Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness

Advisor/Mentor

Popp, Jennie

Committee Member/Reader

Kemper, Nathan

Committee Member/Second Reader

Popp, Michael

Abstract

This study aims to understand the factors influencing the graduation rate with honors in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences (Bumpers College) at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville (UAF). Utilizing data from 2004 to 2014 provided by the Office of Strategic Analytics & Insights at UAF, this research investigates several demographic and academic variables to potentially identify predictors of successfully graduating from the Bumpers Honors Program. The methodology involved cleaning the data, statistical analyses including T-test and Chi-square tests, and logit regression models to determine significant factors impacting graduating with honors.

After chi-square and t-tests and seven iterations of logit models, three factors were found to significantly increase a Bumpers College student’s chances of graduating with honors: remaining in Bumpers College through their entire college career, ACT score, and third term GPA in college. The results provide valuable insight for Bumpers College administrators to better adapt interactions and incentives aimed to enhance the graduation rates of incoming freshmen from the honors college. Future research could incorporate additional factors, such as student engagement and funding for high-impact programs, to better refine the model and predict honors success.

Keywords

Honors; Agricultural Science; Graduation

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