Impact of Race, Class, and Involvement on Collegiate Degree Attainment

Abstract

This study examines how intersections of race, class, and collegiate involvement shape students’ educational outcomes, specifically degree attainment. It explores (a) to what extent involvement influences student’s educational outcomes and (b) how the relationship between involvement and outcomes varies by socioeconomic status, race, and the intersection of both. Using data from the National Center on Education Statistics’ Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, statistical analyses, including logistic regression methods, were conducted to explore these relationships. The results of this study suggest that different forms of involvement may have positive or negative relationships with attainment in the aggregate, but these relationships are far more nuanced than they appear when disaggregated. This study sheds light on the intersecting relationship between involvement and attainment for different racial and socioeconomic status subgroups, offers guidance for practitioners and educators, and calls for a closer examination of the causal mechanisms driving diverse relationships between involvement and attainment.