Expanding the Student Persistence Puzzle to Minority Serving Institutions: The Residential Historically Black College and University Context

Abstract

The prevailing theories of student persistence have been developed in Predominantly White Institutional (PWI) contexts. The extent to which these theories—in whole or in part—apply to Minority Serving Institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has not been studied in depth. This study tests a PWI-based theory of student persistence in residential colleges and universities at two residential HBCUs. Four-hundred and fifty-one residential students completed a survey testing the theory, and then administrative data were used to link student persistence data. Findings suggest that theories developed at PWIs—such as the model tested in this study—hold salience for understanding student persistence at Minority Serving Institutions such as HBCUs. However, a complete picture of student persistence at HBCUs may benefit from the addition of HBCU-specific constructs and models.