Up-or-Out Systems? Quantifying Path Flexibility in the Lived Curriculum of College Majors.
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| Title: | Up-or-Out Systems? Quantifying Path Flexibility in the Lived Curriculum of College Majors. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Jarratt, Lindsay1 (AUTHOR) lindsay-jarratt@uiowa.edu, Lynn, Freda B.1 (AUTHOR), Shi, Yongren2 (AUTHOR), Broton, Katharine M.3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Research in Higher Education. Sep2024, Vol. 65 Issue 6, p1185-1207. 23p. |
| Subject Terms: | *College curriculum, *College majors, *Students, Homogeneity, Data analytics |
| Abstract: | Recent research on curricular analytics suggests that the structure of a college major may impact major persistence and degree completion. Contributing to this line of research, we propose and test a new measure of the "lived curriculum" that captures the extent to which cohorts within a major take the same exact course-taking path as they advance from matriculation to graduation (or institutional exit). First, we describe variation in path homogeneity across both STEM and non-STEM majors at one public research-intensive institution. Second, we show that a major's level of path homogeneity is correlated with the percentage of "locked" requirements in its stated curriculum, but that the stated curriculum cannot account for all observed differences in path homogeneity. Third, we conduct a correlational analysis of early exposure to path homogeneity and graduation likelihood. Findings show that students with average levels of academic preparation are less likely to graduate if enrolled in path-homogeneous majors compared to more path-heterogeneous (i.e., flexible) majors, and that negative outcomes associated with a path-homogeneous major are exacerbated for students with below-average preparation. Supplemental analyses show that this relationship holds for STEM and non-STEM majors, cannot be explained away by the competitiveness of a major, and that students generally switched from more to less path-homogeneous majors over the course of their college careers. Taken together, these findings urge re-examination of the ways college majors can promote retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Research in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 179142246 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Up-or-Out Systems? Quantifying Path Flexibility in the Lived Curriculum of College Majors. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jarratt%2C+Lindsay%22">Jarratt, Lindsay</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lindsay-jarratt@uiowa.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lynn%2C+Freda+B%2E%22">Lynn, Freda B.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shi%2C+Yongren%22">Shi, Yongren</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Broton%2C+Katharine+M%2E%22">Broton, Katharine M.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Research+in+Higher+Education%22">Research in Higher Education</searchLink>. Sep2024, Vol. 65 Issue 6, p1185-1207. 23p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+curriculum%22">College curriculum</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+majors%22">College majors</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students%22">Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Homogeneity%22">Homogeneity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analytics%22">Data analytics</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Recent research on curricular analytics suggests that the structure of a college major may impact major persistence and degree completion. Contributing to this line of research, we propose and test a new measure of the "lived curriculum" that captures the extent to which cohorts within a major take the same exact course-taking path as they advance from matriculation to graduation (or institutional exit). First, we describe variation in path homogeneity across both STEM and non-STEM majors at one public research-intensive institution. Second, we show that a major's level of path homogeneity is correlated with the percentage of "locked" requirements in its stated curriculum, but that the stated curriculum cannot account for all observed differences in path homogeneity. Third, we conduct a correlational analysis of early exposure to path homogeneity and graduation likelihood. Findings show that students with average levels of academic preparation are less likely to graduate if enrolled in path-homogeneous majors compared to more path-heterogeneous (i.e., flexible) majors, and that negative outcomes associated with a path-homogeneous major are exacerbated for students with below-average preparation. Supplemental analyses show that this relationship holds for STEM and non-STEM majors, cannot be explained away by the competitiveness of a major, and that students generally switched from more to less path-homogeneous majors over the course of their college careers. Taken together, these findings urge re-examination of the ways college majors can promote retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Research in Higher Education is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s11162-024-09789-4 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 23 StartPage: 1185 Subjects: – SubjectFull: College curriculum Type: general – SubjectFull: College majors Type: general – SubjectFull: Students Type: general – SubjectFull: Homogeneity Type: general – SubjectFull: Data analytics Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Up-or-Out Systems? Quantifying Path Flexibility in the Lived Curriculum of College Majors. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jarratt, Lindsay – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Lynn, Freda B. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Shi, Yongren – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Broton, Katharine M. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Text: Sep2024 Type: published Y: 2024 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 03610365 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 65 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Research in Higher Education Type: main |
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