University of Michigan Examining African American and White College Students’ Degree Aspirations From 1985-1999 Deborah Faye Carter, Angela M. Locks, and Sonia DeLuca Fernández University of Michigan

Introduction African Americans tend to earn postsecondary degrees in significantly fewer numbers than their representation in the U.S. population. Understanding educational aspirations can assist us in structuring environments and interventions that can help students plan to earn college and graduate degrees. College experiences actively contribute toward increasing students’ interest in and commitment to completing degrees.

Research Questions What affects African American students’ degree aspirations and how does this analysis differ compared to White students? Is there a significant difference between students’ aspirations in the 1980s, early 1990s vs. the later 1990s? How might the predictors of students’ degree aspirations differ across the HERI and NCES datasets?

Data Sources CIRP Freshman Survey data for the years 1985- 1999 Beginning Postsecondary Students Study (1990:1994). Focus of presentation today is on CIRP. The CIRP dataset included 500,000 students: all African American students and a random sample of approximately 250,000 White students.

Methods & Procedures Completed factor analytic procedures and reliability analyses. Multivariate regression analyses separately for African American and White students in CIRP. Regressed degree aspirations in the freshman year.

Regression Models The regression models predicted the aspirations of African American and White students similarly with the R2 equally .25 for African American students and .27 for White students. The models differed in which variables significantly affected the two groups’ educational goals.

Background Characteristics Proportionally more women in the African American sample in comparison to the White sample. African American students came from lower SES backgrounds than White students: parental income and education. Mean parental income for African Americans was $30-$35,000 in comparison to over $50,000 for White students.

Background Characteristics - Regression Gender and SES have significant effects on students’ aspirations. Female Black students and male White students tend to have higher aspirations. Students from higher SES backgrounds tended to have higher aspirations, and SAT was a positive predictor for both groups of students. 1996-1999 cohorts had higher aspirations

Institutional Characteristics African Americans were more likely to attend institutions with lower selectivity, higher proportions of African American students, and slightly smaller enrollments than White students. Mean selectivity: 908 for African Americans, 1017 for White students. Average Black enrollment: 37% for African Americans, 5% for White students

Regression Results Student-faculty ratio was the only negative predictor of students’ aspirations. Those who attended institutions with lower student-faculty ratios tended to have higher aspirations. Institutional size is a positive predictor. Students attending institutions with larger proportions of African Americans tended to have higher aspirations.

Regression Results: Pre-college Experiences & Major Hours per week spent talking with teachers outside of class & tutoring other students had positive relationships to degree aspirations. Students who have high self-ratings on emotional well-being and academic ability have higher educational aspirations. Students who were undeclared or majored in unspecified fields tended to have higher aspirations than declared majors – except for Biological Sciences and Health.

Financial Aid & Financial Concerns – Regression Results Working for pay in high school had a positive effect on African American students’ degree aspirations but this relationship was negative for White students. Choosing to attend their campus because of low tuition had a negative relationship to degree aspirations for both groups. Choosing a campus because the student was offered financial assistance was also a negative predictor of aspirations.

Summary Student background characteristics seem to have strong affects on students’ degree aspirations. Pre-college achievement also has strong effects on aspirations. Students seem to balance academic considerations with financial ones in terms of considering their future educational attainment.

Implications & Future Directions As researchers and practitioners, we need to continue to focus on financial aid and the kind of information students receive during their college planning and choice processes. Students take into account levels of financial awards in their assessment of future degree attainment. We plan to expand our analyses to perform separate analyses by cohort group: does the impact of financial differ for earlier cohorts?