Factors influencing the completion of a program at Tennessee Technology Centers
Abstract
This multi-institutional study examined a number of factors regarded by other educators, researcher, and policy makers as influencing retention and program completion. The purpose of this study was to determine if any differences exist between a student's age, gender, ethnicity, enrollment status, prior educational level, and the size of institution attended and the student completing a full-time program at a Tennessee Technology Center with a certificate or diploma. The subjects of the study were students who enrolled for the first time in a full-time program in the Fall of 2001. Students were tracked for a two-year period to determine their completion status. A forward logistic regression analysis was used to determine if any of these variables were significant predictors of completion. Chi-square tests of independence were used to determine if any significant differences existed in the age, gender, ethnicity, enrollment status, prior educational level, and the size of institution attended by the student and completion of a program. The findings of this study revealed that a student's enrollment status and ethnicity, as well as the size of the Center attended, were significant predictors of completion. In addition, the results indicated that a significant difference existed in the enrollment status, ethnicity, and size of institution attended of students who completed a program. The study did not show a significant difference in the completion of students of different ages, genders, or prior educational levels. The findings of this study indicated that students of Black-non Hispanic origin did not complete as often as other ethnicities, and that White-non Hispanic students were more likely to complete a program than students of other ethnicities. Full-time students were more likely to complete than part-time students. The study also indicated that students who attended Centers with FTEs between 300–499 were more likely to complete than students who attended schools with FTEs greater than 500 and less than 300.
Subject Area
Vocational education|Community colleges
Recommended Citation
Myra West,
"Factors influencing the completion of a program at Tennessee Technology Centers"
(2005).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3167783.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3167783