Understanding college degree completion of students with low socioeconomic status: The Influence of the Institutional Financial Context

Using national survey data, multilevel modeling techniques, and descriptive statistics, this study makes an effort to understand the influence of the financial context of institutions on the chance of college completion for low socioeconomic status (SES) students at four-year colleges and universities. This research shows that college completion is positively associated with an institution’s tuition revenue as a percent of total revenue and educational and general expenditures per full-time equivalent student. This study also documents that, compared to high SES students, low SES students are disproportionately enrolled in institutions with lower levels of financial resources and higher dependence on tuition as a source of total revenue. The results of this research have implications for policy with regard to addressing the chances of college completion for low SES students.

[1]  R. Rumberger,et al.  The Distribution of Dropout and Turnover Rates among Urban and Suburban High Schools. , 2000 .

[2]  Marvin A. Titus,et al.  Understanding the Influence of the Financial Context of Institutions on Student Persistence at Four-Year Colleges and Universities , 2006 .

[3]  W. Scott,et al.  Institutions and Organizations. , 1995 .

[4]  Kurt R. Burkum,et al.  Pathways to a Four-Year Degree: Determinants of Degree Completion among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students. , 2003 .

[5]  P. Bourdieu.  Forms of Capital , 2002 .

[6]  Gordon Vinston,et al.  Subsidies, hierarchy and peers: the awkward economics of higher education , 2005 .

[7]  B. Loasby.  The External Control of Organizations. A Resource Dependence Perspective , 1979 .

[8]  J. F. Ryan,et al.  The Relationship Between Institutional Expenditures and Degree Attainment at Baccalaureate Colleges , 2004 .

[9]  Michael B. Paulsen,et al.  The nexus between college choice and persistence , 1996 .

[10]  D. Zimmerman,et al.  Peer Effects in Higher Education , 2003 .

[11]  Yuk Fai Cheong,et al.  HLM 6: Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling , 2000 .

[12]  Marvin A. Titus.  An Examination of the Influence of Institutional Context on Student Persistence at 4-Year Colleges and Universities: A Multilevel Approach , 2004 .

[13]  S. He,et al.  Descriptive Summary of 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Six Years Later. Statistical Analysis Report. , 2002 .

[14]  The High-Status Track: Studies of Elite Schools and Stratification , 1990 .

[15]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences , 1979 .

[16]  M. McPherson,et al.  The Student Aid Game: Meeting Need and Rewarding Talent in American Higher Education , 1997 .

[17]  Michael Goold.  Designing Effective Organizations , 2002 .

[18]  Daniel J. Pratt,et al.  Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study First Follow-up 1996-98 (BPS:96/98) Methodology Report. , 2000 .

[19]  Tak-Shing Harry So,et al.  The Use and Interpretation of Logistic Regression in Higher Education Journals: 1988–1999 , 2002 .

[20]  Alberto F. Cabrera,et al.  Exploring the Effects of Student Aid on Attrition , 1986, Journal of Student Financial Aid.

[21]  L. G. Hrebiniak,et al.  Organizational Adaptation: Strategic Choice and Environmental Determinism. , 1985 .

[22]  Marvin A. Titus,et al.  Understanding Differences in the Choice of College Attended: The Role of State Public Policies , 2004 .

[23]  L. Bolman,et al.  Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. Jossey-Bass Management Series, Social and Behavioral Science Series, and Higher and Adult Education Series. , 1991 .

[24]  A. Astin.  What matters in college? : four critical years revisited , 1994 .

[25]  C. Hoxby.  Introduction to "College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go, and How to Pay For It" , 2004 .

[26]  Richard D. Kahlenberg.  Economic Affirmative Action in College Admissions: A Progressive Alternative to Racial Preferences and Class Rank Admissions Plans. Issue Brief Series. , 2003 .

[27]  J. Coleman,et al.  Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital , 1988, American Journal of Sociology.

[28]  C. Ethington.  A psychological model of student persistence , 1990 .

[29]  Donald E. Heller.  Condition of Access: Higher Education for Lower Income Students , 2005 .

[30]  M. Chang.  Does Racial Diversity Matter?: The Educational Impact of a Racially Diverse Undergraduate Population. , 1999 .

[31]  Gary Rhoades,et al.  Rising Administrative Costs: Seeking Explanations , 1995 .

[32]  Edward P. St. John,et al.  The Financial Nexus Between College Choice and Persistence , 1997 .

[33]  Russell W. Rumberger,et al.  Dropping Out of Middle School: A Multilevel Analysis of Students and Schools , 1995 .

[34]  W. Vélez,et al.  Access to and Opportunity in Postsecondary Education in the United States: A Review. , 1996 .

[35]  D. Conley,et al.  Being Black, Living in the Red: Race, Wealth, and Social Policy in America. , 1999 .

[36]  Amy J. Orr.  Black-White Differences in Achievement: The Importance of Wealth. , 2003 .

[37]  W. S. Swail,et al.  Retaining Minority Students in Higher Education: A Framework for Success. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. , 2003 .

[38]  E. John,et al.  Public funding of higher education : changing contexts and new rationales , 2004 .

[39]  MaryBeth Walpole,et al.  Socioeconomic Status and College: How SES Affects College Experiences and Outcomes , 2003 .

[40]  Richard D. Kahlenberg.  America's untapped resource : low-income students in higher education , 2004 .

[41]  D. Conley.  Capital for college: Parental assets and postsecondary schooling , 2001 .

[42]  Larry L. Leslie,et al.  The development and current status of market mechanisms in United States postsecondary education , 1997 .

[43]  Preface a , 1992 .

[44]  Gordon C. Winston,et al.  Saving, Wealth, Performance, and Revenues in U.S. Colleges and Universities , 2004 .

[45]  A. Astin.  Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. , 1999 .

[46]  J. C. Smart,et al.  Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research , 2001, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research.

[47]  Anthony P. Carnevale,et al.  Socioeconomic Status, Race/Ethnicity, and Selective College Admissions. A Century Foundation Paper. , 2003 .

[48]  A. Scott,et al.  On Chi-Squared Tests for Multiway Contingency Tables with Cell Proportions Estimated from Survey Data , 1984 .

[49]  Henry Mintzberg,et al.  Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations , 1983 .

[50]  Gary Rhoades,et al.  Sponsored Research Versus Graduating Students? Intervening Variables and Unanticipated Findings in Public Research Universities , 2003 .

[51]  P. Terenzini,et al.  Swimming Against the Tide: The Poor in American Higher Education , 2001 .

[52]  G. Becker,et al.  Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis , 1962, Journal of Political Economy.

[53]  J. Richardson.  Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education , 1986 .

[54]  J. Gill.  Hierarchical Linear Models , 2005 .

[55]  Barbara Gray,et al.  Testing a Model of Organizational Response to Social and Political Issues , 1994 .

[56]  J. Francis,et al.  Resourceful Responses: The Adaptive Research University and the Drive To Market. , 1999 .

[57]  Elazar J. Pedhazur,et al.  Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach , 1994 .

[58]  Lawrence M. Spizman,et al.  Race, Financial Aid Awards and college Attendance , 1994 .

[59]  Jerlando F. L. Jackson,et al.  The Declining "Equity" of American Higher Education , 2004 .

[60]  Huseyin Leblebici.  New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects , 1999 .

[61]  Mary Stuart Hunter,et al.  Solid Foundations: Building Success for First-Year Seminars through Instructor Training and Development. Monograph Series, Number 29. , 1999 .