This project aims to identify the characteristics of students who attempt five or more credits in a fall or spring semester, earn none, and do not re-enroll in subsequent semesters.
Although there are numerous life circumstances beyond the scope of this project that might lead a student to fail or withdraw from all of their courses in a given semester, there is also a substantial amount of data available to analyze for patterns. Identifying any patterns among the data that we can access may provide insight for targeted interventions.
Withdrawn is a binary variable coded 1 for individuals that, in a fall or spring semester, have attempted at least five credits, completed zero, and never re-enrolled. Those coded 0 include any student that does not meet the above criteria and has taken an Undergraduate level course at any time since Fall 2017.
Semester Withdrawn | Students |
|---|---|
2017FL | 276 |
2018SP | 237 |
2018FL | 251 |
2019SP | 219 |
2019FL | 271 |
2020SP | 225 |
2020FL | 295 |
2021SP | 211 |
2021FL | 337 |
2022SP | 258 |
2022FL | 267 |
2023SP | 268 |
Withdraw Criteria Not Met | 25,647 |
Total | 28,762 |
Age is a categorical variable based on age at the start of their first LLCC undergraduate level course.
Age Group | Students |
|---|---|
0-16 | 1,255 |
17-20 | 14,813 |
21-24 | 3,943 |
25-30 | 3,351 |
31-39 | 2,819 |
40-55 | 2,041 |
56-99 | 527 |
Missing | 13 |
Total | 28,762 |
Data is also available for age at the start of a students’ final course. Additionally, for those that withdrew, age at the start of the semester during which they withdrew was recorded.
Race is coded as a series of binary variables for White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Other. Individuals categorized in the Other category include those who have selected ‘Prefer Not to Indicate’, Native American, or those that selected more than one race.
Ethnicity | Race Category | Students |
|---|---|---|
White American | White American | 20,210 |
African American | African American | 3,257 |
Two or More Races | Two or More Races | 2,025 |
Hispanic | Hispanic | 1,237 |
Asian/Pacific Isl | Asian/Pacific Isl | 659 |
Prefer Not to Indicate | Prefer Not to Indicate | 482 |
Native American | Native American | 132 |
Missing | Missing | 760 |
Total | 28,762 |
High School is coded as a series of binary variables for the eight high schools with the highest proportion of LLCC students since Fall 2017. In order, these schools are Glenwood High School, Springfield High School, Springfield Southeast High School, Out of State High Schools, Rochester High School, Lanphier High School, Taylorville High School, and Jacksonville High School. The remaining schools are coded as Other. The table below displays the number of students from each high school since Fall 2017. Schools that have sent fewer than 100 students since Fall 2017 have been omitted.
School | HS Category | Students |
|---|---|---|
DO NOT USE-OTHER HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 2,241 |
GLENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL | Glenwood High School | 1,844 |
SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL | Springfield High School | 1,797 |
SPRINGFIELD SOUTHEAST HIGH SCH | Springfield Southeast High School | 1,389 |
ROCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL | Rochester High School | 1,243 |
DO NOT USE (OUT-OF-STATE HIGH | Out of State | 1,209 |
LANPHIER HIGH SCHOOL | Lanphier High School | 1,194 |
TAYLORVILLE HIGH SCHOOL | Taylorville High School | 1,165 |
JACKSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL | Jacksonville High School | 1,149 |
GED | Other | 1,062 |
MISSING | Other | 771 |
WILLIAMSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 681 |
PLEASANT PLAINS HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 660 |
AUBURN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 558 |
RIVERTON HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 532 |
BEARDSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 493 |
HILLSBORO HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 484 |
DO NOT USE (SACRED HEART-GRIFF | Other | 479 |
LITCHFIELD HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 443 |
ATHENS HIGH SCHOOL #213 | Other | 422 |
NEW BERLIN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 398 |
PORTA HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 368 |
NORTH MAC COMM UNIT SCHOOL DIS | Other | 357 |
SACRED HEART GRIFFIN | Other | 294 |
PAWNEE HIGH SCHOOL DIST #11 | Other | 280 |
TRI-CITY HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 265 |
LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 259 |
HOME SCHOOLED | Other | 249 |
NOKOMIS HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 246 |
LAWRENCE EDUCATION CENTER | Other | 237 |
WINCHESTER HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 223 |
LINCOLNWOOD HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 196 |
MORRISONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 182 |
A-C CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 177 |
MT PULASKI HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 177 |
ROUTT CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 176 |
SOUTH FORK HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 150 |
EDINBURG HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 148 |
FRANKLIN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 147 |
CALVARY ACADEMY | Other | 141 |
LINCOLN COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 141 |
WAVERLY HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 141 |
ILLINI CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 139 |
TRIOPIA JR SR HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 132 |
MT OLIVE HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 126 |
NORTHWESTERN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 120 |
FOREIGN HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 116 |
VIRGINIA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL | Other | 113 |
Total | 25,514 | |
*Schools that have sent fewer than 100 students since Fall 2017 omitted from this table, but included in data. | ||
Students that received Pell grant funding were coded 1, those that did not were coded 0.
