LOW STUDENT GRADUATION AT GLENDALE

Scholarly Works Synthesis Template

Instructions:

Type your central research question below. Then, you will choose two different scholarly peer reviewed journal articles that were published within the last five years that pertain to your research topic. Complete the table below for each article. Then, you will use the comparative template that follows to make a comparison of the two articles. Your voice should be evident in the comparative template. Assignment instructions and the rubric are applicable to this assignment.

Central Research Question

What factors drive the low graduation rates among black non-Hispanic students at Glendale Community College?

Article One

Individual Scholarly Works Template

Insert correctly formatted reference and link to the scholarly peer-reviewed work below

Almenaie, O. (2018). Factors affecting the rate of completion of undergraduate students. Journal of Education and Practice, 9(36), 37-46. https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JEP/article/download/45776/47260

What is the theoretical or conceptual framework, if presented

The study does not present a conceptual or theoretical framework

What are the major topics presented?

The article seeks to examine the factors that influence the completion and graduation rates of undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia, using King Saud University as a case study. The authors acknowledge that higher education plays a vital role in a countrys political, social, and economic sphere, and contributes to higher productivity and skills to address future challenges. There has been a significant increase in the rates of undergraduate enrolment in Saudi Arabian public universities, leading to huge increases in government expenditure and high operational costs at the institutional level. In a bid to keep government expenditure on check and at the same time, take advantage of the knowledge-based growth that comes with higher education, the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030 advocates for the privatisation of university education in the kingdom as a means to ensure their administrative and financial independence.

Privatisation places upon universities the responsibility to reduce operational costs, increase revenues, and enhance efficiency in operations. Unfortunately, retaining students for longer than the designated time increases universities invisible costs, while reducing their per-capita revenues. The problem statement depicts the dire situation at King Saud University, where on average, only 26 percent of undergraduate students complete their courses and graduate on time. For instance, in the 2007 academic year, the university enrolled 7,443 students, with only 1,959 completing their courses within the designated timelines.

The reviewed literature showed that the factors affecting course completion in higher education could be categorized into academic factors and non-academic factors. The non-academic factors were further divided into social factors, psychological factors, and economic factors. The academic factors identified in the literature review included poor educational compatibility, negative attitudes, poor academic discipline, ineffective admission criteria, poor time management, weak student-faculty relationships, poor supervision, and lack of academic counselling.

Which words /authors are repeated often?

The key words in the study are rate of completion, graduation, higher education, educational achievement, academic factors, admission criteria, and non-academic factors.

What data collection methods were used?

The study made use of secondary data obtained through a review of the academic records of 7,443 students enrolled at the King Saud University in the 2007 academic year. The researchers collected data on students grade point averages (GPA), academic discipline, individual scores on the GCSE and aptitude tests prior to university acceptance, marital status, age, gender, nationality, economic rewards, and career status.

What data analysis methods were used?

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple regressions were carried out to determine the extent of the relationship between the rate of completion, which was the dependent variable, and the various independent variables measuring academic factors, admission criteria, social factors, and economic factors. The students were allotted values 6 to 19 based on when they completed their studies, with those who completed earlier receiving higher scores, while those who took the maximum allowable time of 19 semesters receiving the least score. The conventional course completion period is eight semesters, although some students opted to combine units from several semesters in order to graduate within 6 or 7 semesters. The independent variables were grade point averages (GPA), academic discipline (academic factors), individual scores on the GCSE and achievement tests prior to university acceptance (admission criteria), marital status, age, gender, and nationality (social factors), economic rewards, and career status (economic factors).

What are the results of the study?

The study found that both GPA and academic discipline (academic factors) have a significant positive effect on undergraduate students rate of completion. However, GPA was found to have a stronger effect than academic discipline given the higher Beta value obtained from the results of regression. T-tests comparing retention rates across aademic disciplines found that medical students and those in scientific disciplines complete their courses faster than those taking humanities and that students with higher GPAs were more likely to complete their courses on time than those with lower GPAs.

In research question 2, the study found a significant relationship between admission criteria and rate of completion. The study concluded that high GCSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) and Aptitude Test performance prior to admission was associated with a higher rate of completion. However, performance in the achievement test was more influential than GCSE.

On research question 3, the study found a significant relationship between both gender and age on the rate of completion. Nationality and marital status were both found to be insignificant predictors of the completion rate. T-tests comparing retention rates between males and females found that females completed earlier than males. Age yielded a negative association with rate of completion, implying that younger students complete their courses faster than older students.

