A Profile of the

> Ronald E. McNair
>
> Postbaccalaureate
>
> Achievement Program
>
> 1997--1998 THROUGH 2001--2002
>
> Prepared for

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Postsecondary Education

Federal TRIO Programs

2005

By

Mary Seburn

Tsze Chan

Rita Kirshstein

American Institutes for Research®

This report was prepared for the U.S. Department of Education under
contract number ED-01-CO-0026 by the American Institutes for
Research.^®^ Frances Bergeron provided technical review of the content.
Shirley Johnson served as the contracting officer's representative. The
views expressed herein are those of the contractor. No official
endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product,
commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this publication is
intended or should be inferred.

**U.S. Department of Education**\
Margaret Spellings\
*Secretary*

**Office of Postsecondary Education**\
Sally L. Stroup\
*Assistant Secretary*

**Federal TRIO Programs**\
Larry Oxendine\
*Director*

April 2005

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in
whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this
publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, *A Profile of the Ronald
E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program: 1997--1998 Through
2001--2002*. Washington, D.C., 2005.

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Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Acknowledgments ix

Highlights xi

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

Background and purpose 1

Annual award and authorization 2

Project activities, 1999--2000 and 2001--02 4

Data described in this report 5

Chapter 2: Student Participants in the McNair Program, 1997--98 Through
2001--02 7

Active participants 8

Eligibility status 8

Race/ethnicity 8

Gender 10

Age at project entry 10

Current year in college 11

New participants 12

Eligibility status 12

Race/ethnicity 13

Gender 15

Age at project entry 15

Current year in college 15

Project entry date 16

All project participants, 1997--98 through 2001--02 16

Eligibility status 16

Race/ethnicity 17

Gender 18

Age at project entry 18

Current year in college 19

Summary 19

Chapter 3: Program Outcomes and Impact 21

A note concerning data quality 21

Baccalaureate degrees earned 21

Graduate school acceptance and entrance 22

Graduate school persistence 25

A comparison of graduate school persistence 26

Doctoral and other advanced degrees earned 28

Summary 31

Chapter 4: Future Directions 33

References 35

Glossary 37

Appendices

Appendix A: Other Related References 41

Appendix B: Region of McNair Grantee Institutions 43

Appendix C: Response Rates and Data Issues 45

Appendix D: Persistence Rate Documentation 49

Tables

Table 1.01. Annual McNair award, number of grantees, and expected number
of program participants:\
1989--90 through 2001--02 3

Table 1.02. Actual number of participants served, average award per
participant, and average number of participants per grantee: 1996--97
through 2001--02 3

Table 1.03. Number and percent distribution of selected grantee
characteristics: 2001--02 4

Table 1.04. A comparison of program activities: Percent providing
project activities and average number of participants, 1999--2000 and
2001--02 5

Table 2.01. Number and distribution of new, active, and all
participants, by year: 1997--98\
through 2001--02 7

Table 2.02. Percent distribution of active participants, by eligibility
status: 1997--98 through\
2001--02 8

Table 2.03. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity: 1997--98 through\
2001--02 9

Table 2.04. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity and eligibility status:\
2001--02 10

Table 2.05. Percent distribution of active participants, by gender:
1997--98 through 2001--02 10

Table 2.06. Percent distribution of active participants, by college
grade level: 1997--98 through 2001--02 11

Table 2.07. Percent distribution of new participants, by length of
participation: 1997--98 through 2001--02 12

Table 2.08. Percent distribution of new participants, by eligibility
status: 1997--98 through\
2001--02 13

Table 2.09. Percent distribution of new participants, by race/ethnicity:
1997--98 through\
2001--02 14

Table 2.10. Percent distribution of new participants, by race/ethnicity
and eligibility status,\
2001--02 14

Table 2.11. Percent distribution of new participants, by gender:
1997--98 through 2001--02 15

Table 2.12. Percent distribution of new participants, by college grade
level: 1997--98 through 2001--02 16

Table 2.13. Percent distribution of all participant records, by
eligibility status and reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 17

Table 2.14. Percent distribution of all participant records, by
race/ethnicity and reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 17

Table 2.15. Percent distribution of all participant records, by gender
and reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 18

