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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2010 Choosing to succeed: An exploration of the relationship between college choice and freshman retention James Tomlin Walke William & Mary - School of Education Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons Recommended Citation Walke, James Tomlin, "Choosing to succeed: An exploration of the relationship between college choice and freshman retention" (2010). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects.25774/w4-86fd-q511 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.

CHOOSING TO SUCCEED: AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLEGE CHOICE AND FRESHMAN RETENTION A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by James Tomlin Walke March 2010 CHOOSING TO SUCCEED: AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLEGE CHOICE AND FRESHMAN RETENTION by James Tomlin Walke Approved March 201 0 by David W. Chairperson ofDoctoral Committee A4z. 11 DEDICATION For their support and inspiration, this dissertation is dedicated to my incredible wife, Chadra Dalan, and my two beautiful sons, James Carlton and Chaden Timothy. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.

vi LIST OF TABLES. ix LIST OF FIGURES. 2 Access, African American Students and HBCUs. 3 Statement of the Problem.

7 Purpose of the Study: Research Questions. 8 Justification of the Study. 9 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study. 9 Definition of Terms.

22 Linking College Choice and Retention. 35 Population and Sample. 40 IV Research Questions. 66 Summary of Findings.

72 Limitations and Recommendations for Further Study. 102 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am greatly indebted to the many friends, family and colleagues who offered their time, talents and other forms of support throughout the course of my studies. Though I run the risk of offending by omission, the following individuals warrant special acknowledgement. I am thankful for the friendships established with Drs.

Tim Tribiano and Michele Godwin during our time together at Auburn University. In each of you I experienced an unconditional empathic regard I have seldom felt from others. Your many shouts of encouragement over the years were always appreciated. I am grateful to Dr.

Katrice Albert for teaching me that one's scholastic endeavors mean the most when they serve the communities one cherishes most. I will always remember the courage and strength you modeled for me. I am indebted to Drs. Kathryn Jarvis and Paula Backscheider.

Jarvis supervised me during my first graduate assistantship and directed me to my advisor and dissertation committee chair, Dr. Backscheider is the first person to ever describe me as an intellectual. I thank each of you for helping me develop greater confidence in my academic abilities early in my graduate career. I am thankful to Mr.

Justin Hall, my oldest and dearest friend, for the many times you served as a late night counselor and for the comic relief of the innumerable stories you have shared with me. Most of all, I am thankful to have known you for the past thirty years. Pascal Barreau and Kianga Thomas, my fraternity brothers and colleagues in the School of Education. I am grateful for the friendships we have developed and indebted for the assistance you provided during the final stages of this endeavor.

The critiques each of you offered resulted in a much stronger dissertation than I could have produced on my own. Thank you for demonstrating true brotherhood and ensuring that our dear fraternity truly is the school for the better making of men. My sincerest appreciation to Drs. Lome Kuffel and Daina Henry who introduced me to the field of institutional research and helped me develop the skills that have served me well early in my professional career.

I am appreciative of my time with Dr. John McLaughlin who provided me the opportunity to develop and refine my analytical skills as an assistant on several of his program evaluation projects. Dot Finnegan, your unyielding, though fair, critical eye helped me to produce work at a level higher than I thought possible. Thank you for always pushing me to be a better student and scholar.

David Leslie, my graduate advisor and dissertation committee chair. I am grateful for the encouragement and guidance you provided in the patient, gentle manner that is uniquely yours. Your truly are "as cool as a moose and twice its antlers, too!" I am much obliged to Mrs. Terricita Sass who took a leap of faith and offered me my first job in higher education (and commissioned a study that would also provide this study's data).

You have been an incredible mentor. Thank you for indulging my idiosyncrasies while always challenging me to improve. Most of all I wish to thank my family. My parents, James Walke and Lucille Walke, for demanding the best out of me academically and helping me develop the Vll aptitude, confidence and perseverance necessary to complete my studies.

My brother, Damien Walke, who taught me to pursue my dreams without fear. My sister-in-law, Dr. Carlane Pittman, who blazed a path for me in the School of Education, and more importantly, introduced me to my wife. My in-laws, Mr.

Carlton and Cecelia Pittman, who helped out during the countless evenings and weekends I spent in the library. I would not have been able to finish my studies without your support. My sons, James Carlton and Chaden Timothy, my heart's joy. The many pictures I displayed of you in my office and on my computers helped me persevere through many long study sessions.

I am proud to be your father. With evening and weekend library sessions a thing of the past, I look forward to enjoying more family time in my new role as Dr. Daddy! I am most thankful to my friend, partner and wife, Chadra. The journey to complete my dissertation was not mine alone.

We have walked side by side for nine years. The satisfaction we both feel at this moment is not the greatest joy we have shared. The course to this moment, though arduous, is far from the greatest challenge we have faced together. No one has sacrificed more than you.

Thank you for every sacrifice you have made to help me complete my dissertation. I am as smitten with you now as the day we met. Vlll LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Norfolk State University Profile.

