Higher Education Research Project: Do College Characteristics Predict Student Success?

The Capstone team studied the relationship between college characteristics and student success, both in completing college and in the job market. Three dependent variables were tested: job salary, job satisfaction, and the time taken to graduate. The job-related data describe students four years after college graduation. The research showed that private university attendance is a significant factor that affects salary and time to graduate. Other characteristics like school size are not significant. Findings also demonstrated that some factors have a larger impact on these variables—choice of major for instance—than college characteristics. Policy implications for student college choice are apparent: college choice may not have a large effect on later job success.