Table 2.16. Percent distribution of all participant records, by college
grade level and reporting\
year: 1997--98 through 2001--02 20

Table 3.01. Percent of active participants, by year of active
participation and time to bachelor's degree:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 22

Table 3.02. Graduate school acceptance and entrance one year after
graduation for McNair bachelor's\
degree recipients, by graduation year: 1997--98 through 2001--02 23

Table 3.03. Number and percent of 2000--01 McNair college graduates who
enrolled in graduate\
programs at the end of 2001--02, by selected characteristics 23

Table 3.04. Graduate school acceptance, enrollment, and retention for
McNair college graduates\
for the years following graduation, by graduation year: 1997--98 through
2001--02 24

Table 3.05. Graduate school enrollment and persistence rates for McNair
college graduates enrolling\
in graduate school immediately after graduation, by graduation year:\
1997--98 through 2000--01 25

Table 3.06. Comparing graduate school persistence: McNair and B&B
bachelor's degree\
recipients 27

Table 3.07. Percent distribution of all participants, by academic
degrees earned in each reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 28

Table 3.08. Percent distribution of all participants, by highest degree
earned and selected demographic characteristics: 2001--02 29

Table 3.09. Comparison of the percent distribution of doctoral degree
recipients and all students who\
ever participated in the program, by selected demographic
characteristics: 2001--02 30

Table B-1. Geographic distribution of grantees. 43

Table C-1. Number of records reported and response rates for McNair
grantees: 1996--97\
through 2001--02. 45

Table C-2. Percent of missing, out-of-range, or invalid student records,
by reporting year:\
1996--97 through 2001--02. 46

Table C-3. Data field changes: 1997--98 through 2001--02. 47

Table D-1. Graduate school persistence for McNair college graduates
enrolling in graduate\
school immediately after graduation: 1997--98 through 2000--01. 49

Figures

Figure 2.01. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001--02 9

Figure 2.02. Percent distribution of active participants, by age at
project entry:\
1997--98 through 2001--02 11

Figure 2.03. Percent distribution of new participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001--02 13

Figure 2.04. Percent distribution of new participants, by age at project
entry: 1997--98 through 2001--02 15

Figure 2.05. Percent distribution of all participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001--02 18

Figure 2.06. Percent distribution of all participants, by age at project
entry: 1997--98 through 2001--02 19

Foreword

To ensure the success of President Bush's education initiative "No Child
Left Behind," high-quality postsecondary educational opportunities must
be available to all students. In keeping with this goal, the Federal
TRIO Programs provide outreach and support programs to assist
low-income, first-generation college students in progressing through the
academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs.

On behalf of the Federal TRIO Programs, I am pleased to present this
report, *A Profile of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement
Program: 1997--98 Through 2001--02*. The TRIO Program prepares
low-income, first-generation college students and individuals from
groups that are underrepresented in graduate education for doctoral
studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities.
In addition, this report compares McNair participants with a national
sample of students with similar characteristics from the *Baccalaureate
and Beyond Longitudinal Study* conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics.

This report is the third in a series of reports that present a national
profile of the McNair Program. The previous reports, *A Profile of the
Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program: 1998--99* and *A
Profile of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program:
1999--2000* are available from the Department. Individual project
reports, published separately, summarize specific information submitted
by each McNair project and provide aggregate information on other McNair
projects in the same federal region, and the nation. The performance
reports, submitted annually by McNair projects, served as the primary
data source for both the individual project reports and the national
profile.

We are proud to continue our process for sharing national statistical
information on the McNair Program. It is our hope that the collection
and dissemination of this information will foster communication aimed at
furthering our mission and implementing measures to see how well we are
doing. We look forward to continuing to work together to improve program
services and increase the number of students who earn doctoral degrees.

Larry Oxendine\
Director\
Federal TRIO Programs

Acknowledgments

Publishing this report was a team effort, and we appreciate the support
of all who contributed. First we thank the project staff members of the
McNair projects who reported the data upon which this profile report is
based. We also want to thank Linda Byrd-Johnson, team leader for the
McNair Program, for her contributions. Frances Bergeron, team leader,
Program Management and Development, Federal TRIO Programs, coordinated
the data collection and reporting processes, provided feedback as the
report developed, and reviewed the report. Teresita Kopka, also of TRIO,
provided a careful review of the document in preparation for
publication. We would also like to thank Paula Knepper of the National
Center for Education Statistics for clarifying data issues relating to
the *Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study*.

