Native and Community College Transfer Students in Biological Sciences at a Four-Year Institution: A Comparative Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between native and community college transfer students and identify factors that predicted upper-level biology course grade-point average and final overall grade-point average at a four-year institution in biological sciences. The results of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Weber, Nathanial
Format: Others
Language:English
Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3329
https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4773&context=etd
Description
Summary:The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between native and community college transfer students and identify factors that predicted upper-level biology course grade-point average and final overall grade-point average at a four-year institution in biological sciences. The results of this study indicated four-year institution persistence was not significantly related to gender, high school grade-point average, or ACT composite score. Persistence was significantly related to transfer status; whether the student was a native or community college transfer student with native students persisting at a higher rate at the four-year institution than community college transfer students. Furthermore, ACT composite score, high school grade-point average, final overall grade-point average, and upper level biology course grade-point average were significantly related to transfer status. Multiple regression analyses indicated high school grade-point average and ACT composite score were significantly predictive of upper-level biology course grade-point average while high school grade-point average, ACT composite score, and Pell eligibility were significantly predictive of final overall grade-point average.