scholarly journals Evaluating a Science Diversity Program at UC Berkeley: More Questions Than Answers

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Matsui ◽  
Roger Liu ◽  
Caroline M. Kane
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Underrepresented Minorities ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Diversity Programs ◽  
Majority Students ◽  
The University

For the past three decades, much attention has been focused on developing diversity programs designed to improve the academic success of underrepresented minorities, primarily in mathematics, science, and engineering. However, ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in science majors and careers. Over the last 10 years, the Biology Scholars Program (BSP), a diversity program at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, has worked to increase the participation and success of students majoring in the biological sciences. A quantitative comparison of students in and out of the program indicates that students in BSP graduate with a degree in biology at significantly higher rates than students not in BSP regardless of race/ethnicity. Furthermore, students who are in BSP have statistically lower high school grade point averages (GPAs) and Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores than students not in BSP. African-American and Hispanic students who join BSP graduate with significantly higher UC Berkeley biology GPAs than non-BSP African-American and Hispanic students, respectively. Majority (Asian and White) students in BSP graduate with statistically similar UC GPAs despite having lower SAT scores than non-BSP majority students. Although BSP students are more successful in completing a biology degree than non-program members, the results raise a series of questions about why the program works and for whom.

scholarly journals Strengths-based Indicators of Success in Hispanic Undergraduates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen Schulthes ◽  
Cass Dykeman
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Hispanic Students ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Education Professionals ◽  
Hispanic Student Achievement ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

By the year 2026, it is estimated that Hispanic students will make up the largest share of undergraduates enrolled in American colleges and universities. Despite increases in enrollment, this population is also one of the least likely to earn an eventual credential. Factors such as pre-college preparedness (e.g., SAT scores or high school grade point averages) and socioeconomic barriers are often cited as explanations for this attainment and persistence gap. In seeking to understand this issue, it is essential to go beyond the deficit-oriented conversation and instead shift the emphasis toward how higher education professionals can leverage students’ strengths in supporting their academic success. It is essential to delve into the factors that impact Hispanic student achievement. Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) study 12/14, this secondary data analysis study explores the impact of strengths-based variables such as highest credential expected, perceived likelihood of attaining a credential, level of connectedness with their institution, and gender on Hispanic students’ outcomes with regard to credential attainment and/or persistence. Results showed that while gender and level of connectedness held no significant predictive value, students’ academic self-efficacy (perceived likelihood of attaining a credential) and goal-setting (highest credential expected) did have an impact on three-year persistence and graduation rates. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Enhancing Diversity in Science: Is Teaching Science Process Skills the Answer?

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarissa Dirks ◽  
Matthew Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
Underrepresented Minorities ◽  
Process Skills ◽  
Introductory Biology ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Science Process Skills ◽  
Science Degree ◽  
The University ◽  
Beginning Students

The Biology Fellows Program at the University of Washington aims to enhance diversity in science by helping students succeed in the rigorous introductory biology classes and motivating them to engage in undergraduate research. The composite Scholastic Achievement Test scores and high school grade point averages of the Biology Fellows are comparable to those of students who are not in the program; however, they earn, on average, higher grades in introductory biology classes than non-Biology Fellows. Underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged students in the program also earn higher grades in the introductory biology classes than do their non-Biology Fellows counterparts. Analysis of the performance of Biology Fellows shows that the program assists students who are not proficient in certain science process skills and that students who lack these skills are at risk for failing introductory biology. This evaluation provides insight for designing programs that aim to enhance the performance of beginning students of biology, particularly for underrepresented minorities, who want to obtain a life science degree.

Adaptive Behavior of College Students With Autism

2021 ◽  
pp. 108835762110562
Author(s):  
Kathleen D. Viezel ◽  
Benjamin Freer ◽  
Chelsea D. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Adaptive Behavior ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
First Semester ◽  
College Ready ◽  
Living Skills

As an increasing number of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) matriculate on college campuses, all stakeholders should be prepared to meet their needs. Despite a body of literature describing adaptive behavior deficits of those with ASD, there is a paucity of research examining these skills among those who are college-ready. The present study investigated the adaptive behavior of a diverse group ( N = 27) of incoming college students with ASD and examined to what extent these skills could predict initial academic success. Despite average intelligence and good academic indicators, deficits in communication, socialization, and daily living skills were found. No models, even those which included intelligence quotient (IQ) and SAT scores, were predictive of first-semester or first-year grade point average (GPA). Importantly, freshman-to-sophomore retention appeared higher than the university average. Findings suggest that practitioners and families should consider adaptive behavior in addition to intellectual and academic capabilities when considering postsecondary opportunities and available supports.

