Dissertation writing help - The Influence of Pre-College Interventions

Custom Dissertation Writing Service on the Influence of Pre-College Interventions on Underrepresented Minority Student Persistence and Graduation

Institutions of higher education are concerned about the academic achievement difference between underrepresented minority students' retention and graduation and that of White students. The principle of this study is to analyze the influence that pre-college participation plays in the persistence of underrepresented minority students at a comprehensive institution in the Midwest. The major research questions in this study are: do pre-college interventions influence the intent-to-persist, persistence, and graduation of underrepresented minority students at a comprehensive Midwestern university?

In the context of this study, intent-to-persist is measured as retention to the second year, while persistence is measured as retention to the third year. Graduation is defined as completion of a bachelor's degree within six years of enrolling in college. The rationale for the study is that pre-college programs play a critical role in providing underrepresented minority students with access to higher education. These programs strengthen academic skills and performance in order to keep students in school and provide the exposure needed to ease their transition from high school to college. It is hypothesize that underrepresented minority students who have had pre-college experiences have higher intent-to-persist, persistence, and graduation than underrepresented minority students who have not had pre-college experiences.

This quantitative research study will use logistic regression to explore the relationship between a set of nine factors (independent variables) and student success at a medium sized Midwestern four-year University. The factors are clustered into two categories representing entering characteristics and pre-college experiences. In this study, student success is defined as retention to the second year, retention to the third year, and graduation within six years. A database of underrepresented minority students that entered the Midwestern University between 1998 and 2005 will be utilized. The database population consisted of individuals who enrolled over an eight year period at a medium sized four year campus.