This study reviewed the history of minority students access to higher learning in the state of Pennsylvania. In addition, recent trends concerning minority students access to Pennsylvanias four-year baccalaureate-degree granting institutions of higher education were examined. Emphasis was placed on examining the status of affirmative action policies in college admissions. Issues regarding equal opportunity provided the foundation for the conceptual frame of the study.
The study found that Pennsylvanias four-year institutions of higher education have historically operated within the full context of the law regarding affirmative action policy in college admissions. The study also examined; Access, Preparation, Admissibility, Affordability, and the Legal-Institutional implications of college access.
The survey methodology utilized a sample frame of 106 of the states 108 four-year institutions of higher education. In addition, two community colleges were included in the sample to review transferability of minority students to four-year institutions. The target group consisted of 120 Admissions Officers and Enrollment Managers from 106 Pennsylvania baccalaureate degree-granting institutions of higher education and 2 community colleges. The response rate for the survey was 98 of 120 equaling 82%.
The study found that Pennsylvania admissions officers perceived that minority students academic preparedness for four-year baccalaureate-degree study required significant improvement. These findings showed, that in spite of perceived academic shortcomings, the majority of the states four-year colleges and universities reported that minority students were generally admissible to their institutions.
Admissions officers reported that transferring minority students from two- to four-year schools to increase access was not a priority for their institutions. The findings also indicated that a significant number of admissions officers perceived that affordability and the cost of attendance at Pennsylvanias four-year institutions impeded minority students access to baccalaureate-degree study.
Based on the research findings, this study outlines several policy options for implementing affirmative action admissions practices and increasing four-year rates of college entry for Pennsylvania resident minority students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-03172006-110116 |
| Date | 27 April 2006 |
| Creators | Young, Eric DeWayne |
| Contributors | Dr. Thomas G. Zullo, Dr. Richard K. Seckinger, Dr. John C. Weidman, Dr. Glenn M. Nelson |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-03172006-110116/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds