Investigating the bachelor's degree pipeline : three papers on college access and student success
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Both individuals and society benefit from postsecondary education; however, numerous obstacles hinder students from enrolling and succeeding in college. This dissertation consists of three papers and each addresses one of three different obstacles to obtaining bachelor's degree: financial, academic, and informational. The first paper discusses the financial barrier and examines whether low income students are responsive to a financial incentive to pursue a STEM major. Using regression discontinuity and a statewide longitudinal student dataset, I exploit two discontinuities in the eligibility requirements of the national SMART Grant. The results suggest that financial incentives late in the college career are not enough of a motivation for students to study a STEM field. The second paper addresses the academic barrier and presents a theoretical framework and empirical evidence related to how students use college credit earned in high school. Specifically, it uses the nationally representative Beginning Postsecondary Survey to examine the relationship between earning college credit through Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams and postsecondary outcomes. Results indicate that that earning AP credits are positively related to graduating early, double majoring, and majoring in a STEM field. The third paper presents an experimental analysis of a college access program to determine whether a high school senior's amount of interaction with a near-peer college adviser affects the students college preparation and enrollment. The treatment group received on average approximately three more meetings with the adviser, but these do not result in observable increases in college enrollment.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2013 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Evans, Brent Joseph |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, School of Education. |
| Primary advisor | Bettinger, Eric |
| Thesis advisor | Bettinger, Eric |
| Thesis advisor | Antonio, Anthony Lising, 1966- |
| Thesis advisor | Loeb, Susanna |
| Advisor | Antonio, Anthony Lising, 1966- |
| Advisor | Loeb, Susanna |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Brent Joseph Evans. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the School of Education. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2013. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2013 by Brent Joseph Evans
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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