IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/reihed/v58y2017i2d10.1007_s11162-016-9420-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rethinking Graduation and Time to Degree: A Fresh Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Hongtao Yue

    (California State University, Fresno)

  • Xuanning Fu

    (California State University, Fresno)

Abstract

Graduation and time to degree are paramount concerns in higher education today and have caught the attention of policy makers, educators and researchers in recent years. However, our understanding is limited regarding the factors related to graduation and time to degree beyond students’ pre-college characteristics (demographics and academic preparation), especially how student decision and performance in college affect their graduation. This study employs longitudinal data and applies event history analysis to track 12,096 first-time freshmen in a large public university from 2002 to 2014. Students’ academic progress is conceptualized into eight time-dependent variables whose values change over time, including major status (major change, double majors/minors and major declaration), enrollment intensity (enrolled term units and extra enrollment), and academic performance (term GPA, cumulative units and cumulative GPA). Discrete-time hazard models were used to answer the following question: beyond pre-college characteristics, what aspects of students’ decisions on majors and enrollment and their performance affect graduation and time to degree? The findings reveal that academic performance is the most important factor, followed by students’ decisions on majors (such as having double majors/minors). Pre-college characteristics only accounted for a very small proportion of the total variance after students’ performance and decisions are controlled. The study goes further in investigating how the effects of these factors change over time by enrolled terms.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongtao Yue & Xuanning Fu, 2017. "Rethinking Graduation and Time to Degree: A Fresh Perspective," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(2), pages 184-213, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:58:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s11162-016-9420-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-016-9420-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11162-016-9420-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11162-016-9420-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pietro Garibaldi & Francesco Giavazzi & Andrea Ichino & Enrico Rettore, 2012. "College Cost and Time to Complete a Degree: Evidence from Tuition Discontinuities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(3), pages 699-711, August.
    2. Kenneth A. Feldman & John C. Smart & Corinna A. Ethington, 1999. "Major Field and Person-Environment Fit," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(6), pages 642-669, November.
    3. John Bound & Michael F. Lovenheim & Sarah Turner, 2012. "Increasing Time to Baccalaureate Degree in the United States," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 7(4), pages 375-424, September.
    4. John Bound & Michael F. Lovenheim & Sarah Turner, 2010. "Why Have College Completion Rates Declined? An Analysis of Changing Student Preparation and Collegiate Resources," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 129-157, July.
    5. Linda Serra Hagedorn & William E. Maxwell & Scott Cypers & Hye Sun Moon & Jaime Lester, 2007. "Course Shopping in Urban Community Colleges: An Analysis of Student Drop and Add Activities," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(4), pages 464-485, July.
    6. Stephen L. DesJardins & Dennis A. Ahlburg & Brian P. McCall, 2002. "Simulating the Longitudinal Effects of Changes in Financial Aid on Student Departure from College," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(3), pages 653-679.
    7. Peter Arcidiacono & Esteban Aucejo & Ken Spenner, 2012. "What happens after enrollment? An analysis of the time path of racial differences in GPA and major choice," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ibrahim Bicak & Lauren Schudde & Kristina Flores, 2023. "Predictors and Consequences of Math Course Repetition: The Role of Horizontal and Vertical Repetition in Success Among Community College Transfer Students," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(2), pages 260-299, March.
    2. Vivian Liu & Soumya Mishra & Elizabeth M. Kopko, 2021. "Major Decision: The Impact of Major Switching on Academic Outcomes in Community Colleges," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(4), pages 498-527, June.
    3. John M Aiken & Riccardo De Bin & Morten Hjorth-Jensen & Marcos D Caballero, 2020. "Predicting time to graduation at a large enrollment American university," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-28, November.
    4. Serge Atherwood & Gabriela Sánchez-Soto, 2023. "Does Social Class Matter Equally for the Timely Transition Into and Out of College? Evidence from the NLSY97," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(1), pages 95-128, February.
