The RelationshipS (Plural) Between Student Diversity and Graduation Rates

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Division J Poster Session: Policy, Finance, and Economics

Abstract

Institutions of higher education face a number of important challenges, among them the need to raise college completion rates and expand student diversity. In this study, I used updated institution-level panel data and a fixed-effects model to determine whether changes in student diversity (broadly defined) lead to changes in graduation rates. I measured student diversity for race, gender, attendance, parental education, ACT scores, and residency based on the evenness of students within each attribute. The results show that institutions have, on average, become more racially diverse over time. In addition, as institutions have become more diverse with regard to race, parental education, part-time status, and ACT scores, graduation rates have fallen.

Author

• Robert Kevin Toutkoushian, University of Georgia