Abstract

This study develops and tests a model for understanding and predicting postsecondary education enrollment by measuring social capital, academic preparation, and financial factors. Rational choice, social reproduction, status attainment, and social capital theories will inform the model development. Focus is placed on social capital constructs (e.g. information, bridges, and support networks) that appear to be related to postsecondary education enrollment outcomes. Postsecondary education enrollment is defined as a set of choices including not enrollment in postsecondary education, enrollment in a 2-year institution, and enrollment in a 4-year institution. The proposed analytical model allows assessing direct and indirect social capital effects on enrollment decisions. The final model may be used for enrollment prediction and policy making purposes.

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AIR Forum 2006.

Main Topics
(1) understanding the impact of Proposition 209 on the University of California;
(2) analyzing whether and how conditions can be improved within the limits of 209;
(3) understanding the impact of Proposition 209 beyond the University of California;
(4) examining the desirability and feasibility of amending or repealing Proposition 209.

Participant Institutions:

* Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity - UC Berkeley
* UC-ACCORD
* The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University
* Center for Latino Policy Research
* UC California Policy Research Center
* Center for Studies in Higher Education

1. Students make college-related decisions based on their perceptions of financial aid availability.

2. A high school's culture of preparation makes a difference in students' access to college and financial aid information.

3. Students lack accurate and timely information about financial aid.

4. Group seminars on financial aid information can be helpful but inadequate without pre-and post-individual follow-up sessions.

5. Peer counselors do not replace adult, expert advice about college and financial aid information.

6. Parents also lack information and knowledge about college and financial aid.

7. Even after applying for financial aid, many students require individualized, sustained support throughout the process.

The dataset comprises data undergraduates at about 2,700 public two-year community colleges, public four-year, and private four-year colleges and universities. It includes data for the 2000-01 and 2003-04 academic years for about 1,000 community colleges, 600 public four-year, and 1,100 private four-year colleges and universities.

This dataset includes variables on enrollments, institutional characteristics, financial aid (type and amount), and family background (income and ethnicity).

Abstract

In this article, the authors test a "frog-pond" model of elite college admission proposed by Attewell, operationalizing high school academic context as the secondary school-average SAT score and number of Advanced Placement tests per high school senior. Data on more than 45,000 applications to three elite universities show that a high school's academic environment has a negative effect on college admission, controlling for individual students' scholastic ability. A given applicant's chances of being accepted are reduced if he or she comes from a high school with relatively more highly talented students, that is, if the applicant is a small frog in a big pond. Direct evidence on high school class rank produces similar findings. A school's reputation or prestige has a counterbalancing positive effect on college admission. Institutional gatekeepers are susceptible to context effects, but the influence of school variables is small relative to the characteristics of individual students. The authors tie the findings to prior work on meritocracy in college admission and to the role played by elite education in promoting opportunity or reproducing inequality, and they speculate on the applicability of frog-pond models in areas beyond elite college admission.

Abstract

As more Americans enter college than ever before, their pathways through the broadly differentiated higher education system are changing. Movement in, out, and among institutions now characterizes students' attendance patterns—half of all undergraduates who begin at a four-year institution go on to attend at least one other college, and over one-third take some time off from college after their initial enrollment. This study investigated whether there is social-class variation in these patterns, with advantaged and disadvantaged students responding to new postsecondary choices by engaging in different pathways. National longitudinal data from postsecondary transcripts were used to follow students across schools and to examine the importance of family background and high school preparation in predicting forms of college attendance. The results demonstrate that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely than are economically advantaged students (net of prior academic preparation) to follow pathways that are characterized by interrupted movement. Such pathways appear to be less effective routes to the timely completion of degrees. Thus, differences in how students attend college represent an additional layer of stratification in higher education.

Applying cluster analysis to California data, this study explore concentrated disadvantage in the K-12 system and its effects on ethnic disparities in college access. Point out implications in the context of California stratified system of postsecondary education, and the outlook for the elimination of race considerations for college admissions within the next 25 years.

This session addresses how secondary schools and postsecondary institutions that serve low-income families of color might work to take advantage of the potential for positive family involvement and close the knowledge and resource gap. Four perspectives are presented: (1) A powerful tool for middle schools to engage low-income parents of color is being undermined by policy decisions, sometimes out of the control of urban districts. (2) The capacity and inclination parents of color in an urban area have to engage with schools and their children around postsecondary planning and preparation is examined. (3) Social class plays a significant role in the how students and families make postsecondary decisions. (4) Families are, themselves, both resources for and challenges to college success.

