Effects of Student Body Racial and Ethnic Demographics on Community College Student Persistence: A Correlational Inferential Study

  1. Student body diversity in community colleges was found to promote student persistence.
  2. Student race or ethnicity was also found to affect persistence contingent upon student body racial and ethnic composition.
  3. Asian student persistence did not appear to be affected by the racial and ethnic composition of the colleges they attended. White students experienced a positive effect on persistence at colleges with no predominant population. Hispanic students experienced the greatest negative effect on persistence among all groups when they attended predominantly Hispanic colleges. Black students experienced less negative effects than Hispanics at institutions with predominant populations of Black or Hispanic students than they did when attending colleges with no predominant population.
  4. Student academic preparation and access to financial aid were confirmed as consistent predictors of student persistence.
  5. The larger effects of background characteristics and preparation on persistence recommend a greater emphasis on active engagement with students to increase college effects on student persistence.
  6. Racial and ethnic student body demographics did not affect student engagement patterns as strongly as they affected persistence.
  7. Higher percentages of Black or Hispanic students in college predicted modest increases in engagement while the percentage of Asian students did not predict engagement. Small differences between the ways in which Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students engaged were also identified.
  8. Students of any racial or ethnic background were found to be less persistent the larger the percentage of Asian, Black, or Hispanic students.
  9. The data show that student body racial and ethnic composition is a stronger predictor of student persistence than individual student racial or ethnic background.
  10. The data indicate not just a difference in the level of persistence between students from the different racial and ethnic groups but also a difference in how they persist. A broad interpretation is that Black and Hispanic Students exhibit a disadvantage in persistence, White students appear to persist only when excluding completion, and Asian students only exhibit an advantage over the other groups when completion is considered, the opposite of White students.
  11. The evidence of effects on student outcomes at predominantly minority community colleges necessitates greater understanding of social normative systems to update theoretical models developed for predominantly White four- year institutions.