Research in Higher Education,Gender and Race Differences in Salary for Doctoral Degree Recipients,Postsecondary Vocational Education

• Not Equal for All: Gender and Race Differences in Salary for Doctoral Degree Recipients

  2015-11-01 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Despite a recent increase in women and racial/ethnic minorities in U.S. postsecondary education, doctoral recipients from these groups report lower salaries than male and majority peers. With a longitudinal sample of approximately 10,000 respondents from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients, this study adds to the limited literature examining the effects of discipline, sector of employment, personal traits (e.g., marital status and number of children), and the interaction of gender and race on annual salary over the decade after degree completion, 1999–2008. Multilevel growth models reveal greater gaps in salary for women compared to men across all race/ethnic groups. The greatest rate of return was found for Asian respondents regardless of gender, and minority males had better returns than White male peers conditional on marriage. Implications for career choice, career paths, and the need for policies that address gender and race equity are discussed.
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• Effectiveness of Vocational High Schools in Students’ Access to and Persistence in Postsecondary Vocational Education

  2015-11-01 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Vocational education is increasingly seen as a viable path to higher education and not simply a direct route to the labor market. This paper studies the relationship between the secondary school track attended by Chilean students (vocational or academic) and their subsequent outcomes in access to and persistence in postsecondary vocational programs. Although it is expected that vocational students will display lower access to higher education programs, due to their less intense curriculum and the generally non-academic environment of their schools, their performance in post-secondary vocational programs is unclear. Field-specific knowledge and vocational maturity could improve the performance of students from secondary vocational education backgrounds. Our analysis uses propensity score matching to reduce selection bias and determine causal relationships. It also utilizes sensitivity analysis to check for the robustness of results. The findings reveal that, indeed, vocational students have lower rates of access and persistence than academic ones. Students who change fields between secondary and postsecondary education have the lowest persistence levels. We also found that vocational students have lower probabilities of access to higher education funding, and higher probabilities of enrolling in evening classes. Thus, when controlling for these two characteristics, we found that students who continue in the same vocational field between secondary and postsecondary levels had a better performance than students with an academic background. These findings may suggest that vocational students require greater support in order to increase their probabilities of success in higher education.
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• Student-Peer Ability Match and Declining Educational Aspirations in College

  2015-11-01 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  The match between a student’s academic ability and the academic ability of the student’s peers has been found to exert influence on student educational aspirations. Research on this has garnered mixed results with some finding that students whose peers have higher ability are more likely to develop a poor self-concept and lower their academic aspirations and others finding the opposite, that more able peer increase motivation and aspirations overall. While the effects of peer and student ability match on the educational aspirations of elementary and secondary students have received attention in recent years, these effects have largely been neglected in postsecondary education. In this study, I use recent postsecondary student data to see how the difference between the student’s SAT score and the mean institutional SAT affects the likelihood of the student experiencing a decrease in educational aspirations post college entry. Findings indicate that students whose scores are below the mean institutional SAT and who are attending less selective institutions are more likely to experience a decrease in future educational aspirations post college entry than students whose SAT scores are above the mean. However, students attending more selective institutions are protected from this effect, likely because of greater selection in admissions at more selective postsecondary institutions.
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• Increasing Success Rates in Developmental Math: The Complementary Role of Individual and Institutional Characteristics

  2015-11-01 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This study tracks students’ progression through developmental math sequences and defines progression as both attempting and passing each level of the sequence. A model of successful progression in developmental education was built utilizing individual-, institutional-, and developmental math-level factors. Employing step-wise logistic regression models, we found that while each additional step improves model fit, the largest proportion of variance is explained by individual-level characteristics, and more variance is explained in attempting each level than passing that level. We identify specific individual and institutional factors associated with higher attempt (e.g., Latino) and passing rates (e.g., small class size) in the different courses of the developmental math trajectory. These findings suggest that colleges should implement programs and policies to increase attempt rates in developmental courses in order to increase passing rates of the math pre-requisite courses for specific certificates, associate degrees or transfer.
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• Belonging and Academic Engagement Among Undergraduate STEM Students: A Multi-institutional Study

  2015-11-01 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This study examined the links between multiple levels of belonging and forms of behavioral and emotional engagement among STEM undergraduates in five geographically and culturally distinct institutions in the United States. Data were gathered from a survey specifically designed to capture the links between these key elements of the undergraduate experience. Results from over 1500 student participants in the survey clearly supported the importance of belonging for behavioral and emotional engagement in STEM courses when measured in the context of the classroom. The most consistent and significant links among models for the five participating institutions occurred between belonging at the class level and positive emotional engagement, while the least frequent and least consistent occurred between belonging to the university and all forms of engagement. Patterns of association to engagement were also similar for belonging and self-efficacy. The results of this study confirm the importance of belonging in the STEM classroom context and provide additional insights into the concurrent importance of self-efficacy in supporting student engagement. These results also demonstrate that belonging is a distinct attribute related to engagement and is not simply reducible to feelings of self-efficacy.
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• Examining the Impact of a Highly Targeted State Administered Merit Aid Program on Brain Drain: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Analysis of Missouri’s Bright Flight Program