Highlights

This report describes the annual report data provided by McNair grantees
for program years 1997--98 through 2001--02. For the 2001--02 program
year, all 156 McNair projects submitted participant- and program-level
data, resulting in a 100 percent response rate. More than 16,772
participants had received services from the Ronald E. McNair
Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program in the reporting period between
1997--98 and 2001--02.

Grantees

• In 2001--02, the program had supported 156 grantees, 80 percent of
whom were publicly controlled higher education institutions.

• Grantees included 18 percent minority-serving institutions---13
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 15
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

• Nine out of ten institutions (92 percent) were doctoral or master's
degree-granting and almost two-thirds (65 percent) had full-time
equivalent enrollments of 10,000 or more.

• On average, each grantee served 26 students in 2001--02.

Participants

• In 2000--01 and 2001--02, 3,877 and 4,012 students received program
services, respectively.

• In both years, more participants were female (69 percent) than male.

• African American students made up 47 percent of the active
participants in 2001--02, followed by 24 percent Hispanic/Latino, 18
percent white, and fewer than 5 percent each Asian, American
Indian/Alaska Native, Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander.

• In 2001--02, most participants were juniors or seniors in college (25
and 53 percent, respectively).

Services

• In 2001--02, grantees received an average award of approximately
\$9,500 per participant.

• However, because projects served more students than they were
initially funded to serve (26 vs. 24), the average award per actual
participant served was approximately \$8,900.

• The most common services provided by grantees included academic
counseling, seminars, summer internships, and assistance with admissions
and financial aid.

• The most popular services for participants were academic counseling,
seminars, admission assistance, and financial aid assistance.

Outcomes

• Approximately 40 percent of McNair participants who completed their
bachelor's degrees in 2000--01 were accepted into graduate school, 98
percent of those accepted enrolled.

• The percentage of graduates entering graduate school increased each
year, from 13 percent in 1998--99 to 39 percent in 2000--01.

• A higher percentage of underrepresented students enrolled in graduate
school than did low-income and first-generation students, and a higher
percentage of whites and American Indian/Alaska Natives enrolled than
did members of other ethnic groups.

• The number of participants who entered graduate programs not only
increased each year but also increased with each year after graduation,
suggesting that many participants do not enroll in graduate school
immediately after graduation.

• In 2000--01, 93 percent of those who enrolled in graduate school
immediately after graduation were still enrolled after one year. Of
those who graduated in 1999--2000 and enrolled immediately in graduate
school, 85 percent were still enrolled after one year, and 60 percent
were still enrolled after two years.

• Compared with a nationally representative sample and a demographically
similar sample, a slightly higher percentage of McNair participants
enrolled in graduate school (10 percent compared with 6.4 and 5.8
percent). However, compared with the same samples, McNair participants
persisted less once enrolled in graduate school.

• Although nearly all participants earned bachelor's degrees (95
percent, four years after program participation), whites and Asians were
more likely to earn advanced degrees.

• Overall, 16 percent of all participants had earned a master's degree;
4 percent had earned a doctoral or other terminal degree.

• By 2001--02, nearly 500 participants had earned doctorates. Compared
to the ethnicity makeup of all participants, slightly higher proportions
of whites and Asians earned doctorates.

Chapter 1

Introduction

This report describes the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement
Program for the five program years 1997--98 through 2001--02. Grantees
are required to submit Annual Performance Reports (APRs) to the U.S.
Department of Education detailing project-level activities and goals and
participant demographics and academic progress. This report, the third
in a series of reports describing the McNair Program, presents grantee
data from program years 2000--01 and 2001--02 for the first time and
includes data from earlier years for comparison purposes. In addition,
this report compares McNair participants with a national sample of
students with similar characteristics from the *Baccalaureate and Beyond
Longitudinal Study* conducted by the National Center for Education
Statistics.

