Fostering Minority College Student Persistence and Baccalaureate Degree Attainment: A Collective-Cross Case Analysis of High-Performing Institutions
Open Access
- Author:
- Museus, Samuel David
- Graduate Program:
- Higher Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- June 08, 2007
- Committee Members:
- Shaun R Harper, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Carol L Colbeck, Committee Member
Donald E Heller, Committee Member
Renata S Engel, Committee Member
George D Kuh, Committee Member - Keywords:
- culture
case study
minority college students
persistence
retention
degree completion
degree attainment
success - Abstract:
- Racial/ethnic minority college student persistence and degree attainment is of paramount importance to higher education policymakers and administrators. Approximately six of every ten students who enter a four-year college or university fail to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. The failure of such large numbers of racial/ethnic minority undergraduates to complete college poses devastating consequences for the individual students, institutions of higher education, and broader society. In this dissertation, qualitative research methods were employed to design and conduct an embedded collective case study of three institutions that have achieved high and equitable underrepresented racial/ethnic minority student persistence and degree attainment rates. Using three national databases, one public two-year college, comprehensive public university, and private doctoral university were selected for exhibiting relatively high underrepresented racial/ethnic minority student persistence and graduation rates and equity in persistence and degree attainment rates across races/ethnicities. A total of sixty-five administrators, staff, and racial/ethnic minority students were interviewed and a wide range of documents were collected across the three institutions to discover and examine the institutional environments, policies, programs, and practices perceived to contribute to racial/ethnic minority student success on the three campuses. Findings indicate that the three institutions share a set of common cultural characteristics that converge to create environments conducive to engaging, supporting, and retaining racial/ethnic minority students. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.