Major Decision: The Impact of Major Switching on Academic Outcomes in Community Colleges

Liu, Vivian Yuen Ting; Mishra, Soumya; Kopko, Elizabeth

doi:10.1007/s11162-020-09608-6

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…At the same time, switching majors might have positive consequences, since it gives students the opportunity to revise an unsuitable initial subject choice (Bornmann & Daniel, 1999;Diem, 2016). These positive consequences have been shown for open major systems such as the US, and indicate that students switching their major even show higher graduation rates than students persisting in their initially chosen major (Liu et al, 2021;Yue & Fu, 2017). For higher education systems where changing majors involves a reapplication there is, however, not yet any evidence on how these factors drive such decisions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The timing of switching refers to switches taking place at an early or late stage of higher education studies. In this regard, studies from the US indicate that early major switches have no negative impact on students' success in higher education (Foraker, 2012;Liu et al, 2021), while switches taking place after the second year are correlated with lower grades and graduation rates, but also with longer times until graduation (Foraker, 2012). In Germany, the negative consequences of late switches might be aggravated due to the system of state subsidies for students of low-income families, since these are only paid if switching majors take place during the first three terms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

2021

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While a large body of research addresses both subject choice and student dropout in higher education, much less is known about switching the initially chosen major. Therefore, we ask why students switch their major in higher education and analyse this for the case of Germany, taking the timing and the degree of such switches (within and across subject groups) into account. Based on the extended rational choice framework, we identify three aspects that might explain switching majors: individual achievement in secondary education, a (mis)match between individual occupational interests and the content of studies and parental and peer judgement regarding the initial subject choice. We test the derived hypotheses by applying logistic regression models to representative data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 5. Our results indicate that the analysed aspects of individual achievement, person-major fit and social expectations affect switching majors, but their influence varies according to the degree and timing of the switch. While high-achieving students are more likely to switch majors, especially across disciplines and at a later stage in their studies, a mismatch in occupational interests mainly affects switching majors across broad subject groups. Finally, disapproval of the initial subject choice by parents and peers matters most for switches during the first two semesters and across academic disciplines.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

2021

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“…Many students who earned those credentials may have been striving to earn a "higher" credential, meaning they accumulated academic credits beyond what was necessary for their degree. At the same time, it is also possible that many of those academic credits may not apply toward students' degree plan, given high rates of major switching and misalignment between credits taken and degree requirements (Fink et al, 2018;Liu et al, 2020;Schudde, Ryu & Brown, 2020a, 2020b. Fink et al (2018) show that introductory coursework, in particular, contribute to excess credits and argue that colleges should offer more structured pathways to avoid students taking additional introductory courses that will not contribute toward their desired degree.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterogeneity in the Returns to Credits for Public Two-Year College Entrants

Schudde

Shea

2021

Res High Educ

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Public two-year colleges offer an entry point to postsecondary education for many Americans who might otherwise forgo college. Most students leave college without a credential. A growing body of research examines the returns to higher education among two-year college entrants but primarily focuses on returns to credentials. This study examines the returns to different types of credits, including academic, technical, and developmental credits. In a series of individual fixed effects models, we use state administrative data following a population of public two-year college entrants to understand which college credits yield the greatest returns and how returns to credits vary across degree attainment. Our findings illustrate that average estimates of the returns to credits obscure varied patterns of returns among two-year college students, where sub-baccalaureate credential recipients appear to experience different returns to academic and technical credits compared with their peers.

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“…Research suggests that the process by which students explore and choose an academic and career field that is a good fit for them is a developmental one that can play out over multiple terms (see Bailey et al., 2016, for a review of the literature). As part of this process, students benefit from taking courses early on in a field or topic of interest, so they can determine for themselves, “Am I really interested in this field,” and “Am I good at it?” If students decide that a field is not a good fit for them and want to switch directions early on, that should not deter them as research on major choice among students in community colleges indicates that changing programs early does not hurt, and in some cases may increase students’ chances of completion (Liu et al., 2021). Research also indicates that students benefit from connecting with faculty, other students, and others in a field of interest (Tinto, 2012).…”

Section: What We Are Learning About Rethinking Student Onboardingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking community colleges to serve 21st‐century students and communities: Lessons from research on guided pathways

Jenkins

Lahr

Fink

2021

New Drctns Community Coll

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In this article, researchers from the Community College Research Center reflect on what they have learned from their study of Guided Pathways reforms at over 100 colleges nationally since the publication in 2015 of Redesigning America's Community Colleges. They examine five areas of practice: (1) program design, (2) new student onboarding, (3) remediation and academic support, (4) ongoing student advising, and (5) teaching and learning. For each area, they describe how their thinking about Guided Pathways has evolved from the model presented in Redesigning and discuss the implications for practice. In the conclusion, they provide guidance to college and state system leaders about how to advocate for adequate state fiscal support for evidence‐based reforms needed for achieving more equitable student outcomes and ensuring college survival in a very challenging environment for community colleges and their students.

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Major Decision: The Impact of Major Switching on Academic Outcomes in Community Colleges

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

Heterogeneity in the Returns to Credits for Public Two-Year College Entrants

Rethinking community colleges to serve 21st‐century students and communities: Lessons from research on guided pathways

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