Skip to main content

Bridge to Student Success?: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the University of Mississippi's JumpStart Summer Bridge Program

View
@ University of Mississippi Libraries

Ferris, Emily

Description

Summer bridge programs (SBPs) are a popular programmatic intervention of colleges and universities to assist students with the transition from high school to college and provide students with the academic and social tools they need to be successful. Despite their popularity, a survey of relevant literature indicated that bridge programs are not routinely evaluated to measure their effectiveness. This study sought to contribute to the body of existing literature by evaluating the effectiveness of the University of Mississippis (UM) JumpStart Summer Bridge Program and its impact on student success outcomes, including GPA, institutional retention, and degree completion, to establish concrete actionable data for program staff and university administrators. Data was retrieved from the Office of Institutional Research Effectiveness and Planning (IREP), the Office of the Registrar, and the Office of Pre-College Programs. IREP provided the data file for the 2013-2016 freshman cohorts, which included first-semester grade point average, first-year grade point average, retention status, completion status, and JumpStart participation, demographic information, and pre-college academic performance. To address the studys research questions, a series of t-tests were conducted to examine differences in first-semester GPA, first-year GPA, and retention and completion for JumpStart participants and non-participants. Logistic regression was used for the analyses of predictors of retention and four-year graduation. Key findings of the study included: (a) Jumpstart participants earned significant lower first-semester and first-year GPAs than non-participants; however, participants also entered UM with significantly lower high school GPA and ACT composite scores; (b) logistic regression analysis shoJumpStart to be a significant,...
Type:
Text
Format:
Application/Pdf
Created Date:
2019 01 01 T08:00:00 Z
View Original At:

Record Contributed By

University of Mississippi Libraries