Redefining College Reputation

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Thinking Outside the Box: Strategies for Supporting Inclusion and Diversity for Black Students (Table 8)

Abstract

While previous studies have examined college reputation and its influence on college choice, most studies have defined reputation as academic reputation. As a result, researchers have identified factors of academic reputation such as academic performance, college selectivity, and the overall impression of academic excellence to be significant factors in a student's college choice. However, academic reputation is only one way to define college reputation. Therefore, this study uses biodemographic questionnaires and individual interviews with 14 Black college students and graduates from 4-year colleges across the United States to determine if factors outside of academic reputation determine how Black students perceive college reputation. In addition, it evaluates where these perceptions come from and the impacts they have on Black student's college choice.

Author

• Kiana Foxx, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author