Demographic and academic characteristics of developmental education students at a midwestern community college.

摘要

The purpose of this retrospective, descriptive study was to compare the characteristics of students who enrolled in more than one developmental education course at a large, multi-campus community college in the Midwest and were able to graduate within three years. The variables identified include both demographic and academic characteristics: gender, ethnicity, age, enrollment status, financial aid eligibility, GED versus diploma, parents' level of education, number of developmental courses, degree type, and successful completion of a study skills course.;Existing data used to conduct this study was gathered from the institution's Student Information System (SIS). Students were selected based on their CPT and/or ACT/SAT scores and the need to enroll in developmental education. Students selected for the study must have enrolled in at least one developmental class during the three years of attendance at this institution. Students were examined within three cohorts: 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 and were tracked over a three year period.;Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to describe the demographic and academic characteristics. Those characteristics included: age, gender, ethnicity, GED or diploma, financial aid eligibility, parents' level of education, completion of a study skills course, number of developmental courses taken, and degree type of graduates.;The first research question examined significant differences between the demographic characteristics of those students who either did or did not graduate within three years. The second research question examined significant differences between the academic characteristics of those students who either did or did not graduate within three years. The third research question examined significant differences between those students who graduated with an associate of arts, associate of science, or an associate of applied science.;The findings proved that there were significant differences in regard to gender, Pell eligibility, and also the level of education a student enters into college with (either GED or high school diploma). Female students who took developmental education courses were more likely to graduate than their male counterparts; 76.1% of the three year graduates were female. Those students who were not Pell eligible and graduated within a three year period made up 52.1% of the graduate population. Students who entered into college with a high school diploma were also more likely to graduate; 82.1% of the graduate population entered into this institution with a high school diploma.