A Comparison of Career Outcomes Among Community College Transfers, Four-Year College Transfers, and Native Freshmen

152 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988.Graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) were studied to determine whether differences in career outcomes as measured by annual income and a socioeconomic index score were related to differences in college origin. Three college origin cohorts were studied: community college transfers, four-year college transfers and native freshmen. In addition, data on gender, family annual salary, family SES occupational index, father's education, mother's education, cumulative grade point average, academic area, current SES occupational index, and current annual salary for each of the three cohorts were compared. To compare career outcomes among the three college origin cohorts and control for possible intervening effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and college achievement, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) design was employed. The covariates were family SES and academic achievement. The dependent variable, career outcome, was determined by a linear composite of the subject's occupational SES index score and current annual income. The ANCOVA was repeated for each of four curricula areas: humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, science-based professions, and social professions.Males in the two-year transfer cohort who completed baccalaureate degrees in areas of natural science or social professions, scored significantly lower than the other two male cohorts on measures of career outcomes. The results for females were mixed: Females from two-year colleges scored higher on career outcomes than natives in Natural Sciences and higher than four-year transfers in science-based professions when SES and GPA were controlled.The results imply that males seeking degrees in natural sciences may attain more favorable career outcomes by either: (a) completing all of their college requirements at a major research university, or (b) initially attending a four-year college and completing their degree requirements at a major research university. Males seeking degrees in social professions may attain more favorable career outcomes by attending a four-year college and completing their degree requirements at a major research university. Due to the low number of females in each subgroup, conclusions and implications are less tenable. The results also imply the need to consider differences in academic areas when comparing career outcomes.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD