The Influence of Student Involvement With Campus Life on the Retention of African American Students Enrolled at A Public Historically Black University
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Date
2006-04-13
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Abstract
The retention of students in higher education is an ongoing problem. In an effort to alleviate this problem, postsecondary institutions invest in a variety of programs designed to improve student retention. Even though a great amount of time and money is invested in retention efforts, current retention rates have not improved over time (Seidman, 2002). This is particularly troubling for African Americans whose retention rates historically have lagged behind those of Whites and Asians (Davis, 1994). In fact, only about 46 % of African Americans who first enroll in four-year institutions with the goal of completing a bachelor's degree actually succeed within six years. While Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) enroll 26% of all African American students and produce 28% of the Black bachelor degree recipients, most have lower than average retention rates. Although the literature suggests that retention studies in higher education are plentiful, and that African American students enrolled at HBCUs are at high risk of dropping out of college before completing a degree, few studies have addressed the issue of student retention at HBCUs. Using survey data collected from first-year African American students enrolled at a public HBCU, and employing factor analysis, hierarchical logistic regression analysis, and conditional logistic regression analysis, this study examines the impact of student involvement with campus life on retention. The results of this study indicate that both academic involvement and social involvement are predictors of student retention for firstyear African American freshmen enrolled at a public HBCU. However, academic involvement proved to be a negative predictor of student retention. Since there are no other studies that directly examine the influence of student involvement on retention of African American students at a public HBCU, these results can add to the modest knowledge base of African American student retention research at HBCUs.
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Retention, African American, Student Involvement
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EdD
Discipline
Higher Education Administration
