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Momentum Through Course-Completion Patterns Among 2-Year College Students Beginning in STEM: Variations and Contributing Factors

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  • Hsun-Yu Chan

    (Texas A&M University-Commerce)

  • Xueli Wang

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Abstract

Grounded in the academic momentum framework, this study explores course-completion patterns across the first two semesters of college among 1668 first-time students beginning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs or courses at public 2-year colleges in a Midwestern state, as well as factors predicting the persistence or changes in these patterns. We use latent transition analysis as the main analytical strategy, based on a combination of student survey data, transcript records, and data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Our findings reveal three major course-completion patterns in the first semester of college (i.e., transfer, vocational, and exploring) and four patterns in the second semester (i.e., transfer, vocational, associate degree, and leaving). More than 60% of the study sample exhibits consistent course-completion patterns in the first year of college. Students persisting in the transfer and vocational patterns in both semesters are more likely to retain their interest in STEM fields in the second year. In addition, we uncover salient predictors for transitions in course-completion patterns between the two semesters. For example, students’ self-reported financial support for attending college is positively associated with switching into the vocational pattern, but perceived support from peers seems to prompt students from the vocational to the transfer pattern. As a whole, our findings pinpoint the importance of a holistic understanding of how the mass, velocity, and direction of academic momentum through course-completion patterns develop and shift over time, as well as how a range of learning, academic, and social factors help shape 2-year college students’ academic trajectory.

Suggested Citation

  • Hsun-Yu Chan & Xueli Wang, 2018. "Momentum Through Course-Completion Patterns Among 2-Year College Students Beginning in STEM: Variations and Contributing Factors," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 59(6), pages 704-743, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reihed:v:59:y:2018:i:6:d:10.1007_s11162-017-9485-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11162-017-9485-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    7. Xueli Wang, 2016. "Course-Taking Patterns of Community College Students Beginning in STEM: Using Data Mining Techniques to Reveal Viable STEM Transfer Pathways," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 57(5), pages 544-569, August.
    8. Doyle, William R., 2011. "Effect of increased academic momentum on transfer rates: An application of the generalized propensity score," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 191-200, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gicheva, Dora & Edmunds, Julie & Hull, Marie C. & Thrift, Beth, 2022. "Getting Students to Stick Around: The Effects of Completing an Introductory Course on Persistence for Community College Students," IZA Discussion Papers 15777, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Yu Chen & Xiaodan Hu, 2021. "The Nudge to Finish Up: A National Study of Community College Near-Completion Students," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(5), pages 651-679, August.
    3. Roy Y. Chan, 2022. "Do Credit Momentum Policies Through the 15 to Finish Improve Academic Progression and Completion of Low-Income, First-Generation Students? Evidence from a College Promise Program," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 63(8), pages 1394-1426, December.
    4. Peter Riley Bahr & Jon McNaughtan & Grant R. Jackson, 2023. "Reducing the Loss of Community College Students who Demonstrate Potential in STEM," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 64(5), pages 675-704, August.

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