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Association for Institutional ResearchMay 2013

Long Beach, California

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Making It!... Or Not:

Institutional Contexts & Biomedical

Degree Attainment

Tanya Figueroa, Sylvia Hurtado, and Kevin EaganUCLA

+Problem A need for one million additional STEM

degrees in the next decade.

URM students more likely to leave the sciences Despite equal initial interest in science &

higher degree aspirations

Individual factors alone do not account for completion differences.

Some institutions do a better job!

+Purpose

To identify the institutional and aggregate faculty characteristics that contribute to higher rates of degree completion in the biomedical sciences controlling for students’ entering characteristics

+To understand experiences we must examine the environment

+Methodology – Data Sources2004 CIRP Freshman Survey

aggregated student-level variables

Student degree and enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse

Institutional data from Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System

2011 Best Practices in STEM survey

Aggregate data from the 2007 & 2010 HERI Faculty Surveys

+AnalysisFinal Sample: 30,614 biomedical

science aspirants across 296 four-year colleges and universities.

Weighted Data

Missing Data

Analysis: Multinomial HGLM (HLM software)

+Dependent Variable

Three-part categorical variable measured at the 4th and 6th year:1) Completed a bachelor’s degree in the

biomedical sciences2) Completed a bachelor’s degree in a

field that is not in the biomedical sciences

3) Did not complete a bachelor’s degree at all

+Independent Variables – Student Level

Background characteristicsPrior preparation Precollege experiencesEntering aspirations and expectationsIntended major

+Independent Variables – Institution Level

Aggregate peer effectsInstitutional characteristics:

Size, type, selectivity, HBCU/PWI/HSI

Faculty contextual measuresBest practices in STEM

+Limitations

Self-reported major

No control for college experiences

Secondary data

+Descriptive StatisticsDependent Variable

Completed biomedical degree in four and six years

27.8% jumps to 38.1%

Completed degree in other field

19.4% jumps to 33.6%

Did not complete 52.8% decreases to 28.3%

Demographics

Sex: Female 69%

American Indian 2%

Other race 2%

Latino/a 7%

Black 10%

Asian/Pacific Islander 14%

White 64%

+Biomedical Science Completion versus Non-Biomedical Science Completion in the 6th year

Institutional Characteristics Emerging HSI +

Size (full-time enrollment) -

Background CharacteristicsAsian American or Pacific Islander

+

Other race +

Either parent has a STEM-related occupation

+

Native English speaker -

+

Prior PreparationAverage high school GPA +

Student-centered pedagogy factor +

SAT composite score (100) +

Years of HS study: Mathematics +

Years of HS study: Biological science +

Pre-college ExperiencesFelt overwhelmed by all I had to do -

Socialized with different ethnic group -

Studying or homework +

Community service: Hospital work +

Biomedical Science Completion versus Non-Biomedical Science Completion in the 6th year

+

Entering Aspirations and ExpectationsCommunicate regularly with professors +

TFS Academic Self-Concept +

Ph.D./Ed.D. degree aspiration +

Medical degree aspiration +

Grading on a curve -

Selectivity (100) -

TFS Social Self-Concept Score -

Intended Major Nursing +

Pharmacy -

MD, Dentistry, or Veterinary Medicine -

Biomedical Science Completion versus Non-Biomedical Science Completion in the 6th year

+Biomedical Science Completion versus No Completion

Institutional

Emerging HSI +

Selectivity (100) +

Research/Doctoral (ref. masters comp.)

-

Background Characteristics

Other Race +

Sex: Female +

Mother’s education +

Native American -

Latino -

Low Income (under $24,999) -

Low Middle Income ($25K-49,999)

-

Native English speaker -

+

Prior Preparation

Average HS GPA +

SAT composite score (100) +

Years of HS study: Mathematics

+

Years of HS study: Biological science

+

Pre-college Experiences

Studying or homework +

Community service: Hospital work

+

Biomedical Science Completion versus No Completion

+

Entering Aspirations and Expectations

Communicate regularly with professors

+

TFS Academic Self-Concept +

Masters degree aspiration +

Plan to live on campus +

Work full-time while attending college

-

TFS Social Self-Concept Score -

Medical degree aspiration * Selectivity (100)

-

Intended Major

Pharmacy -

MD, Dentistry, or Veterinary Medicine Aspirant

-

Biomedical Science Completion versus No Completion

+Discussion

Institutional contexts matter!

Emerging HSIs and HBCUs strong producers of biomed degrees

Large institutions weaker producers

Role of peer normative context (i.e. selectivity)

+Discussion & Implications

The important role of studentSocioeconomic backgroundRace/ethnicitySexNative language

+What else matters in producing biomedical science graduates?

Faculty grading procedures

Pedagogical approach

Contact Us!

This study was made possible by the support of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant Numbers 1 R01 GMO71968-01 and R01 GMO71968-05, the National Science Foundation, NSF Grant Number 0757076, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Grant 1RC1GM090776-01. This independent research and the views expressed here do not indicate endorsement by the sponsors.

Papers and reports are available for download from project website:

http://heri.ucla.edu/nihProject e-mail: herinih@ucla.edu

Faculty/Co-PIs:Sylvia HurtadoMitchell ChangKevin Eagan

Postdoctoral Scholars:Josephine Gasiewski

Administrative Staff:Dominique Harrison

Tanya Figueroa

Gina Garcia

Graduate Research Assistants:

Juan GaribayBryce Hughes