scholarly journals The Large Lecture Course Redesign Project: Pedagogical Goals And Assessment Results

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman D. Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Grade Point Averages ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Traditional Course ◽  
Course Redesign ◽  
Large Lecture ◽  
University Of Massachusetts ◽  
The University ◽  
Pedagogical Goals ◽  
Total Enrollment

An analysis and assessment of the Course Redesign Project, which used technology to improve student learning and course satisfaction in large lecture courses at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Six disciplinary-diverse departments participated in the project. Technology was selected for the purpose of introducing active learning into lecture halls and providing frequent feedback to students on their individual learning progress. The assessment methodology compares traditionally taught sections with redesigned sections, holding constant (where possible) such potential confounding factors as student academic ability, professor, textbook, day and time of class and the number, type and difficulty of exams and other graded assignments. The assessment of the project produced strong and significant statistical results that indicate that students across the broad spectrum of redesigned courses learned more and achieved higher grades than students in traditional sections. This occurred despite the fact that students in traditional sections had either the same or higher high school-grade point averages and SAT scores compared to students in the redesigned sections. The project included 12 traditional course sections with a total enrollment of 2,456 and 13 redesigned courses sections with a total enrollment of 3,101. The project was supported by a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation.

Parenting and Educating for Success in Math and Science Early Childhood through College

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freeman A. Hrabowski ◽  
Kenneth I. Maton ◽  
Monica Greene ◽  
Geoffrey L. Greif
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Black Women ◽  
African Americans ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Math And Science ◽  
The Many ◽  
Mathematics And Science

While the young women we focus on in this book have been successful in general in their schooling, they have achieved at the highest levels, in particular, in mathematics and science. Indeed, strong course work and high grades in mathematics and science courses in high school, along with high SAT scores in math, were among the primary criteria used to admit them to the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. As discussed in the first chapter, education and careers in math and science grow increasingly important in our technologically focused society, and African Americans, particularly African American women, are extremely underrepresented in these fields. To help increase the representation of Black women in math and science careers, it is useful to identify the factors which contribute strongly to academic success in these fields. In so doing, we hope to provide insights that will contribute to the success of future generations of African Americans in these disciplines. In Chapters 2 and 3, the mothers and fathers described a number of ways in which they helped support and encourage their daughters’ academic success, including approaches focused specifically on math and science. In Chapter 4, the daughters described the many ways in which their parents had been helpful and supportive in their academic endeavors overall. In this chapter, we listen as the daughters tell us, in their own voices, tell about those factors that helped them to be successful particularly in math and science. The first section, “The Pre-College Years,” focuses on the initial development and longer-term maintenance of the daughters’ interests in math and science, and the critical roles parents, teachers, and others played. In the second section, “Voices from the Community,” we hear directly from a number of people from the community who have had contact with some of the daughters during their pre-college years. The young women identified these educators, church members, and other community members as playing a significant mentoring role in their lives. These mentors share with us their experiences related to the pre-college math and science pursuits of the young women, as well as other Meyerhoff students, and African American youth more generally.

scholarly journals Junior baccalaureate nursing students: Factors that predict success

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Ellen M.T. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Baccalaureate Nursing ◽  
Baccalaureate Nursing Students ◽  
Early College ◽  
Sat Scores ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Baccalaureate Education ◽  
Predict Academic Success

Baccalaureate nursing education strives toward comprehensive preparation of diverse nursing students to meet current healthcare workforce demands. Identification of factors that predict academic success is imperative to meet this goal. The purpose of this study was to discover whether specific academic and noncognitive variables predicted baccalaureate nursing students’ academic success, as defined by junior-year grade point average (GPA) and persistence in nursing education. This post-facto correlational study was conducted over two semesters. Junior year nursing students (N = 150) answered the Short Grit Survey and the Noncognitive Questionnaire, and their academic records were examined for previous college grades (GPAs) and SAT scores. Demographic groups were compared using t-tests, and the data were regressed on junior-year student GPAs and persistence in the major to determine predictors of success. Several significant differences between the participant group responses were noted. Only early-college GPAs predicted junior-year success. SAT scores, grit and noncognitive factors, as well as demographic variables, did not predict academic success. These results inform baccalaureate education programs about priorities for admitting and advising students, and support the use of early-college GPAs to predict the academic success of junior-year baccalaureate nursing students.

scholarly journals Tracking and Assessing Undergraduate Research Campus-wide: Demographics, Academic Success, and Post-Graduation Plans

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly R Schneider ◽  
Aubrey Kuperman ◽  
Andre Watts ◽  
Danae Barulich ◽  
Tyler Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Time To Degree ◽  
University Population ◽  
University Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
Academic Year

