Keywords
academic performance, graduation rates, college retention, ACT scores, GPA, student involvement, student engagement
Abstract
This study aimed 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 a data set of 220 Bumpers College Honors graduates from 2004 to 2014, provided by the Office of Strategic Analytics & Insights at UAF, this research investigated several demographic and academic variables to potentially identify predictors of successfully graduating with honors. 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.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, T., Popp, J., Popp, M., & Kemper, N. (2024). Factors Affecting Graduation with Honors: A Case Study in Bumpers College. Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, 25(1). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/discoverymag/vol25/iss1/11
Included in
Agribusiness Commons, Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Agricultural Economics Commons