Digest No. 08 – January 2021 – CIC Digest of Recent Research

Digest No. 08 - January 2021

Effects of Early College on Degree Completion

What is the impact of the early college model on students’ attainment of postsecondary credentials (specifically, bachelor’s degree, associate degree, and technical credential) and performance at four-year institutions? How does the relationship between early college and these outcomes differ for students who are low income, first in their family to go to college, members of underrepresented minority groups, or who enter high school below grade level? These questions drive this multi-site, quasi-experimental study of early college high schools and their effects on postsecondary outcomes, especially for underserved communities. Early college high schools are those that “integrate[s] practices designed to promote postsecondary success while combining the high school and college experience” and “target students who are underrepresented in college, such as low-income students, students who are the first in their family to go to college, and students who are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups” (p. 258). To provide a collegiate experience, these programs are located on college campuses. Students often have the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses as early as ninth grade and are expected to graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree or the equivalent of two years of college credit after four years.

Increasing Diversity in Faculty Hiring

How can universities live up to their commitment to diversity in hiring diverse faculty members? The authors of this study provide a literature review that synthesizes information concerning sources of unconscious bias in the faculty hiring process. The critical assumption underscoring the review is that unconscious bias, or the “social norms and social role expectations” that are active when our “intuitive, automatic system” of processing information goes unchecked may contribute to hiring practices that disadvantage women and people of color as potential candidates for faculty positions (p. 313). Drawing upon 154 studies published between 1985 and 2018, the authors identify prejudicial attitudes and discriminatory behaviors associated with cognitive biases and make concrete recommendations for introducing small behavioral changes in faculty hiring practices, what the authors call “nudges,” that are likely to disrupt these biases.

Microaggression Experiences among Black Undergraduates

Black undergraduate students experience college distinctively, especially when they are enrolled at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Navigating these environments requires resiliency, including the ability of Black collegians to face the risks associated with racial microaggressions. It also requires the students to protect themselves from microaggressions and adapt strategies to offset the microaggressions that often lead to such negative outcomes as dropping out of college (see Bowman 2013). Identifying the risk factors that these students face is critical for institutions that want to support the Black student population.

Helping Students Learn to Be Innovative

Innovation has become more than a buzzword in higher education. One needs to look no further for evidence than the many ways higher education stakeholders have expressed their commitment to innovation. Coalitions across colleges (such as the University Innovation Alliance) have been created, innovation centers have been funded, majors in innovation have been established, and the theme for the Council of Independent Colleges’ (CIC) 2018 Presidents Institute centered on innovation. Given this emerging, sustained, and “well-resourced” interest, it is surprising that more empirical work has not been done to ensure that the primary target of these interests—students—are benefitting from stakeholders’ commitment to innovation.

Implications of Different Student Approaches to College Completion

How does the college-going experience differ among students in early and middle adulthood? Using a nationally-representative data set, the author explores the pathways students take toward degree attainment. To do so, the author developed a typology of adult students based on a cluster analysis of such variables as employment, marital status, and parental transitions.

Impact of Adjunct Faculty Working Conditions on Instructional Quality

Contemporary higher education has increasingly relied upon non-tenure-track adjunct faculty to provide instruction, advisement, and mentorship to undergraduate students. As the empirical literature has repeatedly demonstrated, high-quality teaching and student-faculty interaction is a key component of critical outcomes such as student persistence and engagement.