Cover Page

To our loved ones.

How College Affects Students

Volume 3

21st Century Evidence That Higher Education Works

Matthew J. Mayhew

Alyssa N. Rockenbach

Nicholas A. Bowman

Tricia A. Seifert

Gregory C. Wolniak

With Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini

 

 

Wiley Logo

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

FIGURES

  1. Astin's Framework (1984) for Understanding College and Its Influence on Students
  2. Results of a Hypothetical Regression Discontinuity Analysis for a Need-Based Scholarship with a Family Income Cutoff of $30,000
  3. Conceptual Diagram of an Instrumental Variable Analysis
  4. Results of a Hypothetical Hierarchical Linear Modeling Analysis with Students Nested within Institutions
  5. Conceptual Overview of Direct and Indirect Effects

TABLES

  1. Overview of Review Framework
  2. Overview of Guidelines for Effect Size Metrics in College Impact Research When Key Conditions Are Met
  3. Covariates with Citations
  4. Covariates with Citations
  5. Studies Reviewed by Primary Theoretical Perspective
  6. Primary Data Sources Providing Evidence on the Net Effects of College by Study
  7. Primary Data Sources Providing Evidence on Between-College Effects by Study
  8. Primary Data Sources Providing Evidence on Within-College Effects by Study
  9. Primary Data Sources Providing Evidence on Conditional College Effects by Study
  10. Change During College: Main Findings
  11. Net Effects of College: Main Findings
  12. Between-College Effects: Main Findings
  13. Within-College Effects: Main Findings
  14. Conditional Effects: Main Findings
  15. Long-Term Effects of College: Main Findings

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The nearly four-year journey to the third volume of How College Affects Students involved many individuals who dedicated their time and talents to supporting our efforts. First and foremost, this opportunity would not exist if not for the guidance and wisdom of Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini. Their generosity, humility, and grace are unparalleled in this and (we suspect) other related fields, as these scholars gently guided the management and ultimate execution of this product, which was the most challenging any of us has ever attempted. In our moments of doubt, Ernie and Pat provided the type of support only they, as the architects of volumes 1 and 2, could: flavoring criticism with praise and using the wisdom gained from lessons learned to guide some innovations punctuated throughout this volume. Ernie and Pat, thank you!

We are immensely grateful for the significant contributions of our graduate research assistants: Paulina Abaunza, Marc Lo, Benjamin Selznick, and Tiffani Williams at New York University; Laura Dahl at The Ohio State University; Rebecca Crandall, Tara Hudson, and Shauna Morin at North Carolina State University; Vivienne Felix at Bowling Green State University; KC Culver at the University of Iowa; David Aderholdt, Christy Oliveri, and the wonderful students in the College Students course during spring 2015 at Montana State University; and Alicia Kruisselbrink Flatt, Qin Liu, and Monica Munaretto at the University of Toronto. Many thanks also to Laura Davis, assistant director of the Center for Research on Higher Education Outcomes at New York University. Together they were an exceptional team, and devoted countless hours to collecting, organizing, and abstracting more than ten thousand studies, as well as preparing the final manuscript for publication. This volume would not have been possible without their enthusiasm, skill, and creativity.

We also value the support offered by our institutions and departments by way of scholarly leave time and graduate research assistants. Library services provided by our institutions, particularly the expertise and insight of librarians specializing in postsecondary education, were invaluable as we proceeded to assemble the vast array of articles and books for our review.

Many colleagues and mentors cheered us on over the years and imparted essential wisdom, advice, and encouragement along the way—too many to list here. Furthermore, this volume represents the work of thousands of gifted researchers who committed their scholarship to the cause of studying college impact. Their contributions have substantially advanced the field empirically and theoretically over the past decade. We also appreciate the multitude of college students who willingly gave of their time and candidly shared their experiences and perspectives across thousands of research studies.

Above all, we are indebted to our loved ones—to friends and family members who believed in us and the importance of this volume, who listened to our perpetual musings about the shaping influences of college in students' lives, who inspired us to keep moving forward, and who graciously accepted years of sacrificed evenings and weekends that went into writing this volume. All told, this work rests on many shoulders, and we are truly humbled by the generosity shown by those who took part in the journey with us.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Matthew J. Mayhew is the William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration with a focus on Higher Education and Student Affairs at The Ohio State University. He received his BA from Wheaton College, Illinois, his master's degree from Brandeis University, and his PhD from the University of Michigan. Before coming to OSU, he served as an associate professor at New York University and an administrator at Fisher College and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

He has focused his research on examining the relationship between college and its influence on student learning and democratic outcomes. To support the study of college and its impact on student development and learning, he has been awarded over $14 million in funding from sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Merrifield Family Trust, and an anonymous non-religiously affiliated organization with interests in social cooperation. He has been on the editorial boards of the Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, and the Journal of College Student Development. He recently received the American Educational Research Association Religion and Education SIG Emerging Scholar Award.

