Comparing Postsecondary Enrollment and Persistence Among Rural and Nonrural Students in Oregon

• In Event: Studies of Rural Students' College Enrollment and Persistence in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Indiana

Abstract

This study examined postsecondary enrollment patterns and persistence among rural and nonrural high school students in Oregon. Specifically, the study team looked at how the postsecondary outcomes of college enrollment, enrollment timing, and persistence varied by student characteristics and whether students enrolled and later persisted in a two- or four-year postsecondary institution. The study included data on students who were in grade 9 in 2005, 2006, or 2007 and who graduated or left high school between 2005 and 2012. Key findings include:
Enrollment
• Rural students were less likely than nonrural students to enroll in postsecondary education at any time after high school (see figure 1).
• Across all achievement levels (as measured by statewide assessment scores), rural students had lower likelihood of postsecondary enrollment than non-rural students.
• Rural male, Black, and Asian students were less likely than their nonrural counterparts to enroll in postsecondary education, while rural Hispanic students were more likely than their nonrural counterparts to enroll.
Enrollment timing
• Rural and nonrural students were equally likely to enroll immediately in postsecondary education (that is, to enroll in college in the term after exiting high school, typically the fall).
• Students who did not enroll accounted for the largest share of rural students, while students who enrolled immediately accounted for the largest share of nonrural students.
• Rural Black students were less likely than their nonrural counterparts to enroll immediately in postsecondary education.
• A larger percentage of rural students than nonrural students enrolled immediately in a two-year public in-state postsecondary institution.
• Among community college students, rural recipients of loans were less likely than nonrural recipients of loans to enroll immediately in postsecondary education.
Persistence
• Rural students were less likely than nonrural students to persist to the second year of college (see figure 2).
• At all types of two- and four-year institutions—private, public, in-state, and out-of-state—rural students had lower rates of persistence to the second year of college than nonrural students.
• Across all levels of high school achievement, rural students persisted in college at lower rates than nonrural students.
• Among all students, those who received financial aid were more likely than their counterparts who did not receive financial aid to persist in college; the relationship between financial aid and persistence was similar for rural and nonrural students.
• For most community college students, passing the first college-level math or writing course in a sequence was not associated with an increased likelihood of persisting.
These findings imply that to fulfill the state’s goal of having 80 percent of its high school graduates earn a postsecondary degree or credential by 2025, Oregon stakeholders should examine postsecondary education outcomes for rural students, who seem to be at a disadvantage for postsecondary success, as well as for nonrural students. Given rural students’ lower overall college enrollment and persistence rates (see figures 1 and 2), they may need additional supports. The differences between rural and nonrural students in the results of this study can inform efforts to target college enrollment interventions, policies, and programs to rural students.

Authors

• Ashley Pierson, Education Northwest

• Havala Hanson, Education Northwest