Community service and postsecondary student completion rates: A quantitative analysis

Date

2016-12-02

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Abstract

Student involvement in the form of community service may be a factor that leads to student degree completion in higher education. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a connection between unpaid or volunteer community service during the first two years of college and postsecondary student degree completion at postsecondary institutions. Differences based upon the sex, total family income, parental education level, and race of the student as well as the particular type of community service organization where the students volunteered and the frequency volunteered were measured. Logistic regression was used to analyze selected response data from Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) participants. Results indicated that student participation in UVCS during the first two years of college did not increase the likelihood of students completing a degree. However, results showed that students who participated in church or church-related UVCS were more likely to complete a degree than students who did not participate in UVCS. In addition, frequency of UVCS was significant (p < 0.001) for those students who volunteered (a) at least once a month, but not weekly or (b) at least once a week. Students in these two categories of frequency of UVCS were more likely to complete a degree than those who volunteered less than once per month. Regression results also indicated only students who identified as Asian, Hawaii/Pacific Islander performed better than White students, males were not as likely as females to persist to completion, and student completion increased as parental education and total family income levels increased.

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Keywords

Community service, Completion

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