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Empirical selectivity of study programmes in higher education: does it matter for degree completion?

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Title: Empirical selectivity of study programmes in higher education: does it matter for degree completion?
Authors: Kopecny, Silvia (AUTHOR), Hillmert, Steffen (AUTHOR)
Source: Studies in Higher Education. Dec2025, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p2964-2979. 16p.
Subjects: Higher education, Academic ability, Institutional theory (Sociology), Education research, Graduation (Education)
Abstract: This article investigates the relevance of local selectivity in study programmes for the probability of attaining a first academic degree. Empirical selectivity can be the result of both selection procedures of study programmes and self-selection of potential students. From higher-education research, complemented by prominent arguments from school effectiveness research, various competing hypotheses are derived regarding the impact of individual academic ability and the contextual impact of local selectivity. While all hypotheses expect individual ability to be positively related to degree completion, they differ in expectations about local selectivity. The subsequent empirical analysis expands the existing international state of research by covering not only the institutional level but also fields of study. Using data from an undergraduate cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study, results from two-level linear probability models fit best with the composition hypothesis, which predicts a positive correlation between degree completion and local selectivity that purely reflects the composition of the student body. In contrast to results in the mostly U.S. context of whole universities, own ability seems more important than selectivity of the context in the form of study programmes in German higher education, at least in terms of surrounding peers' ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)
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  Data: Empirical selectivity of study programmes in higher education: does it matter for degree completion?
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kopecny%2C+Silvia%22">Kopecny, Silvia</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hillmert%2C+Steffen%22">Hillmert, Steffen</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Studies+in+Higher+Education%22">Studies in Higher Education</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 50 Issue 12, p2964-2979. 16p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+ability%22">Academic ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Institutional+theory+%28Sociology%29%22">Institutional theory (Sociology)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Education+research%22">Education research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Graduation+%28Education%29%22">Graduation (Education)</searchLink>
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  Data: This article investigates the relevance of local selectivity in study programmes for the probability of attaining a first academic degree. Empirical selectivity can be the result of both selection procedures of study programmes and self-selection of potential students. From higher-education research, complemented by prominent arguments from school effectiveness research, various competing hypotheses are derived regarding the impact of individual academic ability and the contextual impact of local selectivity. While all hypotheses expect individual ability to be positively related to degree completion, they differ in expectations about local selectivity. The subsequent empirical analysis expands the existing international state of research by covering not only the institutional level but also fields of study. Using data from an undergraduate cohort of the German National Educational Panel Study, results from two-level linear probability models fit best with the composition hypothesis, which predicts a positive correlation between degree completion and local selectivity that purely reflects the composition of the student body. In contrast to results in the mostly U.S. context of whole universities, own ability seems more important than selectivity of the context in the form of study programmes in German higher education, at least in terms of surrounding peers' ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Studies in Higher Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/03075079.2024.2447790
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Higher education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Institutional theory (Sociology)
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      – SubjectFull: Education research
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      – SubjectFull: Graduation (Education)
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              Text: Dec2025
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