2009 Performance Accountability Report Vol. 2 - Maryland Higher ...

level of success compared to the previous group. Hopefully, additional strategies to help
developmental students will effect change in future cohort groups.
Examination of data by race/ethnicity without considering degree of college readiness revealed
that African-American (42.4 to 50.8 percent) and Hispanic (35.3 to 44.0 percent) students were
far less likely to graduate and/or transfer within four years than white (51.6 percent to 65.4
percent) and Asian (52.0 to 60.6 percent) students – and that was true across all cohort groups.
A comparison of the data for the previous and most recent cohort groups (2003 and 2004)
revealed a notable increase in the graduation/transfer success of Hispanic students (from 39.3
percent to 44.0 percent), while slightly better success (from 49.3 percent to 50.8 percent) was
noted among African-American students. Graduation/transfer success of Asian students was
stable, while white students showed a notable decline (from 65.4 percent to 59.4 percent). The
success of the fall 2004 cohort group was beyond the benchmark for all race/ethnic groups
except for Hispanic students. However, Hispanic students have shown great strides in their
academic endeavors, which is evident in the progressive rise in academic success of the two most
recent cohort groups. Thus, their most recent success placed them one percentage point below
the benchmark.
Persistence
Many students continue on the path of success for a stretch of time beyond four-years, especially
those who attend on a part-time basis. According to the responses to a recent student survey,
almost half of all credit students are employed for 20 or more hours a week while attending
college. For some, the demands of employment and family responsibilities complicate matters
and place added stressors that can potentially impact student success. In addition, a large number
of students enter the College with developmental education and English language needs which
delay entry to many classes until those academic prerequisites are met. Consequently, persistence
beyond four years of entry is not uncommon for many community college students. When these
factors are realistically considered, it is reasonable to argue that four years is too short a time for
many students to accomplish their educational goals.
Therefore, within the scope of degree progress, an interim measure of success is indicated by the
completion of 30 or more credits with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0. When
students that meet these criteria are added to the graduation/transfer rates, 72 to 79 percent of the
students in the cohort groups persisted toward their academic goals four years after entry.
Differences in persistence are evident by race. Hispanic (64.6 to 73.9 percent) and African-
American (68.4 to 73.1 percent) students have consistently been less successful than Asian (76.4
to 87.7 percent) and white (74.3 to 82.9 percent) students on the measure of persistence.
Disparity in success between groups is apparent. However, this disparity has narrowed to 9.3
percentage points between the highest and lowest achievers in the 2004 cohort compared to 15.6
percentage points for the 2002 cohort group. The College exceeded its benchmark on this
indicator for each race/ethnic group, with the exception of African American students. The
success of African American students in the 2004 cohort group declined slightly, but is still
within reach of achieving the benchmark.
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