An Examination of Core Course Admission Deficiencies and their Impact on Six-Year Graduation Rates for Transfer Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Authors

David S. Belieu, University of Nebraska at LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

Spring 5-2010

Document Type

Article

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Major: Educational Administration Under the Supervision of Professor James V. Griesen Copyright 2010 David belieu Lincoln, Nebraska May, 2010

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the six-year graduation rate of transfer students who enter the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a deficiency in a core course admission requirement. The study explored the odds of a transfer student graduating in a six-year period if he/she were admitted with a deficiency. Specifically, the study examined graduation rates for transfer students who entered UNL with a core course deficiency in mathematics and foreign language. The study also examined graduated transfer students admitted with one or more core course deficiencies GPAs versus graduated transfer students who were admitted without a deficiency. After utilizing a logistic regression analysis to test the hypothesis, the research found that having a core course admission requirement deficiency significantly decreases the odds a transfer student will graduate in a six-year period. However, if the transfer students admitted with one or more deficiencies persist to graduation, there is no difference in the final GPA versus graduated transfer students admitted without a deficiency. The results illustrate the need for strong support programs for transfer students admitted with admission deficiencies in order to improve persistence and graduation rates.