College Graduation Rates for Minority Students in a Selective Technical University: Will Participation in a Summer Bridge Program Contribute to Success?

Murphy, Terrence E.; Gaughan, Monica; Hume, Robert; Moore, Stennis

doi:10.3102/0162373709360064

Cited by 69 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Similar to the short-format instructional strategies discussed by Gutlerner and Van Vactor (4), much of the available evidence regarding their efficacy relies on self-reported perceptions of value and lacks performance-based or longitudinal assessment (35)(36)(37). However, the few studies that have assessed longer-term outcomes and/or used more rigorous designs find limited, if any, benefits (38,39). Most retention and degree completion results yield null (e.g., refs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Null effects of boot camps and short-format training for PhD students in life sciences

Feldon

Jeong

Peugh

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Many PhD programs incorporate boot camps and summer bridge programs to accelerate the development of doctoral students' research skills and acculturation into their respective disciplines. These brief, high-intensity experiences span no more than several weeks and are typically designed to expose graduate students to data analysis techniques, to develop scientific writing skills, and to better embed incoming students into the scholarly community. However, there is no previous study that directly measures the outcomes of PhD students who participate in such programs and compares them to the outcomes of students who did not participate. Likewise, no previous study has used a longitudinal design to assess these outcomes over time. Here we show that participation in such programs is not associated with detectable benefits related to skill development, socialization into the academic community, or scholarly productivity for students in our sample. Analyzing data from 294 PhD students in the life sciences from 53 US institutions, we found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between participants and nonparticipants across 115 variables. These results stand in contrast to prior studies presenting boot camps as effective interventions based on participant satisfaction and perceived value. Many universities and government agencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation) invest substantial resources in boot camp and summer bridge activities in the hopes of better supporting scientific workforce development. Our findings do not reveal any measurable benefits to students, indicating that an allocation of limited resources to alternative strategies with stronger empirical foundations warrants consideration.graduate training | boot camp | research skills | doctoral education

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most retention and degree completion results yield null (e.g., refs. 40 and 41) or small-magnitude effects of limited duration (39,42,43). For instance, Barnett et al (38) reported that the eight programs they studied had small, positive effects on passing math and writing courses in the first semester compared to a control group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Null effects of boot camps and short-format training for PhD students in life sciences

Feldon

Jeong

Peugh

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 11, 2015 abs.sagepub.com Downloaded from one of the most common outcomes studied (Ackerman, 1991;Buck, 1985;Garcia, 1991;Murphy et al, 2010). These studies generally conclude that SBPs help in retaining students.…”

Section: Table 1 (Continued)mentioning

confidence: 82%

The Challenge of Summer Bridge Programs

Sablan

2013

American Behavioral Scientist

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Given the number of students who enter postsecondary education not ready for college, many universities have instituted summer bridge programs to better transition students to their freshman year. These programs occur during the summer before a student's freshman year and are considered a bridge from high school to college. Yet despite the prevalence of these interventions across postsecondary institutions-community colleges and 4 years, public and private-few empirical studies exist evaluating these programs. The objectives of this article are to (a) provide a characterization of the breadth of summer bridge programs, (b) review the extant literature on summer bridge programs, and (c) discuss implications of these reviews for the future of summer bridge programs.

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“…A few programs publish their successes, but many more go unreported. 7,13,14 Of those that do publish, few maintain control groups, often relying instead on student satisfaction surveys. There is little consensus around the impact of summer bridge programs on student GPAs.…”

Section: Research Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 Studies show abilities, attitudes, and college-preparation (e.g., AP courses) are main determinants of successful completion of challenging STEM programs. 5,6,7,8 Students from under-resourced schools often have access to less rigorous college-preparation than their peers and subsequently struggle on campus although they possess all of the inherent intelligence necessary to succeed. Additionally, highly selective institutions often fail to take prior preparation into account when designing support programs, assuming that that because admitted students are all academically capable they will each enter college equally prepared to compete.…”

Section: Research Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%