ERIC Number: EJ1286807
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 47
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0162-5748
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Major Movement: Examining Meta-Major Switching at Community Colleges
Schudde, Lauren T.; Ryu, Wonsun; Brown, Raymond Stanley
Review of Higher Education, v44 n2 p189-235 Win 2020
Evidence of inefficient course-taking patterns at community colleges has spurred policy conversations about how to ensure effective course sequences. Structural reforms, like guided pathways, seek to reduce major switching as a means to streamline student course taking and eliminate unnecessary credits. By placing students into broad fields of study--called meta-majors--and encouraging persistence within that general field (where coursework narrows toward a specific program over time), community colleges may help students progress toward their desired degree. But how often do students leave that meta-major, and what predicts meta-major switching? We use national data to examine meta-major switching at community colleges. Our findings suggest that almost 40 percent of students switch between meta-majors (eight broad major fields, plus undecided) between their first and third years of college. We describe the varied destinations and predictors across origin meta-majors and consider implications for colleges as they seek to assess ongoing reforms.
Descriptors: Majors (Students), Intellectual Disciplines, Course Selection (Students), Community Colleges, Public Colleges, College Freshmen, Academic Persistence, Predictor Variables, Institutional Characteristics, Student Characteristics, Gender Differences, Racial Differences, Student Experience, Socioeconomic Background, Educational Attainment, Expectation, Enrollment, Graduation, Longitudinal Studies, Postsecondary Education
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: P2CHD042849
Author Affiliations: N/A