  2015-10-15 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  The adoption of state-funded merit-based aid programs has become increasingly popular among policy-makers, particularly in the southeastern part of the United States. One of the primary rationales of state-funded merit-based aid is to provide scholarships to the best and brightest students as a means to retain high quality human capital in the state’s labor market. Previous literature largely examines the link between state-funded merit-based aid and instate college enrollment, but it has not extensively examined the link between state-administered merit aid and subsequent instate labor market participation. In this study, we use statewide administrative datasets to estimate the effects of Missouri’s Bright Flight Scholarship program, a highly targeted state administered merit aid program, on future instate employment. Using a regression discontinuity approach on the intent to treat, we find that having the opportunity to participate in the Bright Flight Scholarship program has a positive impact on the likelihood of working in the state 8 years after high school graduation. Overall, this study provides evidence that highly targeted state-funded merit-based financial aid programs may have a positive impact on reducing state brain drain.
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• Should Community College Students Earn an Associate Degree Before Transferring to a 4-Year Institution?

  2015-10-13 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Using data on over 41,000 students in one state who entered community college before transferring to a 4-year institution, this study examines the following question: Are community college students who earn an associate degree before transferring to a 4-year college more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree? Due to the causal nature surrounding this question we employ several strategies to minimize selection bias, including the use of propensity score matching. Analysis reveals large, positive apparent impacts of earning the transfer-oriented associate degrees (i.e., Associate in Arts and Associate in Science) on the probability of earning a bachelor’s degree within 6 years. We do not find any apparent impacts associated with earning one of the workforce-oriented degrees (i.e., Associate in Applied Science) that are awarded by programs typically designed for direct labor market entry. This is an important distinction, as all associate degrees are not equal in their potential impacts on future baccalaureate completion.
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• Which Peers Matter: How Social Ties Affect Peer-group Effects

  2015-10-07 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  We study how the achievements of university students are influenced by the characteristics and achievements of peers in individuals’ social networks. Defining peer group in terms of friendship and study partner ties enables us to apply a network regression model and thereby disentangle the influence of peers’ performance from that of peers’ background. We find significant positive peer effects via the academic achievements of friends and study partners. Students’ grades increase with the abilities of study partners, who may or may not also be friends; no such effect is observed for friends who are not also study partners. Additionally, the effects of the abilities of other classmates are found to be insignificant. The results support the claim that peer influence acts mainly through knowledge-sharing channels between students who are connected by social ties.
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• Does Holding a Postdoctoral Position Bring Benefits for Advancing to Academia?

  2015-10-07 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Postdoc is a special transitional position for those with a doctoral degree and is usually regarded as an investment to accumulate the additional human and social capital needed to facilitate future job searches or to add to an academic reserve army of unemployed PhDs. Given the prevalence of postdoctoral positions nowadays, it is crucial to explore the role played by postdoctoral participation in the post-PhD labor market. By taking advantage of a comprehensive data set from the National Profiles of Human Resources in Science and Technology in Taiwan, we first explore several characteristics associated with the choice of a postdoctoral position for newly-minted doctoral degree holders, such as age, discipline or the time taken to complete the degree. It is found that older doctorates have a lower probability of taking up a postdoctoral position, and a longer elapsed time to the PhD degree is less likely to result in a postdoctoral position. The postdoctoral engagement also hinges on the field of study, implying that those majoring in Science tend to engage in postdoctoral work more than those majoring in Social Science. The control function approach is utilized to address the possible endogenous decision of postdoctoral experience when estimating the effects of postdoctoral positions on the current career choices between academic and non-academic jobs. The empirical results suggest that engaging in postdoctoral positions could increase the probability of advancing to the academic sector by about 6.1 %. The heterogeneous effects of gender, major and cohort in regard to the postdoctoral experience are also found by splitting the data. In particular, gaining postdoctoral experience does help males engineering majors and older cohorts obtain jobs in academia. Moreover, we experiment with several groupings for the definition of being awarded an academic position and obtain very robust empirical results.
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• Co-Curricular Connections: The Role of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Promoting Engineering Students’ Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership Skills

