Retention and Graduation of Degree Partnership Students Preliminary Results Master’s Thesis Barbara Cormack May 19, 2006

Statement of the Research Problem is the seventh academic year of the OSU/Linn-Benton Degree Partnership Program Students in the DP Programs can fashion pathways that will lead to their success Core goals of the DP Programs are to improve access and student success in obtaining baccalaureate degrees

The Research Questions How do graduation and retention for OSU/LBCC DPP students compare to that for students in two other educational paths, vertical transfer students from LBCC and OSU freshman (native) students

The Research Questions What are the demographic and academic profiles of students in these three educational paths? Are there significant differences in the profiles of students in these three educational paths?

Highlights of Lit Review No research found in the literature specifically about OSU-type degree partnership programs Research on graduation and retention is confined to vertical transfer and native students Results of graduation & retention studies are mixed, either between studies or within studies (between cohorts)

Highlights of Lit Review Compared research designs Looked at factors that other researchers found significant related to retention and graduation, both in institution-specific studies and in national or state student-specific studies

Definitions A native student is one who initially and exclusively enrolls as a freshman at Oregon State University and remains at that institution throughout the student’s tenure in higher education at the baccalaureate level.

Populations OSU Native Students (Freshmen) – Matriculated either summer or fall term of 1999, 2000 or 2001 – Did not later become a DPP student – Do not have courses on their transcripts from any school other than OSU except for AP or courses taken while still in high school

Definitions A vertical transfer student is one who initially and exclusively enrolls at Linn-Benton Community College as a freshman and remains at that institution until the student transfers to Oregon State University. Once at OSU, the student remains at that institution throughout the student’s remaining tenure in higher education at the baccalaureate level.

Populations OSU/LBCC Transfer Students – Selected through OSU student records – First cut was students admitted to OSU as transfer students who had courses on their transcripts from LBCC – Narrowed to students who ONLY had OSU and LBCC coursework except for AP or other courses taken while in high school – Never became a DPP student – Earliest LBCC courses were summer or fall 1999, 2000 or 2001 – appeared to have been admitted to LBCC at that time

Definitions A degree partnership student is one who is initially admitted as a freshman to the degree partnership program between Oregon State University and Linn-Benton Community College. The student remains at that pair of institutions throughout the student’s tenure in higher education at the baccalaureate level.

Populations OSU/LBCC Degree Partnership Program Students – Admitted as OSU/LBCC DPP freshmen for Fall 1999, 2000 or 2001 – Do not have courses on their transcripts from any school other than OSU or LBCC except for AP or courses taken while still in high school

Definitions Populations to be studied include students who matriculated summer/fall 1999, 2000 and 2001 in each of the three educational paths.

Definitions Graduation indicates that the student earned a baccalaureate degree at Oregon State University between June 2000 and September 2005.

Definitions Retention indicates that the student has not yet earned a baccalaureate degree, but that the student was enrolled for at least one term during the academic year (June 2004 through June 2005) at either or both Linn-Benton Community College and Oregon State University for degree partnership students or at OSU for native and vertical transfer students.

Definitions Demographic Profile: Gender Ethnicity Age Residency

Definitions Academic Profile: # credits developmental coursework # math courses # science courses College/Major # transfer credits # credits earned at OSU Cum GPA Part-time or full-time student # terms stopped out

The Hypothesis The null hypothesis for this study is that there is no difference in the graduation and retention for students in the three educational paths of DPP, vertical transfer and native students. The directional hypothesis is:

Status of Results P-R-E-L-I-M-I-N-A-R-Y spells ?

Populations-Samples

Demographics of Samples

Graduation Retention Summary

Graduation Summary

Graduation and Retention Factors:

Challenges Ahead for Thesis Develop academic profiles Test for statistical significance Analyze, analyze, analyze! –

Barbara Cormack OSU Financial Aid Advisor College Student Services Administration Master’s Student