How Did the Students Cross the Stage? The Relationship of Demographic Factors on Early Selection of College Major
Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Student retention is a highly researched topic studied for many decades, but low retention of college students still exists today. As more states move to success-based funding formulas, it is more important than ever for higher education institutions to increase retention efforts (Swecker, 2011). Colleges and universities launch programs trying to combat and improve retention deficits. Research reveals that student engagement, academic advising, demographics, socioeconomic factors, and early selection of major within the first academic year play a role in retention. The purpose of this study is to determine if early selection of major relates to the demographic factors of gender, ethnicity, age, first-generation college student, and Pell-eligibility. This study is a nonexperimental, descriptive research design utilizing the chi-square test of independence and binary logistic regression. Results indicate gender is independent of early selection of major, while ethnicity, age, and Pell-eligibility are dependent of early selection of major. The researcher was unable to analyze first-generation college student due to lack of data available.
Author: Christy Lea Riddle
Institution: University of Southern Mississippi
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2189574463