Evaluation must occur at the university level to understand the full impact of undergraduate research (UR). UR assessment is often only completed at the individual program level because of limited technology, time, and/or resources. At our large research institution, we have been documenting a wide variety of research experiences annually since the 2009–2010 academic year through an online portal. With our institutional research team and campus partners, we created interactive dashboards that display involvement in UR by semester and academic year. Here we compile data on students involved in UR compared to the university population as a whole. Consistent trends from this yearly data have shown that non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students, transfer students, and part-time students are less involved in research. However, underrepresented and first-generation involvement tends to trend consistently with the university population, likely because of a wide variety of focused programming. Despite many interventions aimed at engaging students in their first three years, data show that researchers remain mostly seniors. Students are also tracked to graduation and beyond, providing a unique evaluation of UR. Grade point averages and graduation rates tend to be higher for student researchers. Time to degree is similar between researchers and nonresearchers. Students are tracked into graduate school as well and on average have an almost 50% increase in matriculation compared to nonresearchers. There are still gaps in this university-level knowledge, but this portal helps clarify campus-wide involvement and opportunities for enhancement, while serving as a comparison data set and a model system for other universities.

The effect of academic breaks on undergraduate academic performance

2020 ◽  
pp. 002072092092251
Author(s):  
Artem Lenskiy ◽  
Raad Shariat ◽  
Soonuk Seol
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Grade Point Average ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Academic Records ◽  
Final Grades ◽  
The University

Leaving school for a period of time can have significant effects on students’ academic success. In this article, we analyze how taking an academic break for a different number of semesters affects students’ academic performance in terms of their Grade Point Average. This study is conducted at a university in Korea by analysing academic records of 653 undergraduate students who entered the university from 1998 to 2013. In addition, 101 currently enrolled students were surveyed to collect students’ opinions on the effects of academic breaks. We investigate changes in grades before and after a school leave and compare the final grades of students who had academic breaks to students who continued their studies without having any breaks during their undergraduate education.Our results indicate that students’ grades improve after coming back to the university from a four or more consecutive semesters break, however their final GPAs did not statistically differ from their peers who studied continuously, this suggests that students should not be afraid of taking longer academic breaks.

scholarly journals Predictive Value of Veterinary Student Application Data for Class Rank at End of Year 1

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Steven D. Holladay ◽  
Robert M. Gogal ◽  
Parkerson C. Moore ◽  
R. Cary Tuckfield ◽  
Brandy A. Burgess ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
First Year ◽  
Graduate Record Examination ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Class Rank ◽  
Credit Hours ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
University Of Georgia ◽  
The University

Student applications for admission to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine include the following information: undergraduate grade point average (GPA), GPA in science courses (GPAScience), GPA for the last 45 credit hours (GPALast45hrs), results for the Graduate Record Examination Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning Measures (GRE-QV), results for the GRE Analytical Writing Measure (GRE-AW), and grades received for 10 required prerequisite courses. In addition, three faculty members independently review and score subjective information in applicants’ files (FileScore). The admissions committee determines a composite Admission Score (AdmScore), which is based on GPA, GPAScience, GPALast45hrs, GRE-QV, GRE-AW, and the FileScore. The AdmScore is generally perceived to be a good predictor of class rank at the end of year 1 (CREY1). However, this has not been verified, nor has it been determined which components of the AdmScore have the strongest correlation with CREY1. The present study therefore compared each component of the AdmScore for correlation with CREY1, for the three classes admitted in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Class15, Class16, Class17). Results suggest that only a few components of the application file are needed to make strong predictive statements about the academic success of veterinary students during the first year of the curriculum.

University Entry Scores as a Predictor of Academic Performance in a Health Information Management Program

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Magennis ◽  
Jennifer Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Health Information Management ◽  
First Year ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The University

The university entry scores for school leavers admitted to the first year of the Bachelor of Applied Science (Health Information Management) degree at the University of Sydney in 1996 were examined to determine whether the Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) was a good predictor of academic performance, as measured by grade point average (GPA). The study also examined Higher School Certificate (HSC) results in English and mathematics, and preference selection for the health information management (HIM) course to determine whether any of these had predictive validity. The results showed that TER, HSC English and mathematics scores and preference for the course were all poor predictors of academic performance in the student's first year. Low TER was not associated with low GPA and low scores in English and mathematics were not associated with low GPA. There was no significant difference between the performance of those students who listed the HIM course as their first preference and those who did not. These results suggest that there may be no need to establish a minimum entry level for admission to the HIM course, or for prerequisites in English and mathematics. It may be that multiple criteria are required to predict academic success in this course.

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