Appendix A lists reference information for other publications describing
the McNair Program and its participants.

Background and purpose

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the McNair Program is one of
eight federal TRIO programs that provide educational support and
opportunities to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The three original federal programs, from which "TRIO" derived its name,
began in the 1960s: Upward Bound (1964), Talent Search (1965), and
Student Support Services (1968). The fourth TRIO program, Educational
Opportunity Centers, was added in 1972. The Ronald E. McNair
Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, the subject of this report,
resulted from the 1986 amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965.
In 1990, the Department of Education created the Upward Bound
Math-Science Program to help Upward Bound students recognize and develop
their potential to excel in the fields of mathematics and science. TRIO
also includes a training program for TRIO directors and staff,
authorized in 1976, and the newest program, TRIO Dissemination
Partnership, authorized in 1998 to facilitate the replication of
successful program practices at institutions and agencies that do not
have a federally funded TRIO project.

The goal of the McNair Program is to increase the number of doctoral
degrees earned by students from underrepresented populations. The
program awards grants to undergraduate institutions for projects to
motivate and prepare students from disadvantaged backgrounds with strong
academic potential. Grantees work with students through the completion
of the undergraduate degree, assisting with graduate school preparation,
application, and entrance. Grantees also track students' academic
progress through the successful completion of the doctoral degree.

Services provided to McNair participants include the following:

• Research opportunities for college juniors and seniors

• Mentoring

• Seminars and other activities to prepare students for doctoral studies

• Internships for participants who have completed their sophomore year
in postsecondary education (with a research stipend of up to \$2,800)

• Tutoring

• Academic counseling

• Assistance in securing admission and financial aid for graduate school

Eligible students must be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at
a participating institution. At least two-thirds of all participants
must be low-income and first-generation college students.[^1] The
remaining one-third may consist of members of groups that are
underrepresented in graduate education[^2]; currently, this includes
those of Hispanic, African American, or American Indian/Alaska Native
descent.

Annual award and authorization

As previously noted, the McNair Program is authorized under a 1986
amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965. The first projects were
funded in 1989, with grant competitions currently held every four years.
All grants are awarded on a four-year cycle, except for the institutions
that score in the top 10 percent of each competition. These grants are
awarded for five years.

Table 1.01 describes the annual award to the McNair Program along with
information about the number of participants the program was expecting
to serve. In program year 1989--90, the McNair Program funded 14
projects that expected to serve 415 students. By program year 2001--02,
156 projects were expected to provide services to 3,774 students. The
funding level of the McNair Program increased from a little less than
\$1.5 million in program year 1989--90 to \$35.8 million in program year
2001--02. Even when converted to 2002 dollars (values not displayed in
table), the amount expected to be available per participant almost
doubled over this time period because the average number of students
that each project was funded to serve did not fluctuate widely, ranging
between 23 and 30 students.

Because the actual number of participants served increased faster than
the number of students the projects were funded to serve over the last
three program years, the average amount actually available per
participant has decreased slightly (Table 1.02). In program year
1996--97, just more than 2,000 students received services from 99
projects with a total appropriation of \$19.8 million for an average of
\$9,772 available per student. By program year 2001--02, the program
served more than 4,000 students at a funding level of \$36 million,
averaging approximately \$8,900 per student. In program year 2001--02,
the actual number served was 106 percent of the number of students the
program was funded to serve.[^3]

Table 1.01. Annual McNair award, number of grantees, and expected number
of program participants: 1989--90 through 2001--02

