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Factors Impacting Persistence For African-American And Latino Community College Students, Amy Radovčić

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Persistence of African-American and Latino community college students has lagged behind other ethnic groups. The longitudinal study covered three years that included four semesters. Data from aggregated records of a community college in Southern California were analyzed to gain better understanding of factors that could explain varying rates of persistence. The data represented 609 African-American and Latino community college students who enrolled for the first-time in the fall 2006 semester. In addition to descriptive analysis, the data were subjected to t-tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression.

These findings revealed that access to a college counselor (p < .01) and offers of financial aid assistance (p < .01) and services from EOPS (p < .05) significantly and positively influenced persistence. The impact of age and SES differed by ethnicity. Older African-American students (p < .01) and younger Latino students (p < .01) were more likely to persist. Socioeconomic status (p < .01) was found to significantly influence persistence for African-American students. SES was not found to be significant in Latino community college student persistence. Age, gender, and completing a personal development course did not significantly influence African-American or Latino community college student persistence.

The findings can help …