A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND PERSISTENCEBETWEEN KANSAS PUBLIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFERSTUDENTS AND NATIVE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare academic success and persistencebetween community college transfer students and students native to the University ofKansas. The study measured academic success based on first semester and cumulativeGPAs and persistence based on completion of a bachelor’s degree.The study identified transfer students who (a) entered the University of Kansas(KU) for the first time with at least 24 and no more than 65 credit hours transferred froma public community college in Kansas, and (b) were at least one semester removed fromhigh school. Students identified as native to KU were those who (a) entered directly fromhigh school, or (b) had completed less than 24 hours prior to being admitted. Nativestudents earned between 24 and 65 credit hours at KU prior to being selected for thestudy. All students in the study were enrolled at KU and had a declared major in atraditional 4-year graduation program through The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.The sample included 184 transfer and 200 native students randomly selected from thepopulation. For each subject in the study, information gathered included studentenrollment history, hours earned at beginning of study, semester GPAs, cumulativeGPAs, whether a degree was conferred, age at beginning of study, ethnic background,and gender. The first hypothesis was tested by performing two-way ANOVAs using status,gender, and ethnicity as variables. No difference was found between the status of nativestudents and transfer students for first semester GPA or cumulative GPA. Gender showedsignificant different for both first semester GPA and cumulative GPA. The interactionbetween status and gender was marginally significant and was depicted. No difference was found in the first semester GPA based on ethnicity. A marginally significantdifference was found for the cumulative GPA between minority and non-minoritystudents. No difference was found for first semester GPA or cumulative GPA based onthe interaction of status and ethnicity. The second hypothesis was tested by performing a chi-square test usingenrollment status and persistence as variables. No difference was found in the persistenceto a baccalaureate degree between native students and transfer students.