy, self-esteem, personal valuing of education, perceived academic preparation, and academic expectations. Parental valuing of education was a significant predictor of academic persistence decisions until self-beliefs were added to construct the full model. Although self-beliefs were collectively the most powerful predictors of persistence decisions, accounting for 22.8% of the variance, examination of the beta weights revealed that self-esteem, educational self-efficacy, and personal valuing of education were the most powerful predictors, while academic expectations approached significance. Residential status was also a significant predictor and accounted for a small but significant variance (1.6%) in academic persistence decisions. A significant multivariate difference was found between students living on campus and those living off campus. Follow-up ANOVAs revealed differences in mother's education and in parental valuing of education. These findings suggest that researchers, counselors, and college policy-makers consider on-campus living variables as well as students' self-beliefs when considering academic persistence decisions in college freshmen. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.C. Counseling 2013

The purpose of this quantitative study was to see if there was a significant difference in the mean American College Test (ACT) scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA) between students who attained a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of starting college and those who did not attain a bachelor’s degree within 6 years of starting college. Data from 2005-2013 high school graduates from one high school with only academic course choices were used. A series of independent t-tests were used to compare the mean ACT scores and HSGPA of students from both groups. The goal was to find out whether high school educators can use existing high school data to know whether students who intend to continue their postsecondary studies at degree granting postsecondary institutions have the necessary preparation not just to be admitted to a postsecondary institution, but to attain a bachelor’s degree. The results showed that for this group of participants, the mean ACT scores and HSGPA were significantly different between students who attained a bachelor’s degree within 6 years and those who did not. Using Cohen’s d to calculate the effect size for the results, ACT Composite, ACT English, ACT Science, and HSGPA were found to have a large effect size, and ACT Math and ACT Reading were found to have a medium effect size. HSGPA had the largest effect size. The implications from the results are that high school personnel at all high schools should examine available data to see if it can be used as indicators of bachelor’s degree attainment with the purpose of providing additional support to students who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree, but whose data indicate that they may not have the necessary preparation to successfully complete a degree.

Retention and matriculation are topics of heavy debate and inquiry in higher education as rising tuition costs, coupled with declining state support, have fueled the need for increased accountability. In Mississippi, few studies have been conducted that are unique to the public universities in the state in order to analyze success factors in higher education. The purpose of this study was to analyze these success factors at Mississippi’s public universities as measured by successful degree completion within a six-year time period. This study analyzed High School GPA, ACT Scores, Parental Income Levels, Parental Education Levels, Ethnicity, and Gender. Academic, demographic and socioeconomic data were gathered on two cohorts of resident first-time, full-time students attending a Mississippi Institution of Higher Learning. A total of 5,603 students were included in the study from the fall 2001 and 2002 semesters. Transfer students were not included in the study. A successful completer was defined as completing a bachelor’s degree within six-years of enrollment. Students still enrolled in the seventh year were not included. In addition, students seeking an Associate’s Degree were also not included. Descriptive statistics revealed that graduation rates fluctuated depending on high school GPA, ACT scores, income and parental education levels. The most significant differences in graduation rates occurred when analyzing high school GPA and income statistics. These findings were supported when logistic regression analysis was employed. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze these factors compared to graduation rates for the state, and by type of institution. In Mississippi, there are four regional universities and four research universities. High school GPA and parental income were significant predictors in all three models, while ACT was significant when analyzing data for the system. For research universities, the education level of the father was significant. For regional universities, ethnicity was a significant predictor. In all, universities should develop a deeper understanding of the socioeconomic background of students in order to ensure that proper scaffolding is in place to ensure successful matriculation.

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