Institutional Attributes and Student Outcomes

Student performance and persistence are influenced by a variety of individual and institutional factors. The majority of research conducted on student outcomes is based on identifying student characteristics and their relatedness to outcomes. Characteristics such as student demographics, financial situation, and academic preparation, or previous education are among the factors typically examined. Colleges enrolling large proportions of students with such characteristics, or who have other specific embedded characteristics, such as organizational structures, local environment, economy, and politics, may find it helpful to compare themselves with institutions that have similar characteristics. This final issue of Data Notes reflects on the relationship between certain institutional characteristics and student outcomes by examining institutional size, type, locale, proportion of part-time, Hispanic, or black students, and how these institutional characteristics are related to student outcomes.