COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND HISPANIC STUDENTS\u27 GPA, RETENTION, AND GRADUATION RATES

Although the Hispanic population continues to grow throughout the United States, Hispanic students still have some of the lowest college retention and graduation rates. Administrators at post-secondary institutions need evidence for effective strategies to recruit, retain, and graduate Hispanic students. The current study was created to determine if there was a difference in grade point averages (GPA), retention, and graduation rates between two specific groups. The first group consisted of 506 self-identified Hispanic students engaged in at least one community college student organization versus 506 self-identified Hispanic students not engaged in any campus organization. A quantitative study was conducted to determine academic success using pre-existing data from a Midwestern community college. The data included GPA, retention rates, and graduation rates. An independent t-test was used to calculate the GPA mean for both groups, and a chi-square test was used to measure retention. Both test outcomes indicated statistically significant results for the engaged Hispanic student with higher GPA score means of p \u3c .001 and retention rates of p \u3c .001. Results showed that the self-identified Hispanic students had greater academic success once they became involved at least one community college student organization. A chi-square test was used to analyze graduation rates; however, the differences were not statistically significant. The current study could be replicated to understand other underserved populations, such as African American students. For future studies, at least three years of pre-existing data should be examined with clearly defined membership rules for each student organization