Time with college graduates, family member academic level, and time spent in federal TRIO programs as predictive factors of higher GPA in post-secondary education among ethnic minority college students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore academic success as measured by Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) among ethnic minority college students across the United States. The three predictor variables used for this study were: number of family members who completed college, amount of time spent in months (as proxy for relationship quality) with community members, and amount of time spent in a federal TRIO program. A total of 152 ethnic minority college students made up the sample for this study. A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyze the relationship between GPA and the three predictors. There were no significant findings for this study at the .05 level; however, a t-test revealed a statistically significant difference between the GPA of students in a TRIO program and the GPA of students who had not been in a TRIO program. This study concluded that number of family members who completed college and amount of time spent with community members were not significant predictors of academic success among minority college students. Suggestions for future research include utilizing a measure other than time regarding impact of community members on academic success. An alternative path could also be to explore the academic achievement comparisons between college students who participated in TRIO programs and those who did not participate in TRIO programs. Another direction for future research would be to look at potential resilience factors contributing to academic success related to the predictor variables in this study.