+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| #        | #       | Number | Av    | Number  | A      | Average   |
|          | Annual  | of     | erage | of      | verage | number of |
|          | program | awards | award | parti   | award  | (         |
|          |         |        |       | cipants | per    | expected) |
|          | # award | (gra   |       | g       | (exp   | par       |
|          |         | ntees) |       | rantees | ected) | ticipants |
|          |         |        |       | funded  | parti  | per award |
|          |         |        |       | (ex     | cipant |           |
|          |         |        |       | pected) |        |           |
|          |         |        |       | to      |        |           |
|          |         |        |       | serve   |        |           |
+==========+=========+========+=======+=========+========+===========+
| # Prog   |         |        |       |         |        |           |
| ram year |         |        |       |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | \$1,    | 14     | \$10  | 415     | \      | 29.6      |
| 1989--90 | 482,000 |        | 5,857 |         | $3,571 |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 3,      | 28     | 10    | 730     | 4,110  | 26.1      |
| 1990--91 | 000,000 |        | 7,143 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 4,      | 42     | 11    | 1,000   | 4,944  | 23.8      |
| 1991--92 | 944,000 |        | 7,714 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 9,      | 68     | 14    | 1,700   | 5,633  | 25.0      |
| 1992--93 | 576,000 |        | 0,824 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 9,      | 68     | 14    | 1,730   | 5,548  | 25.4      |
| 1993--94 | 598,000 |        | 1,147 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 11,     | 68     | 17    | 1,800   | 6,611  | 26.5      |
| 1994--95 | 900,000 |        | 5,000 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 19,     | 99     | 19    | 2,460   | 7,756  | 24.8      |
| 1995--96 | 080,000 |        | 2,727 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 19,     | 99     | 20    | 2,480   | 7,991  | 25.1      |
| 1996--97 | 817,000 |        | 0,172 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 20,     | 99     | 20    | 2,480   | 8,213  | 25.1      |
| 1997--98 | 367,000 |        | 5,727 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 20,     | 99     | 20    | 2,469   | 8,414  | 24.9      |
| 1998--99 | 774,063 |        | 9,839 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 32,     | 156    | 20    | 3,641   | 8,820  | 23.3      |
| 1999--00 | 114,068 |        | 5,859 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 34,     | 156    | 22    | 3,774   | 9,237  | 24.2      |
| 2000--01 | 859,043 |        | 3,455 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+
| >        | 35,     | 156    | 22    | 3,774   | 9,482  | 24.2      |
| 2001--02 | 785,817 |        | 9,396 |         |        |           |
+----------+---------+--------+-------+---------+--------+-----------+

SOURCE: Funding data from the program files of the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Federal TRIO Programs.

Table 1.02. Actual number of participants served, average award per
participant, and average number of participants per grantee: 1996--97
through 2001--02

+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| Program year    | (Actual)      | Average award  | Average (actual) |
|                 | number of     | per (actual)   | number served by |
|                 | participants  | participant    | each grantee     |
|                 | served        | served         |                  |
+=================+===============+================+==================+
| > 1996--97      | 2,028         | \$9,772        | 20.5             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| > 1997--98      | 2,203         | 9,245          | 22.3             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| > 1998--99      | 3,121         | 6,656          | 20.0             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| > 1999--00      | 3,338         | 9,621          | 21.4             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| > 2000--01      | 3,877         | 8,991          | 24.9             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+
| > 2001--02      | 4,012         | 8,920          | 25.7             |
+-----------------+---------------+----------------+------------------+

NOTE: The number of participants served is the same as the number of
active participants in each year described\
in Chapter 2. Because APR response rates were less than 100 percent
prior to 2000--01, these numbers do not include all\
participants actually served in those years.

SOURCE: Funding data from the program files of the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Federal TRIO Programs; participant data from the
program files of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal
TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program,
Annual Performance Reports.

The \$36 million appropriation for the McNair Program in program year
2001--02 represents about\
5 percent of the total appropriation to all TRIO programs in that year.
The McNair Program is one of the smaller TRIO programs, but it is the
only one that aims to increase the representation of disadvantaged
students in graduate school. Table 1.03 describes the characteristics of
the 156 grantee institutions for 2001--02. The majority of grantees were
public, doctoral degree-granting universities with total full-time
equivalent (FTE) enrollments of more than 10,000 students. Twenty-eight
grantees were minority-serving institutions, either Historically Black
Colleges and Universities or Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Appendix B
describes the geographic dispersion of grantee institutions throughout
the United States.

