Up or Out Systems? Majors, Path Flexibility, and College Attainment

• In Event: Assessing Student Progress and Attainment

Abstract

We theorize that college students’ persistence decisions are shaped, in part, by how flexible they perceive the pathways-to-graduation available through their chosen major. Using a novel measure of path homogeneity—the extent to which two students who are both declared in the same major take the same courses in the same sequence, averaged across eight semesters—we test if early exposure to a path homogenous (inflexible) major is associated with a lower likelihood of graduating. Our findings show that path homogeneity is a distinct feature of a student’s context that depresses the likelihood of graduation, especially for students with average and below-average academic preparation. Together, these findings raise questions about the role of the major in retention and degree attainment.

Authors

• Lindsay Jarratt, University of Iowa
  Presenting Author

• Freda B. Lynn, University of Iowa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yongren Shi, University of Iowa
  Non-Presenting Author

• Katharine Broton, University of Iowa
  Non-Presenting Author