Title

Assessing the Effectiveness of a College Freshman Seminar Using Propensity Score Adjustments

Authors

Authors

M. H. Clark;N. L. Cundiff

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

Res. High. Educ.

Keywords

First-year seminar; College retention; Academic success; Propensity; scores; Selection bias; ACADEMIC MOTIVATION SCALE; INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION; 4-YEAR; INSTITUTIONS; LOGISTIC-REGRESSION; HIGHER-EDUCATION; PERFORMANCE; STUDENT; PERSISTENCE; RETENTION; ACHIEVEMENT; Education & Educational Research

Abstract

Researchers investigated the impact that a first-year college experience course had on students' first-year grade point averages (GPAs) and retention rates. A sample of 109 first-year students enrolled in the course was compared to a sample of 326 students from the same university who had not taken the course. The goals of the experience course were to reduce attrition, increase grade point averages, and enhance academic skills. Without accounting for selection bias, those who took the course had similar retention rates and lower GPAs than those who did not take the course. After matching on propensity scores, the negative effects of the program on GPA were nullified and those in the program were more likely to enroll for a second year. Although the benefits from the course were weak, the positive impact of the program was more apparent after accounting for individual differences.

Journal Title

Research in Higher Education

Volume

52

Issue/Number

6

Publication Date

1-1-2011

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

616

Last Page

639

WOS Identifier

WOS:000292988400004

ISSN

0361-0365

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