First-Year Student Retention and Achievement: The Influence of Diversity and Background Characteristics

The racial climate of a campus can be either prejudicial or cooperative, and is directly affected by the frequency and profoundness of diverse interactions (Antonio, 2001); the greater the number and meaningfulness of diverse interactions, the more positive the campus climate. When related to Tinto's Student Departure Theory (1993), it is not difficult to deduce that the more comfortable and satisfied a student feels with the diversity climate on campus, the more likely he or she is to feel integrated, thus to maintain his or her student status at that university and also to perform well academically. Conversely, incongruence, or a lack of fit between the individual and the institution, can occur if there are differences between the intellectual and social values and preferences of the individual and those of other members of the institution. This is an important topic because research has shown that at public four-year institutions in the United States, 16- 23% of first-year college students do not return for their sophomore year (ACT, 2005). Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to determine how individual (gender, ethnicity) and environmental (perceptions of diversity, diversity of contact) factors relate to students' performance and retention in higher education, and to identify which of these factors best contributes to academic achievement and retention. Two standard multiple regressions indicated that open discussion of diversity issues, diversity of contact, minority status, Hispanic status, and Black status were significant predictors of achievement. Additionally, a logistic regression revealed that perceptions of diversity was a significant predictor of retention. A series of one-way between subjects analyses of variance indicated that females had higher perceptions of diversity than males and minorities had lower beliefs that multicultural beliefs are freely undertaken than non-minorities. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.