Making It to the End: Student and Institutional Characteristics Associated With Underrepresented Student Degree Completion

• In Event: Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: The Completion Agenda: Finding Different Pathways

Abstract

The gap in access to college for underrepresented racial/ethnic minority (URM) students has decreased in recent years, but completion rates have not. Using a national longitudinal dataset, this study will look at the student and institutional characteristics associated with six-year degree completion for URM students, disaggregating American Indian, Black, and Latina/o students in order to uniquely understand each group. The results of this study demonstrate that many student characteristics and behaviors are important to explaining persistence decisions of underrepresented students, and these student attributes are important for institutions to keep in mind when creating programs and implementing policies. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.

Authors

• Sylvia Hurtado, University of California - Los Angeles

• Adriana Ruiz Alvarado, University of California - Los Angeles