Department of Educational Administration

 

Date of this Version

Fall 10-2011

Comments

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Educational Studies (Educational Leadership and Higher Education), Under the Supervision of Professor Donald Uerling. Lincoln, Nebraska: October 2011

Copyright 2011 Ann Krejci

Abstract

Chadron State College is one of three institutions in Nebraska’s State College System. Because of its mission as an open-enrollment institution, Chadron State College has no academic course requirements for admission, and any student who has completed high school or its equivalent is eligible for enrollment.

The purpose of the study was to find whether or not there was a relationship between the characteristics of a Nebraska student’s high school education and the probability of that student’s graduation from Chadron State College within six years of matriculation.

A sample of 180 high school records were retrieved from the Chadron State College data base, 90 for students who had graduated within six years and 90 for students who had not. Six independent variables were analyzed using logistic regression.

Six specific research questions were addressed:

1. Was the ratio of academic credit units to total credit units a predictor of graduation within six years? No predictive relationship was found.

2. Was the ratio of mathematics and science credit units to total credit units a predictor of graduation within six years? No predictive relationship was found.

3. Was the ratio of language arts, foreign language, and social studies credit units to total credit units a predictor of graduation within six years? No predictive relationship was found.

4. Was the total number of credit hours taken a predictor of graduation within six years? A predictive relationship was found.

5. Was high school grade point average a predictor of graduation within six years? A predictive relationship was found.

6. Was the composite ACT score a predictor of graduation within six years? A predictive relationship was found.

The results of this study were contrary to national-level statistical tests conducted by Adelman (1999, 2006) and Trusty (2004), who found that the strongest predictor of bachelor’s degree completion was the academic intensity of a student’s high school program.

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