  2015-10-06 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This study examined the impact of undergraduate research (UR) in engineering, focusing on three particular learning outcomes: communication, teamwork, and leadership. The study included 5126 students across 31 colleges of engineering. The authors employed propensity score matching method to address the selection bias for selection into (and differential availability of) UR programs. Engineering students who engage in UR tend to report higher skill levels, but when curriculum and classroom experiences are taken into account, there is no significant effect of UR on teamwork and leadership skills. Not accounting for college experiences such as curricular, classroom, and other co-curricular experiences may overestimate the positive relationship between UR participation and professional skills. After propensity score adjustment, we found that UR provided a significant predictor of communication skills; a finding that provides support for previous research regarding the importance of communication skills as an outcome of UR. The study highlights the importance of taking into account selection bias when assessing the effect of co-curricular programs on student learning. Implications of the study include expanding undergraduate research opportunities when possible and incorporating communication and leadership skill development into required course curriculum.
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• College Enhancement Strategies and Socioeconomic Inequality

  2015-10-05 02:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  The study provides new information on the relationships between students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, utilization of college enhancement strategies, and subsequent 4-year college enrollment. Enhancement strategies represent student behaviors used to bolster the competitiveness of a college application, such as Advanced Placement exams and a variety of extracurricular activities. By drawing on two national datasets that span the 1990s (NELS) and the 2000s (ELS), the study uncovers how these relationships have changed during a period marked by escalating demand for college and growing class inequality. The findings provide partial evidence of class adaptation (Alon in Am Soc Rev 74:731–755, 2009) based on the combination of increased use of multiple enhancement strategies (“high overall use”) among higher SES students and increased influence of high overall enhancement strategy use in predicting college enrollment, particularly selective college enrollment. Implications are discussed in terms of the higher education system and pervasive social inequality.
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• A Structural Model of the Relationship Between Student–Faculty Interaction and Cognitive Skills Development Among College Students

  2015-09-03 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Using structural equation modeling, this study attempted to untangle the underlying mechanisms among student–faculty interaction, classroom engagement, and cognitive skills development by examining the role played by students’ academic self-challenge and sense of belonging on the relationships among the variables. The study utilized data from the 2010 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey and a sample of 5169 senior students across 10 campuses. This study found that student–faculty interaction is related to greater levels of classroom engagement, which in turn facilitates students’ cognitive skills development and that students’ academic self-challenge and sense of belonging mediate the relationship between faculty interaction and classroom engagement. Thus, the findings suggest that the pathways from student–faculty interaction to a desired college outcome seem more complex than those hypothesized in traditional college impact theories or models. The study discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.
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• Using a Regression Discontinuity Design to Estimate the Impact of Placement Decisions in Developmental Math

  2015-09-02 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This study evaluates the effectiveness of math placement policies for entering community college students on these students’ academic success in math. We estimate the impact of placement decisions by using a discrete-time survival model within a regression discontinuity framework. The primary conclusion that emerges is that initial placement in a lower-level course increases the time until a student at the margin completes the higher-level course they were not assigned to by about a year on average but in most cases, after this time period, the penalty was small and not statistically significant. We found minor differences in terms of degree applicable and degree transferable credit accumulation between students placed initially in the lowerlevel course.
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• What Matters in Increasing Community College Students’ Upward Transfer to the Baccalaureate Degree: Findings from the Beginning Postsecondary Study 2003–2009

  2015-09-02 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This research uses the nationally representative Beginning Postsecondary Study: 2003–2009 to investigate the relative significance in upward transfer of individual and institutional factors for different groups of students, considering their state policy contexts of variable support for improved articulation and transfer between 2-year and baccalaureate-granting colleges. Layered analyses of hierarchical generalized linear model population-average results found that a few community college characteristics and state transfer policy components (such as a state articulation policy, cooperative articulation agreements, transfer data reporting, etc.) demonstrated a statistically significant association with individual upward transfer probability within 6 years of community college entry. Student characteristics found to be influential and positive for increasing upward transfer probability included: having an intention for upward transfer at entry, attending primarily full-time, working between 1 and 19 h per week (not more or less), and declaring a transfer-oriented major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics), Arts and Social/Behavioral Sciences, or Education.
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• Effect Coding as a Mechanism for Improving the Accuracy of Measuring Students Who Self-Identify with More than One Race

  2015-09-01 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  The purpose of this paper is to describe effect coding as an alternative quantitative practice for analyzing and interpreting categorical, multi-raced independent variables in higher education research. Not only may effect coding enable researchers to get closer to respondents' original intentions, it allows for more accurate analyses of all race based categories.
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• Tradeoffs and Limitations: Understanding the Estimation of College Undermatch

