Examining the Influence of Involvement on Degree Completion among Black Students by Gender

Abstract

Research has linked student involvement with a number of positive college outcomes, especially persistence and college degree completion. Astin (1984, 1993) suggests that involvement in a variety of campus activities positively predicts academic success and students' likelihood to complete a college degree. This study examines how the positive effects of academic and social involvement influence disparities in degree completion rates within and between races seen nationwide.

The most noticeable difference in completion rates is occurring between Black men and Black women, as Black women continue to outpace their male counterparts in earning a college degree. As the degree completion disparity between Black men and women increases, research does not account for how involvement affects the gender differentials in degree completion among Black students. Using fixed-effects logistic regression, this study examines how involvement in campus activities differentially affects Black men's and women's likelihood to complete a bachelor's degree. Findings from these analyses indicate that Black men and women do not experience differential effects based on their involvement in campus activities; however, Black students as a whole receive differential effects from academic performance in their first year of enrollment compared to White students.