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The Long-Term Role of Undergraduate Experiences: Predicting Intellectual and Civic Outcomes

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Abstract

Scholars and the public alike have questioned the benefits of obtaining an undergraduate education. Although research has extensively examined short-term outcomes associated with college experiences, relatively few studies have investigated non-economic outcomes beyond graduation. This paper explored the link between college experiences and post-college outcomes among 21,716 bachelor’s degree recipients from 68 private institutions. Although some variation across demographics was observed, good teaching, academic challenge, and diversity experiences were consistently—and often strongly—related to alumni’s perceptions of intellectual and civic growth.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies, University of Iowa, N491 Lindquist Center, Iowa, IA, 52242, USA

    Nicholas A. Bowman

  2. University of Georgia, Athens, USA

    Gregory C. Wolniak

  3. Montana State University, Bozeman, USA

    Tricia A. Seifert

  4. Wabash College, Crawfordsville, USA

    Kathleen Wise & Charles Blaich

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Correspondence to Nicholas A. Bowman.

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Appendix

Appendix

Descriptive statistics for dependent and independent variables.

Variable

Mean

SD

Minimum

Maximum

Perceived intellectual growth

3.27

0.55

1

4

Perceived civic growth

2.85

0.77

1

4

Good teaching

4.30

0.65

1

5

Academic challenge

3.97

0.59

1

5

Diversity interactions

3.11

0.87

1

5

Woman

0.63

0.48

0

1

Non-binary gender

0.006

0.07

0

1

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.003

0.06

0

1

Asian American/Asian

0.04

0.19

0

1

African American/Black

0.03

0.16

0

1

Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

0.001

0.03

0

1

Hispanic/Latinx

0.05

0.22

0

1

Non-U.S. citizen

0.03

0.16

0

1

Multiracial/multiethnic

0.02

0.16

0

1

Race/ethnicity not available

0.07

0.26

0

1

Graduated fewer than 5 years ago

0.19

0.39

0

1

Graduated 5–9 years ago

0.45

0.50

0

1

Graduated 10–14 years ago

0.29

0.45

0

1

Graduated 15 or more years ago

0.08

0.27

0

1

Biological sciences major

0.13

0.34

0

1

Business major

0.11

0.31

0

1

Communications major

0.04

0.20

0

1

Education major

0.06

0.24

0

1

Engineering major

0.03

0.17

0

1

Fine arts major

0.10

0.30

0

1

Health sciences major

0.04

0.20

0

1

Humanities major

0.23

0.42

0

1

Physical sciences major

0.10

0.30

0

1

Other major

0.08

0.27

0

1

  1. Continuous variables were subsequently standardized with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one for inclusion in the analyses

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Bowman, N.A., Wolniak, G.C., Seifert, T.A. et al. The Long-Term Role of Undergraduate Experiences: Predicting Intellectual and Civic Outcomes. Res High Educ 64, 379–401 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09708-5

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