Toward a Model of the Academic Progress: Summarizing Cohort 1990 Progress and Achievement. Enrollment Analysis EA97-6.

To track student progress and develop a model of the total academic process at Prince George's Community College (PGCC), the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis acquired 5 years of background, behavioral, and outcome data for a cohort of first-time students entering the college. The academic process was broken down into three divisions: input (environmental variables measuring pre-college student attributes and college-external personal circumstances), through-put (process variables measuring student progress), and output (outcome variables measuring fulfillment of educational objectives). Exploratory modeling was used to create a structured academic process. The research first used regression analysis and created 10 new academic process factor scales, plus 7 student background indicators. Next, a model was created to explain student outcomes through the application of causal path analysis. The last phase of research was to produce a second model complementary to the path model but less abstract. Cluster analysis was applied to the cohort data, resulting in 10 clusters describing student attributes and behaviors. Though the path and cluster models were highly tentative, valuable insights were offered, including the importance of personal motivation, taking student career differences seriously, and creating academic support programs. Appendices include cluster data tables and methodology of social background variable construction. (YKH)