Table 1.03. Number and percent distribution of selected grantee
characteristics:\
2001--02

+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
|                                          | Number of   | Percent of  |
|                                          | i           | i           |
|                                          | nstitutions | nstitutions |
+==========================================+=============+=============+
| Characteristics                          |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| All                                      | 156         | 100.0       |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Control                                  |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Public                                 | 125         | 80.1        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Private                                | 31          | 19.9        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Average size (FTE enrollment^a^)         |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > \<10,000                               | 54          | 34.6        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > 10,000 to 25,000                       | 65          | 41.7        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > \>25,000                               | 37          | 23.7        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Carnegie classification                  |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Baccalaureate -- General and Liberal   | 8           | 5.1         |
| > Arts                                   |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Master's I and II                      | 50          | 32.0        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Doctoral -- Extensive and Intensive    | 94          | 60.3        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Specialized                            | 3           | 1.9         |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Not applicable^b^                      | 1           | 0.7         |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Minority institutions^c^                 |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Historically Black Colleges and        | 13          | 8.3         |
| > Universities                           |             |             |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Hispanic-Serving Institutions          | 15          | 9.6         |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Not identified as minority specific    | 125         | 80.1        |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| > Unknown/Not applicable                 | 3           | 1.9         |
+------------------------------------------+-------------+-------------+

^a^Full-time equivalent enrollment.

^b^ One grantee was a consortium of institutions of varying size; a
Carnegie Classification is not reported for this grantee.

^c^ The minority serving status of two institutions were not reported,
and minority status does not apply to the consortium.

NOTE: Percents may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Program files of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of
Federal TRIO Programs and IPEDS College Opportunities On-line, National
Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education,
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool.

Project activities, 1999--2000 and 2001--02

Grantees report student participation in seven authorized activities
central to the goals of the McNair Program. To simplify the analysis of
the activities, we compared the earliest year for which enough data were
available (program year 1999--2000) with the most recent year (program
year 2001--02). Although the two years comprise the same 156 grantees,
not all grantees provided APR data in 1999--2000. As such, the
comparison is between the 148 grantees (of 156) providing APR data in
1999--2000 and all 156 grantees in 2001--02. (Table 1.04)

In 2001--02, most projects provided the following activities: academic
counseling, seminars, summer internships (99 percent), admission
assistance (98 percent), financial aid assistance (96 percent), tutorial
assistance (87 percent), and other research (81 percent). In addition,
grantees offered several other activities, including workshops, test
preparation, visits to graduate schools, and opportunities to attend and
present at conferences.

Table 1.04. A comparison of program activities: Percent providing
project activities\
and average number of participants, 1999--2000 and 2001--02

+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
|                      | Average   |           | Percent   |           |
|                      | number    |           | of        |           |
|                      | of\       |           | ins       |           |
|                      | par       |           | titutions |           |
|                      | ticipants |           |           |           |
|                      | in        |           | providing |           |
|                      | ac        |           | activity  |           |
|                      | tivity^a^ |           |           |           |
+======================+===========+===========+===========+===========+
|                      | 1999--00  | 2001--02  | 1999--00  | 2001--02  |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Authorized           |           |           |           |           |
| activities           |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Academic           | 24.2      | 28.2      | 100.0     | 99.4      |
| > counseling         |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Seminars           | 22.2      | 25.1      | 98.9      | 99.4      |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Summer             | 17.0      | 16.5      | 96.8      | 98.7      |
| > internships^b^     |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Admission          | 18.8      | 22.2      | 91.6      | 98.1      |
| > assistance         |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Financial aid      | 20.0      | 22.7      | 85.3      | 96.2      |
| > assistance         |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Tutorial           | 10.6      | 12.2      | 76.8      | 86.5      |
| > assistance         |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Other research^c^  | 7.0       | 8.7       | 65.3      | 81.4      |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| ### Other activities |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Conferences,       | 14.0      | 15.6      | 69.2      | 78.2      |
| > presentations      |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Workshops          | 16.6      | 18.3      | 48.7      | 53.2      |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Graduate school    | 16.7      | 16.5      | 48.7      | 51.9      |
| > visits, fairs      |           |           |           |           |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| > Test preparation   | 18.3      | 17.9      | 48.7      | 50.0      |
+----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+

^a^ Data presented in table is based on 148 (of 156) grantees in
1999--2000 and 156 (of 156) grantees in 2001--02.

^b^ Summer internships refer only to those research activities that
provided the legislated stipend of up to \$2,800.