Norfolk State University Undergraduate Admissions Trends. Comparisons of African American ASQ Participants and Non-participants. ASQ Plus Local Questions. NSU Characteristic Ratings.

Images Held by Participants. College Choice Measures. Financial Aid Type and Amount. Retention Status by Rank Preference Category.

NSU Ratings by Rank Preference Status. Held Images of First-Choice and Non-First Choice Participants. Admissions Profile Distributions. 69 IX LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.

Fall Headcount Enrollment Trends. African American Undergraduate Enrollment Trends. Conceptual Model of the Choice-Retention Relationship. 30 X ABSTRACT CHOOSING TO SUCCEED: AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLEGE CHOICE AND FRESHMAN RETENTION Student, James Tomlin Walke, Ph.

The College ofWilliam and Mary in Virginia, 2010, 113 pp. Chair: Professor Emeritus David. Leslie This quantitative study was designed to explore the relationship between college choice and retention processes and to extend current understandings of retention at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Logistic regression analyses were utilized to assess the relationship between student responses to the ASQ Plus® survey, an instrument assessing college choice measures, and freshman retention outcomes.

Findings validated the college choice-retention link. Several pre-matriculation measures of student expectations of the university were related to moderate increases in the odds ofbeing retained. The amount and types of financial aid received emerged as the strongest predictors of freshman retention outcomes. Xl CHOOSING TO SUCCEED: AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COLLEGE CHOICE AND FRESHMAN RETENTION CHAPTER I Norfolk State University is a unique institution; an historically black university (HBCU) 1 born of Virginia's segregated higher education system (Adams v.

Richardson, 1973; Office of Civil Rights, 1991; Dalton, 1978). Established in 1935 as a teacher's college, the University was one of two public institutions in the Commonwealth providing higher education to African Americans. During second half of the 20111 century the University grew in scope and mission even as the state and federal higher education environments evolved to permit increased opportunities and options for African Americans students. Throughout these changes providing access to African American students has remained the University's core mission (Brooks, 1983; NSU, 2004f The University has evolved from being one of the few opportunities available to African American students to an institution that competes for these students with local and regional peers.

In this respect, the University's experience mirrors that of many public HBCUs today. HBCUs capture a decreasing proportion of African American college student enrollments as they compete with predominantly white institutions and in some instances, community colleges, for African American students (Wilson, 1990). 1 HBCUs are postsecondary institutions established prior to 1964 whose historical and current missions are the education of African Americans (Brown et al., 2001; OCR, 1991; Roebuck & Murty, 1993). 2 Early in its history, access at NSU was defined as providing postsecondary education opportunities to African American students.

Today the notion of access has expanded to include providing opportunities for low-income, first generation, non-traditional students and those from underserved areas of the Commonwealth. 2 3 Access, African American Students and HBCUs Because of their unique historical contexts and centrality in the story of African American higher education (Brown, 2002, 2003; Davis, 1998), the issue of access has special salience for HBCU s. The struggle for access to postsecondary educational opportunities has been the central theme for African American higher education (Brown, Donahoo & Bertrand, 2001). For much of early American history African Americans were effectively excluded from higher education (Anderson, 1988; Brown, et al., 2001; Brown & Hendrickson, 1997; OCR, 1991).

Though postsecondary opportunities for African Americans grew in the late nineteenth century, black higher education was essentially a separate system unequal to that provided for white Americans (Adams v. Richardson, 1973; Brown et al., 2001; Allen & Jewel, 2002; Dalton, 1978; OCR, 1991 ). Historically black colleges and universities have been important instruments of access for African American students (Anderson, 1988; Brown et al., 2001; Davis, 1998; Holmes, 1934; OCR, 1991; Roebuck & Murty, 1993). As African American students gained access to a broader range of institutions, HBCU s enrolled smaller proportions of total black collegiate enrollment.

Though the number ofblack students enrolled in college has increased, the proportion of African-American students enrolled at HBCUs has declined (Nettles & Perna, 1997; Sissoko & Liang-Rong, 2005). Ironically, HBCUs- the very institutions historically responsible for providing opportunity to African American students - today face stiff competition for these students from predominantly white institutions (Wilson, 1990). At Norfolk State University, these changes are evident in recent enrollment trends. At the initiation of this study the University was in the midst of a sixteen year 4 enrollment decline.

The University's fall2006 headcount enrollment of6,238 (NSU, 2008) represented a 28% decline in enrollment since fall 1992's headcount of 8,624 students (see figure 1). Fall Headcount Enrollment Trends. The enrollment declines carry significant ramifications for the University's fiscal viability, as 3 7% of the University's revenues are derived from tuition and fees. Enrollment growth is also an integral component of the University's strategy for dealing with the Commonwealth's 5 current budget shortfall and the funding reductions it entailed for the Commonwealth's colleges and universities.

The University's enrollment declines coincided with increased competition for African American students with two local institutions.