Pell | Students |
|---|---|
No | 17,429 |
Yes | 11,333 |
Total | 28,762 |
Female is a binary variable coded 1 for females and 0 for males.
Gender | Students |
|---|---|
Female | 16,598 |
Male | 12,022 |
Missing | 142 |
Total | 28,762 |
Sorting students into a single department can be a challenge. One strategy is to use the Academic Program[SPRO - Student Profile] variable from Colleague[STU.ACAD.PROGRAMS]. In ZogoTech, this data is pulled into the [activeProgram] variable found in [Student] and [StudentTerm] tables. As the back-end Colleague variable name [STU.ACAD.PROGRAMS] suggests, this is a multi-valued field. [Academic Program] from Colleague UI and [activeProgram] from ZogoTech represent the first value in this multi-valued field. Some students have as many as 9 Academic Programs. The Multi-Program table in ZogoTech contain the full contents of the [STU.ACAD.PROGRAMS] field. The following table displays the department associated with each student’s [activeProgram].
Department | Students |
|---|---|
Graduation Requirements | 5,939 |
Courses Only | 5,699 |
Health Professions | 5,486 |
Social Sciences and Business | 3,907 |
Workforce Institute | 2,816 |
Mathematics and Computer Science | 1,239 |
Undecided | 1,142 |
Natural and Agricultural Science | 939 |
Dual Enrollment | 817 |
Arts and Communication | 647 |
English and Humanities | 131 |
Total | 28,762 |
*Students with a missing [activeProgram] were coded as "Undecided" | |
For a number of reasons, relying solely on active program presents some issues. First, it includes the departments: Adult Education, Community Education, Courses Only, Dual Enrollment, English as a Second Language, and Graduation Requirements. These are not departments appropriate for Undergraduate level students. Second, the accuracy of active program is unknown. It is entirely possible for a student to be listed in a particular academic program, without ever having taken any classes in that department.
Another way to conceptualize department might be the department from which the majority of a students’ classes were taken.
The table below displays counts of students’ majors as determined by their course taking behavior.
Department | Students |
|---|---|
Social Sciences and Business | 8,440 |
Undecided | 3,798 |
Health Professions | 3,430 |
Mathematics and Computer Science | 3,400 |
Natural and Agricultural Science | 3,375 |
Workforce Institute | 2,962 |
English and Humanities | 1,841 |
Arts and Communication | 1,465 |
Center for Academic Success | 32 |
Missing | 15 |
Independent Studies | 4 |
Total | 28,762 |
*The strategy for dealing with students that had more than one department from which they took "the most" courses can be found in the examples below. | |
The table above displays a few anomalies that need to be addressed. First, how might students listed under Independent Studies and Center for Academic Success be classified?
Second, how should a student be classified when there is not a single department from which they have taken the most courses. For example, Some students have 2 or 3 departments from which they have taken 1 or 2 classes. The next several tables demonstrate how these cases were handled. The first two examples illustrate how some students were coded as “Undecided.”
Student ID | Original Course Dept | Courses Taken | Active Program | New Course Dept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0001052 | Health Professions | 1 | Arts and Communication | Undecided |
0001052 | Social Sciences and Business | 1 | Arts and Communication | Undecided |
0001052 | Workforce Institute | 1 | Arts and Communication | Undecided |
In the above example the student has taken one course in three different departments. This student’s Active Program is Arts and Communication, yet they have never taken any Arts and Communication courses. Because the student has multiple departments from which they have taken “the most” classes, and none of them match their Active Program, the student has been re-coded as Undecided.
Student ID | Original Course Dept | Courses Taken | Active Program | New Course Dept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0684492 | Arts and Communication | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
0684492 | English and Humanities | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
0684492 | Health Professions | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
0684492 | Mathematics and Computer Science | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
0684492 | Natural and Agricultural Science | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
0684492 | Social Sciences and Business | 1 | Health Professions | Health Professions |
In this second example the student has taken six courses from six different departments. Their active program, Graduation Requirements, does not match any of the departments from which they have taken the most courses. Here again the student’s department was re-coded to Undecided.
Student ID | Original Course Dept | Courses Taken | Active Program | New Course Dept |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0528877 | Arts and Communication | 2 | Graduation Requirements | Undecided |
0528877 | English and Humanities | 2 | Graduation Requirements | Undecided |
0528877 | Mathematics and Computer Science | 2 | Graduation Requirements | Undecided |
0528877 | Natural and Agricultural Science | 2 | Graduation Requirements | Undecided |
0528877 | Social Sciences and Business | 2 | Graduation Requirements | Undecided |
In this third and final example the student has taken 2 courses from five different departments. One of these departments matches the student’s Active Program, Social Sciences and Business. In this case, the student’s department was re-coded to Social Sciences and Business.