Alyssa N. Rockenbach is professor of higher education at North Carolina State University. She received her BA in psychology from California State University, Long Beach, and her master’s degree and PhD in higher education from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her research focuses on the impact of college on students, with particular attention to spiritual development, religious and worldview diversity in colleges and universities, campus climate, and gendered dimensions of the college student experience. Her current work includes a multimillion-dollar initiative, Cooperation in a Pluralistic World: A National Study of College Students' Engagement with Religious Diversity, in partnership with the Interfaith Youth Core and Matthew Mayhew. She serves on the editorial boards of Research in Higher Education and Journal of Higher Education, and has been honored with national awards, including the American College Personnel Association Emerging Scholar Award, and the American Educational Research Association Religion and Education SIG Emerging Scholar Award.

Nicholas A. Bowman is an associate professor of higher education and student affairs as well as the director of the Center for Research on Undergraduate Education at the University of Iowa. He received his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, as well as two master's degrees and a PhD from the University of Michigan. Before working at the University of Iowa, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Notre Dame and an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University.

His research has examined issues of college diversity, religion/worldview, outcome assessment, college rankings and prestige, and student success. He serves on the editorial boards of Review of Educational Research, Research in Higher Education, Journal of Higher Education, and Journal of College Student Development. He has had over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles published since 2008, and he received the Promising Scholar/Early Career Award from the Association for the Study of Higher Education in 2012.

Tricia A. Seifert is an associate professor of adult and higher education at Montana State University and has a faculty appointment at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She received her BA in sociology and political science from Illinois Wesleyan University, her master's degree in college student services administration from Oregon State University, and her PhD in counseling, rehabilitation, and student development (student affairs administration and research emphasis) from the University of Iowa.

Her research examines postsecondary organizational cultures and structures, as well as student experiences associated with learning and success. She serves as the Journal of College Student Development's associate editor for international research and scholarship and is past associate editor for New Directions for Institutional Research and Faculty in Residence for ACPA's Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development. She received the Award of Honour from the Canadian Association of College and University Student Services in 2015 and the Emerging Scholar Award from ACPA in 2010.

Gregory C. Wolniak is director of the Center for Research on Higher Education Outcomes and associate professor of higher education at New York University. He received his BS in economics from Iowa State University, MA in economics from University of Illinois at Chicago, and PhD in social foundations of education from the University of Iowa. Before coming to NYU, he was senior research scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago.

His research centers on examining the socioeconomic effect of college, with a focus on the factors that influence students' pathways into college and the career and economic effects of college. He serves on the editorial boards of Research in Higher Education, Journal of Higher Education, and Sociology of Education and has occupied primary roles on numerous privately and publicly funded higher education studies, including the Spencer Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Ernest T. Pascarella is professor and the Mary Louise Petersen Chair in Higher Education at the University of Iowa. He received his AB degree from Princeton University, his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and his PhD from Syracuse University. Before coming to Iowa in 1997 he spent 20 years as a faculty member at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He has focused his research and writing for the past 35 years on the impact of college on students and student persistence in higher education. He is consulting editor for the Journal of Higher Education and has been on the editorial boards of the Review of Higher Education and the Journal of College Student Development. He has received a number of awards from national associations for his research. These include the research awards of the Association for Institutional Research, Division J of the American Educational Research Association, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American College Personnel Association, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, and the Council of Independent Colleges. In 1990, he served as president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education and in 2003 received the Howard R. Bowen Distinguished Career Award from ASHE.

Patrick T. Terenzini is distinguished professor and senior scientist emeritus in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. He received his AB degree in English from Dartmouth College, his MAT degree in English education from Harvard University, and his PhD in higher education from Syracuse University. Before coming to Penn State, he served as a faculty member and administrator at Dean College (Massachusetts); Syracuse University; the University at Albany, SUNY; and the University of Georgia.

For more than 40 years, he has studied the effects of college on student learning and development, persistence, and educational attainment, and low-income and first-generation students. He has published more than 140 articles in refereed journals and made more than 200 presentations at national and international scholarly and professional conferences. The Exxon Foundation, U.S. Office of Education, National Science Foundation, College Board, Lumina Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and Alfred P. Sloane Foundation have provided financial support for his research. He has been a consulting editor for Research in Higher Education for more than thirty-five years and served as editor in chief of New Directions for Institutional Research for over a decade. He has also been associate editor of Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research and an editorial board member for Review of Higher Education. He has received research awards from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the Association for Institutional Research, American Society for Engineering Education, American College Personnel Association, and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. He received the Outstanding Service Award and the Distinguished Career Award from the Association for Institutional Research. He is a past president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.