2010 - Academic Success for STEM and Non-STEM Majors

Attribution: Whalen, Donald F., Shelley, Mack C., & II,
Researchers: Donald F. WhalenIIMack C. Shelley
University Affiliation: Iowa State University
Email:
Research Question:
1) What background characteristics, ability measures, financial support systems, and academic support mechanisms help explain retention and/or graduation for students in both STEM and non-STEM majors by the end of the sixth year? 2) Are the predictors of retention and/or graduation by the end of the sixth year different for STEM and non-STEM majors? 3) Are underrepresented students in STEM majors more likely than traditional students in STEM majors to be retained/graduated in six years when controlling for selected background, environmental, financial, and academic measures?
Published: Yes
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Journal of STEM Education
Journal Entry: Vol. 11, No. 1&2, Pp. 45-60
Year: 2010
Findings:

– Long-term retention/graduation is predicted significantly by cumulative grade point average, financial need, aid (work-study, loan, and gift), gender, ethnicity, years living on campus, high school rank (HSR), ACT composite, out-of-state residence, and STEM status.
– For students starting out in non-STEM majors, six-year graduation/retention also is predicted significantly by learning community participation and whether the student switches to a STEM major.
– Students who begin their undergraduate careers in a STEM major neither help nor hurt their chances for long-term graduation/retention success by choosing to remain with STEM or switching to a non-STEM major.
– Students who changed from STEM to non-STEM majors showed lesser ability (i.e., ACT composite and HSR) compared to those who did not change, and performed the least well of the four groups.
– Cumulative grade point average the final semester of enrollment was the strongest predictor of six-year retention and graduation, even when controlling for other variables in the equations.
– Students who are underrepresented in STEM fields (female or minority students) are significantly less likely to be retained or graduate with-in six years than to not graduate or be retained, compared to students who are the traditional STEM majors.

 

Scholarship Types: Journal Article Reporting Empirical ResearchKeywords: financial aidGenderPostsecondary EducationRaceRetentionSTEMRegions: MWMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Administrative DataAnalysis Methods: Descriptive StatisticsLogistic Regression Sampling Frame:Freshmen in college
Sampling Types: Non-Random - PurposiveAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Quantitative-Longitudinal
Data Description:

This study follows Astin’s I-E-O model by considering the “Input,” “Environment,” and “Output” variables related to student persistence through degree attainment. ‘Inputs’ refers to the characteristics of the student at the time of initial entry to the institution; ‘environment’ refers to the various programs, policies, faculty, peers, and educational experiences to which the student is exposed; and “outcomes” refers to the student’s characteristics after exposure to the environment.

This study examined full-time freshmen entering fall 2000 at a Midwestern research university with very high research activity and an enrollment of just over 20,000 undergraduate students. The population for the study included all first-time, full-time enrolled students (N = 4,271) in Fall 2000.

The DV was retention from the entry term (Fall 2000) through the sixth year or graduation prior to fall 2007. It was measured as a dichotomous variable.

Background characteristics in the model were: (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) in-state residency, (d) total high school language credits, (e) high school rank (HSR), and (f) ACT composite score. Environmental variables included: (a) the number of years the student lived on campus while enrolled, (b) membership in a University learning community, (c) average loan aid, (d) average gift aid, (e) average work study aid, (f) average budgeted need, and (g) major while at the University, including STEM or non-STEM delineation. They also included cumulative GPA in the last year of college.

Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:Factors Related to STEM Readiness
Archives: K-16 STEM Abstracts