  2015-09-01 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Within the past decade, there has been a growing number of studies examining undermatch—when students apply to or enroll in institutions less selective than their academic qualifications permit. To estimate undermatch, researchers must define institutions’ selectivity levels and determine which students are eligible to gain admission to these selectivity levels. Researchers examining undermatch have used different approaches to defining institutional selectivity and student qualifications. This, in turn, has produced a wide range of undermatch rates, and at times, conflicting or inconclusive findings for underrepresented students. As the body of literature on undermatch expands, the tradeoffs and limitations in estimation approaches must be better understood. Using a nationally representative sample of students (ELS:2002), this study empirically tested these differences in undermatch estimations using two different definitions of institutional selectivity and three distinct approaches of calculating student qualifications on the (1) distribution of students across qualification levels; (2) undermatch rates; and (3) likelihood of undermatch. Findings show that depending on the approach taken, the distribution of student qualifications, undermatch rates, and odds ratios in subsequent analyses can vary greatly. For underrepresented students, the difference in estimation methods can change their representation in various qualification levels, the gaps in undermatch rates, and the significance of results in their likelihood of undermatching. Implications for future undermatch research are discussed.
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• You Expect What ? Students’ Perceptions as Resources in Acquiring Commitments and Capacities for Civic Engagement

  2015-09-01 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This mixed-method analysis presents a model of college students’ civic commitments and capacities for community action. Quantitative findings indicate that after controlling for background characteristics, campus contexts, and college experiences, students’ acquisitions of commitments to and skills for contributing to the larger community are largely influenced by the extent to which students perceive their campus as one that advocates for its students to be active and involved citizens. Qualitative findings convey the behaviors and types of speech that students view as legitimate public advocacy by peers, faculty, and administrators. Qualitative insights also reveal the ways in which students’ exposure to campus-based public advocacy influences their civic skills, and their understandings of social responsibility.
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• Creating the Out-of-State University: Do Public Universities Increase Nonresident Freshman Enrollment in Response to Declining State Appropriations?

  2015-09-01 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  This study investigates whether public universities respond to declines in state appropriations by increasing nonresident freshman enrollment. State higher education appropriations declined substantially during the 2000s, compelling public universities to become more dependent on net-tuition revenue. State policy controls often limit the growth of resident tuition price. Therefore, public universities have an incentive to grow nonresident enrollment in order to grow tuition revenue. Drawing on resource dependence theory, we hypothesize that public universities respond to declines in state appropriations by growing nonresident freshman enrollment. Furthermore, we hypothesize that this response will be strongest at research universities because research universities enjoy strong demand from prospective nonresident students. We tested these hypotheses using a sample of all US public baccalaureate granting institutions and an analysis period spanning the 2002–2003 to 2012–2013 academic years. Fixed effects panel models revealed a strong negative relationship between state appropriations and nonresident freshman enrollment. This negative relationship was stronger at research universities than master’s or baccalaureate institutions. These results provide empirical support for assertions by scholars that state disinvestment in public higher education compels public universities to behave like private universities by focusing on attracting paying customers.
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• Not All Diversity Interactions are Created Equal: Cross-Racial Interaction, Close Interracial Friendship, and College Student Outcomes

  2015-09-01 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  Higher education researchers and practitioners have emphasized the educational benefits of fostering meaningful interracial interaction on college campuses. The link between cross-racial interaction and student growth has received considerable empirical attention, but far less is known about whether and when interracial friendship predicts student outcomes. Multiple theoretical frameworks suggest that these two types of interpersonal diversity experiences may have differential effects. The present study examined this issue using a 4-year longitudinal dataset with 2,932 undergraduates at 28 institutions. Regardless of students’ race/ethnicity, cross-racial interaction is consistently associated with desired student outcomes, whereas close interracial friendship is often unrelated to these same outcomes.
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• Why the Boys are Missing: Using Social Capital to Explain Gender Differences in College Enrollment for Public High School Students

  2015-08-30 03:00:00 AM

  Abstract

  In 1960, over 60 % of bachelor degrees were awarded to men. However, the rate of women’s college completion has steadily risen and, by 2004, women received nearly 60 % of bachelor degrees. Drawing on the theoretical contributions of James Coleman, this paper examines the ability of social capital to explain observed differences in college enrollment. We use data from the 2002 Educational Longitudinal Study to examine social capital and quantify the strength of its relationship to college enrollment. We establish that men are currently disadvantaged with respect to key social capital variables, consistent with other published studies. We use logistic regression modeling to show that, after controlling for relevant variables, social capital is indeed related to college enrollment, and we provide an estimate of the degree to which the gender difference in enrollment can be explained by differences in social capital. In particular, we show that social capital reduces the odds ratio of women enrolling in college compared to men from 1.63 to 1.41. We show also that when grade point average is added to social capital, the odds ratio reduces from 1.41 to 1.23, showing that a substantial amount, but not all, of the gender disparity in college enrollment can be explained by these factors. In our final model, we test whether gender significantly interacts with social capital on college enrollment, a finding that would be consistent with women receiving differential returns to social capital. We find that women do not receive differential returns to social capital in comparison with men.
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