^c^ Other research refers to unpaid research activities or those that
included compensation from other sources.

NOTE: Most participants receive more than one service and participate in
more than one activity and thus may be included in the count for more
than one activity. Percentages in this table are of all programs from
each reporting year.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

More students participated in academic counseling than in any other
activity, with an average of 28 participants per grantee; the fewest
students participated in other research activities, with an average of
nine participants per grantee.

Changes between 1999--2000 and 2001--02 were minimal, but this is
expected, given that the 156 grantees are the same in both years. The
most notable change in program offerings was the increase in the
percentage of institutions offering other research activities; in
1999--2000, 65 percent of grantees provided nonfunded research
activities, but in 2001--02, 81 percent provided such activities. There
were more student participants in 2001--02 than in 1999--2000, so the
average number of students per activity was higher. Except for this
increase, student participation in the listed activities was relatively
constant across both years.

Data described in this report

The data used in this report are provided annually by individual
grantees. Over the years, the quality of these data has greatly
improved. Response rates for the annual reports increased from 63.6
percent in 1996--97 to 100 percent in 2000--01 and 2001--02. The number
of invalid and missing fields decreased from 40 percent for some fields
to fewer than 5 percent for the same fields in recent years. Because the
1996--97 data were reported by only 63 of the 99 grantees and contained
a high percentage of missing, invalid, and out-of-range values, we use
only data reported after 1996--97. This report describes valid data only
and therefore the totals reported in the tables may vary. For this
report we have excluded missing and invalid data from tables and charts.
Appendix C provides detailed information about response rates, missing
data, and other data issues.

Chapter 2

Student Participants in the McNair Program,\
1997--98 Through 2001--02

This chapter switches the focus from project-level activities to the
student participants themselves. McNair participants are examined in
three ways. The first approach includes only active McNair participants,
describing students who actually received services in each reporting
year. The second approach includes new participants only, describing
students receiving program services for the first time in each reporting
year. Describing participants in these two ways highlights any changes
in new participants or patterns in new participant selection over time.

The third approach describes all individuals reported by projects in a
given year, including new, continuing, and all former participants.[^4]
This approach, although consistent with previous McNair reports, is
somewhat less meaningful in that the majority of students who are
included are not receiving any direct services from the grantee. This is
particularly the case in the more recent years as the number of former
participants accumulates. By program year 2001--02, active and new
participants made up only 24 and 14 percent, respectively, of all
participants reported. (Table 2.01)

Table 2.01. Number and distribution of new, active, and all
participants, by year: 1997--98\
through 2001--02

+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
|       | New  |      |      |      | Ac   |      |      | All     |
|       | part |      |      |      | tive |      |      | parti   |
|       | icip |      |      |      | part |      |      | cipants |
|       | ants |      |      |      | icip |      |      |         |
|       |      |      |      |      | ants |      |      |         |
+=======+======+======+======+======+======+======+======+=========+
| Pr    | Nu   | Per  | Per  | Per  | Nu   | Per  | Per  | Number  |
| ogram | mber | cent | cent | cent | mber | cent | cent |         |
| year  |      | of   |      | ch   |      | of   | ch   |         |
|       |      | all  | of   | ange |      | all  | ange |         |
|       |      |      | ac   |      |      |      |      |         |
|       |      |      | tive |      |      |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
| 199   | 1    | 38.4 | 72.2 | --   | 2    | 53.2 | --   | 4,140   |
| 7--98 | ,590 |      |      |      | ,203 |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
| 199   | 1    | 21.1 | 60.6 | 19.0 | 3    | 34.9 | 41.7 | 8,948   |
| 8--99 | ,892 |      |      |      | ,121 |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
| 199   | 2    | 22.2 | 71.9 | 26.8 | 3    | 30.9 | 7.0  | 10,816  |
| 9--00 | ,399 |      |      |      | ,338 |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
| 200   | 2    | 15.4 | 57.0 | -8.0 | 3    | 27.1 | 16.1 | 14,328  |
| 0--01 | ,208 |      |      |      | ,877 |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+
| 200   | 2    | 13.7 | 57.4 | 4.3  | 4    | 23.9 | 3.5  | 16,772  |
| 1--02 | ,302 |      |      |      | ,012 |      |      |         |
+-------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+---------+