Finally, regarding research question 4, ANOVA showed no significant relationship between the economic variables (career status (whether a student is employed) and rewards (whether or not they have received career awards) and rate of completion.

What are the strengths of the article?

The article focuses on both academic and non-academic factors, which helps provide a more accurate and wider view of why students fail to complete their courses on time. Studies that concentrate on academic or non-academic factors alone give a limiting view of the range of factors that influence students decision-making.

What are the limitations of the article?

The article limits itself to two variables in each category, leaving out crucial variables such as tuition standards, availability of financial aid, on-campus accommodation, peer supports systems, and faculty-student relationships. Further, the study is limited to undergraduate students and its findings may not be generalizable to students in other levels of education.

How does this article address the problem?

It provides crucial insights on the effect of GPA, academic discipline, age, nationality, marital status, gender, employment while schooling, career rewards, and past academic performance on students rate of completion. From the insights presented, college administrators and staff can identify at-risk students and begin early interventions to enhance their completion rates.

How does this article neglect to address the problem or topic?

It leaves fails to consider the effect of the school climate on completion rate. The school climate, as indicated by the availability of financial aid, accommodation, strong peer support systems, and strong interactions between faculty and students have a significant effect on GPA and completion rate.

What evidence does the article present regarding the problem or topic?

The article shows that students are more likely to graduate on time if they have high GPAs and high past academic performance in secondary school or pre-admission aptitude tests. Further, students in the medical field and science courses are generally more likely to complete on time than those in humanities. Moreover,...…likely to join peer learning organizations than males (Margarit & Kennedy, 2019). Both articles found race and nationality to be insignificant predictors of completion rate among college students, which is contrary to what one would realistically expect that African-American students would take longer to complete their courses and graduate. Both articles are also similar in that they assess the effects of economic factors on students completion and graduation rates. The studies yield similar results, particularly in regard to employment while schooling, where both find that employment does not significantly influence how soon one completes their course or graduates from college. Thus, contrary to popular belief, there is no guarantee that a student who works while schooling would complete their course later than their peer who attends school full-time.

How are the results of these two articles different? Write two sentences that demonstrate a synthesis of the two articles. Include at least one in-text citation in each sentence.

The results of the two articles differ on several fronts. On the area of economic variables, Almeniae (2018) found no effect on the rate of completion, upon measuring two variables employment while schooling and career rewards. However, this finding differs significantly from Margarit and Kennedys (2019), whose analysis of economic variables showed a relatively strong association with timely graduation. Margarit and Kennedy (2019) found that students were more likely to graduate on time if they had access to financial aid while in school, and that the association was significant on regression.

Further, Almeniae (20180 found academic variables to have the greatest influence on college students completion rates as compared to admission criteria, social and economic variables. This contradicts Margarit & Kennedys (2019) findings, which found that institutional variables were the greatest determinants of timely graduation after they yielded stronger beta regression coefficients than all other variables. Under institutional support, the study assessed availability of learning communities, positive and regular feedback mechanisms, and strong faculty-student relationships. From the analysis, these institutional factors shape the school climate, which dictates the level of student satisfaction and the ability to persist (Margarit & Kennedy, 2019).

How does the information in the two sources relate to your proposed study?

The two studies represent the rich literature that is already available in the topic of interest. Many studies have been conducted to identify the factors that influence students college completion and graduation rates. The two studies focus on identifying the academic and non-academic factors that influence students timely graduation from college. They identify a range of interesting variables that could be highly beneficial to the proposed study. The two studies reviewed are highly relevant to the proposed study because they provide a view of variables that give conflicting outcomes across studies, and which are subject to future research. For instance, the brief review of the two studies indicates that academic variables emerge as the most significant influencers in one study, while the school climate emerges as the mostinfluential factor in the other study. It would be interesting to study both variables in the proposed study to see how they behave in a different context. Thus, the reviewed studies help to inform the selection of variables to be included in the proposed study. They also provide insights on how to effectively measure the said variables in the proposed study. Finally, the reviewed studies indicate the dearth in knowledge in the study topic, which enhances the relevance of the proposed study. From the studies, one can deduce that existing studies focus on four-year colleges, leaving the area of community colleges largely understudied. The proposed study intends to address this gap by focusing specifically on the factors influencing completion rates in community colleges. The study findings will…