Factors influencing probability of graduation at Tennessee Board of Regents four-year institutions

Patricia S Wall, Tennessee State University

Abstract

This study examined factors that might influence the probability that undergraduate students attending Tennessee Board of Regents four-year universities will graduate within six years. Factors considered included gender, ethnicity, Enhanced ACT Composite score, and high school grade point average. These factors were examined independently and in combination, in order to determine whether a relationship might exits between any of the factors and the probability of a student completing a baccalaureate degree within six years. The subjects of the study were members of the first-year freshman cohort entering fall semester 1996, who graduated within six years throughout the Tennessee Board of Regents' system of six four-year universities. The Board of Regents provided historical data for this study; actual subjects were not recruited. Utilizing StatView and SPSS software, t-tests, ANOVAs, chi-square tests and logistic regressions were used to test for statistical differences and estimate relationships between variables. Many researchers have found that the best predictors of baccalaureate degree completion to be the ACT Composite score and high school grade point average. The results of this study generally agree. Further research is needed to determine if this is true for associate degree completion at two-year institutions in the Board of Regents system.

Subject Area

Educational administration|Higher education

Recommended Citation

Patricia S Wall, "Factors influencing probability of graduation at Tennessee Board of Regents four-year institutions" (2004). ETD Collection for Tennessee State University. Paper AAI3127550.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3127550

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