Session Participants

Genuine Invitations: District Policy, Middle-School Parents, and Postsecondary Planning
*Adriane A. Williams (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

“... Families Like Ours...": Parents’ Capacity and Inclination for Promoting College Access for Students of Color
* Susan Auerbach (California State University-Northridge)

Bridges and Barriers: Social Class and the Transition to College
*Janice Bloom (The City University of New York Graduate Center)

Resource and Responsibility: The Role of Family and Community in the Journey Through College
*Jennifer Ayala (St. Peter's College)

Chair: Adriane A. Williams (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Discussant: Patricia M. McDonough (University of California-Los Angeles)

Fri, Apr 7 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

Student Aid: Access, Choice, and Attainment

Session Participants

Discussant: Laura W. Perna (University of Pennsylvania)

Chair: Marvin A. Titus (North Carolina State University)

How Much Does Money Matter? An Examination of the Role of Financial Aid in the Sub-Baccalaureate Degree and Certificate Attainment of Low-Income Students
*Kimberly R. Rogers (University at Buffalo-The State University of New York)

Possible Unintended Consequences of State Merit Aid Policy: Case of the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship
*Jennifer A. Delaney (Stanford University)

State Financial Policies and Student Choices of College and Major Field: A National Study of High Achieving Low-Income Students of Color
*Edward P. St. John (University of Michigan), Shouping Hu (Florida State University)

State Non-Need, Merit-Based Scholarship Programs
*Patricia L. Farrell (The University of New Mexico)

Sat, Apr 8 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Planning for College, Understanding Their Choices

Session Participants

Discussant: Patricia M. McDonough (University of California-Los Angeles)

Chair: Brent R. Petersen (Texas A & M University)

Measuring Predisposition in College Choice: Exploring Theory of Reasoned Action
*Todd E. Johnson (Washington State University), Paul E. Pitre (Washington State University), Anne E. Campbell (Washington State University)

Networks and Choices: How Do Social Networks Influence College Choice?
*Tiffany L. Smith (ETS)

Student Readiness for Postsecondary Endeavors
*Gary L. Williamson (MetaMetrics, Inc.)

Who Cares? Examining Black and Latino/a Youths' College-Going Processes Through a Critical Praxis
*Kate Spence (Teachers College, Columbia University), Michelle G. Knight (Teachers College, Columbia University), LaThell Sebastian-Smith (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Sat, Apr 8 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Success in College: Measures of Access, Equity, and Performance

Session Participants

Is There More to Postsecondary Success Than Test Scores?
*John Deke

The Effects of Welfare Reform on College Access: Lessons From National and State-Level Databases
*Kathleen M. Shaw (Temple University), Sara Goldrick-Rab (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Jerry Jacobs (University of Pennsylvania)

The Social Construction of Louisiana's Merit-Based Scholarship Recipients
*Kim Hunter Reed (State of Louisiana Director of Policy & Planning), Amy B. Dellinger

What Drives High-School Graduation Rates and Where Are They Going: Understanding the Trends
*Christopher B. Swanson (Editorial Projects in Education)

Chair: Mary Anne Linden (University of Oregon)

Discussant: Shouping Hu (Florida State University)

Sat, Apr 8 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

College Transitions

Session Participants

Discussant: Anna M. Ortiz (California State University-Long Beach)

Chair: Kristan M. Venegas (University of Nevada-Reno)

From When and Where I Enter: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations of Minority Students’ Transition to College
*Deborah F. Carter (University of Michigan), Angela M. Locks (University of Michigan), Rachelle Winkle Wagner (Indiana University)

Multiple Capitals, Marginalizing Experiences, and Latino Students'
College Transitions
*Anne-Marie Nunez (University of California-Los Angeles)

Precarious Paths: The High-School-to-College Transition of Undocumented Students
*Paz M. Oliverez (University of Southern California)

The Role of Primary and Secondary Control in Academic Deviance Among College Students
*Nancy Robinson-Epp (University of Manitoba), Steve Hladkyj (University of Manitoba), Lia Marie van Winkel (University of Manitoba), Raymond P. Perry (University of Manitoba)

Mon, Apr 10 - 10:35am - 12:05pm