Participation in Undergraduate Research Reduces Equity Gaps in STEM Graduation Rates
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STEM Learning Center, Educational Policy Studies and Practices, University of ArizonaHuman Development and Family Science, University of Arizona
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2024-02-02
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American Society for Cell BiologyCitation
Haeger, H., Bueno, E. H., & Sedlacek, Q. (2024). Participation in Undergraduate Research Reduces Equity Gaps in STEM Graduation Rates. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 23(1), ar11.Journal
CBE Life Sciences EducationRights
© 2024 H. Haeger et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2024 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Many students who enroll in a public U.S. 4-y college will not graduate. The odds of com-pleting a college degree are even lower for students who have been marginalized in higher education, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Can undergraduate research increase a student’s likelihood of graduating college and close educational equity gaps in college completion? To answer this question, we use data from six public U.S. universities (N = 120,308 students) and use Propensity Score Matching to gen-erate a comparison group for analyses. We conducted logistic regressions on graduation rates and equity gaps in 4 and 6 y using the matched comparison group and undergraduate researchers in STEM (n = 2727). When being compared with like-peers and controlling for background characteristics and prior academic performance, students who participated in undergraduate research were twice as likely to graduate in 4 y and over 10 times as likely to graduate in 6 y. We also found that equity gaps in 4-y graduation rates for students of color, low-income, and first-generation students were cut in half for undergraduate researchers. At 6 y, these gaps were completely closed for undergraduate researchers. As we seek ways to close education gaps and increase graduation rates, undergraduate research can be a meaningful practice to improve student success. © 2024 H. Haeger et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education.Note
Open access articleISSN
1931-7913PubMed ID
38306615Version
Final Published Versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1187/cbe.22-03-0061
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2024 H. Haeger et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2024 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License.
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