Evidence for an Equity Program: Improving Four-Year Graduation Rates for Historically Underrepresented Students

Background: Educational attainment is a determinant of social mobility and is a prerequisite for professional employment in many careers, including health, behavioral, clinical, social, and other biomedical research disciplines. Many students face systemic and structural barriers in higher education and obtain college degrees in these disciplines at lower rates than their counterparts due to factors such as socioeconomic status, disability, or racial/ethnic identity. As a collaborative, cross-institutional, NIH-funded initiative to promote equity and diversity in the research workforce, the BUILD EXITO project implemented a comprehensive, developmentally-sequenced research training program supporting historically underrepresented undergraduates across a wide range of majors. BUILD EXITO offered a 3-year program model featuring enhanced curricula, multi-faceted mentoring, meaningful long-term research internships, financial supports, and wrap-around services addressing psychological, social, cultural, and financial barriers hindering educational success. This study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of BUILD EXITO on four-year degree completion.

Methods: The study examined the four-year graduation rate of participants in several cohorts of BUILD EXITO scholars (EXITO: n=303) relative to students in two comparison groups: students who applied but were not accepted into the EXITO program (non-accepted: n=301); and non-participating students in the same academic majors as EXITO scholars during the same time period (majors: n=16,993). Using university student records, an outcome variable was created to indicate completion of a degree within four years of enrolling at the primary university. Between-group statistical comparisons were conducted using logistic regression to control for demographic background variables.

Results: Consistent with program aims to provide comprehensive support to support educational and career development, EXITO scholars had the highest rate of graduation within four years (62.4%), followed by students not accepted into the program (50.5%), and the general population of students in the same majors (42.8%). The three groups also differed on factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, and first-generation college student status, which were significantly associated with graduation. Controlling for such variables, logistic regressions highlighted that EXITO scholars were substantially more likely to achieve 4-year graduation than non-accepted students (OR=1.76, p <.01) and particularly other students in the same majors (OR=2.28, p <.001).

Discussion: These quasi-experimental findings suggest a comprehensive equity program focusing on students historically excluded from health, clinical, behavioral, social, and biomedical disciplines can improve their four-year graduation rates. Although not an experimental trial, the study provides compelling evidence that BUILD EXITO participants representing historically marginalized populations achieve an important educational milestone at higher rates than their academic peers. Furthermore, BUILD EXITO scholars also tend to fare better than their non-accepted counterparts who were similarly motivated to apply for the program. Although four-year graduation is no longer a normative expectation, timely degree completion confers tangible economic benefits by lowering student debt/expenses, enabling career progression, and initiating higher earning power. Equity programs have the potential to counteract historic educational and economic disparities and provide greater career opportunity.