    5. Phipps, Aaron & Amaya, Alexander, 2023. "Are students time constrained? Course load, GPA, and failing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    6. Ching-Hui Lin & Jyun-Hong Chen & Eric S. Lin & C. Owen Lo, 2022. "The Effects of College Student Experience on Degree Aspirations for Graduate Education," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, August.
    7. Nick Huntington-Klein & Andrew Gill, 2021. "Semester Course Load and Student Performance," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(5), pages 623-650, August.
    8. Jasmin Meyer & Kathrin Leuze & Susanne Strauss, 2022. "Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(2), pages 222-247, March.
    9. Miguel BAIÃO & Edviges COELHO & Isabel DUARTE & Maciej CHRZANOWSKI, 2022. "Assessing Socioeconomic Variables in HRM Individual Academic Performance," Management Research and Practice, Research Centre in Public Administration and Public Services, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 14(3), pages 70-83, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bietenbeck, Jan & Leibing, Andreas & Marcus, Jan & Weinhardt, Felix, 2023. "Tuition fees and educational attainment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Andrews, Rodney J. & Imberman, Scott A. & Lovenheim, Michael F., 2020. "Recruiting and supporting low-income, high-achieving students at flagship universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Aina, Carmen & Baici, Eliana & Casalone, Giorgia & Pastore, Francesco, 2018. "The Economics of University Dropouts and Delayed Graduation: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 11421, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. John Bound & Michael F. Lovenheim & Sarah Turner, 2012. "Increasing Time to Baccalaureate Degree in the United States," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 7(4), pages 375-424, September.
    5. Denning, Jeffrey T. & Eide, Eric R. & Mumford, Kevin J. & Sabey, Daniel J., 2022. "Decreasing time to baccalaureate degree in the United States," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Emanuela Ghignoni, 2015. "Family background and university dropouts during the crisis: the case of Italy," Working Papers in Public Economics 169, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    7. Aina, Carmen & Baici, Eliana & Casalone, Giorgia & Pastore, Francesco, 2022. "The determinants of university dropout: A review of the socio-economic literature," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Jeffrey T. Denning, 2019. "Born under a Lucky Star: Financial Aid, College Completion, Labor Supply, and Credit Constraints," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 760-784.
    9. Agar Brugiavini & Carlo Carraro & Matija Kovacic, 2014. "Academic Achievements: Grades versus Duration," Working Papers 2014:13, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    10. Jason M. Lindo & Nicholas J. Sanders & Philip Oreopoulos, 2010. "Ability, Gender, and Performance Standards: Evidence from Academic Probation," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 95-117, April.
    11. Eaton, C. & Kulkarni, K. & Birgeneau, Robert & Brady, Henry & Hout, Michael, 2017. "AFFORDING THE DREAM: Student Debt and State Need-Based Grant Aid for Public University Students," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt24j8945b, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    12. Michael S. Kofoed, 2022. "Pell Grants and Labor Supply: Evidence from a Regression Kink," Upjohn Working Papers 22-363, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    13. Joshua Goodman & Oded Gurantz & Jonathan Smith, 2020. "Take Two! SAT Retaking and College Enrollment Gaps," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 115-158, May.
    14. Paul Attewell & David Monaghan, 2016. "How Many Credits Should an Undergraduate Take?," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(6), pages 682-713, September.
    15. Eaton, Charlie & Kulkarni, Sheisha & Birgeneau, Robert & Brady, Henry & Hout, Michael, 2017. "AFFORDING THE DREAM: Student Debt and State Need-Based Grant Aid for Public University Students," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt093215zt, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    16. Carmen Aina & Francesco Pastore, 2020. "Delayed Graduation and Overeducation in Italy: A Test of the Human Capital Model Versus the Screening Hypothesis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(2), pages 533-553, November.
    17. Christian Belzil & Jörgen Hansen, 2020. "The evolution of the US family income–schooling relationship and educational selectivity," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 841-859, November.
    18. Lusher, Lester & Campbell, Doug & Carrell, Scott, 2018. "TAs like me: Racial interactions between graduate teaching assistants and undergraduates," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 203-224.
    19. Rodney J. Andrews & John Thompson, 2017. "Earning your CAP: A Comprehensive Analysis of The University of Texas System's Coordinated Admissions Program," NBER Working Papers 23442, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Hinrichs, Peter, 2014. "Affirmative action bans and college graduation rates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 43-52.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:58:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s11162-016-9420-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.