Four and Six-Year Baccalaureate Degree Completion by Institutional Characteristics and Racial/Ethnic Groups

Abstract

This study examined how institutional and environmental attributes of the undergraduate institution facilitate or impede African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Mexican American students' baccalaureate degree attainment four and six years after college entry. The primary data source for this study was generated from a national survey of 63,640 first-time full-time freshman undergraduates at 303 colleges and universities. Variables that predict uniformly for all four groups include school grades (positive), on campus residence (positive), private control (positive), institutional size (negative), institutional selectivity (positive), and peer socioeconomic level (positive). Once these variables are controlled, standardized test scores add very little to the prediction of degree completion. Consistent with stated hypotheses, all five structural dimensions of the institution—mission, size, quality/selectivity, complexity/diversity, and wealth—affect degree completion.