NOTE: The sum of the number of active and new participants differs from
the numbers presented in Table 1 in Appendix C, which displays
participant status for each year as reported by grantees. The active and
new participants in Table 2.01 (and described in this chapter) do not
include all participants reported to be new (or continuing) but include
only those who were selected as new or continuing on the basis of
reported status in conjunction with prior year participant status and
enrollment status.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Just more than half (53 percent) of the student records reported in
1997--98 were for active participants. By 2001--02, only 24 percent of
the participant records describe active participants. The percentage of
active participants who are new to the McNair Program decreases over
time. In 1997--98, 72 percent of active participants were receiving
program services for the first time. By 2001--02, only 57 percent of
active students receiving McNair services were in their first year of
participation in the program.

Active participants

Active participants are those students that received project services
during that year; participants receiving project services for more than
one year are included in each year that services are received.[^5] In
2001--02, active participants made up approximately 24 percent of all
participants described in the APRs. This section describes active
participants only. The number of active participants described in each
table varies slightly due to either nonreported data or invalid data.
Table 2.01 provides the total number of active participants.

Eligibility status

At least two-thirds of the participants served by each project must be
low-income and first-generation college students. The remaining
one-third may belong to certain groups that are underrepresented in
graduate education, presently defined as African American, Hispanic or
Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native. Table 2.02 shows that during
the five years for which data are reported, the percentage of low-income
and first-generation students participating in McNair was slightly more
than 70 percent.

Table 2.02. Percent distribution of active participants, by eligibility
status:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
|                          | Ac   |        |       |        |         |
|                          | tive |        |       |        |         |
|                          | part |        |       |        |         |
|                          | icip |        |       |        |         |
|                          | ants |        |       |        |         |
+==========================+======+========+=======+========+=========+
|                          | 1997 | 19     | 199   | 20     | 2       |
|                          | --98 | 98--99 | 9--00 | 00--01 | 001--02 |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
| Eligibility status       |      |        |       |        |         |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
| > Low-income and         | 72.3 | 73.2   | 70.8  | 70.7   | 70.4    |
| > first-generation       |      |        |       |        |         |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
| > Underrepresented       | 27.7 | 26.8   | 29.2  | 29.3   | 29.6    |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
| ### Total                | 1    | 100.0  | 100.0 | 100.0  | 100.0   |
|                          | 00.0 |        |       |        |         |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+
| Number of records        | 2    | 3,119  | 3,334 | 3,868  | 3,977   |
|                          | ,195 |        |       |        |         |
+--------------------------+------+--------+-------+--------+---------+

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. The totals here may differ from totals presented in
other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Race/ethnicity

For all years, nearly half of the active participants were African
American, approximately 25 percent were Hispanic or Latino, and nearly
20 percent were white. (Table 2.03) The race/ethnicity composition of
McNair participants did not change over the five reporting years.

According to eligibility status alone, just fewer than 30 percent of the
active participants were reported as belonging to underrepresented
groups. However, as can be seen by the distribution of race/ethnicity in
Table 2.03 and Figure 2.01, approximately 75 percent of the active
participants each year belonged to the three groups underrepresented in
graduate education (African American, Hispanic, and American
Indian/Alaska Native).

Table 2.03. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity: 1997--98 through\
2001--02

+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                           | Year  |       |       |       |       |
|                           | of    |       |       |       |       |
|                           | a     |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ctive |       |       |       |       |
|                           | par   |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ticip |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ation |       |       |       |       |
+===========================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
|                           | 199   | 199   | 199   | 200   | 200   |
|                           | 7--98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Race/ethnicity            |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > American Indian/Alaskan | 4.7   | 4.1   | 3.9   | 3.8   | 4.1   |
| > Native                  |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Asian                   | 5.3   | 5.8   | 4.5   | 4.5   | 4.7   |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Black/African American  | 45.4  | 41.0  | 47.1  | 46.0  | 47.0  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Hispanic or Latino      | 24.8  | 28.3  | 23.0  | 24.8  | 23.5  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > White                   | 18.2  | 19.3  | 19.1  | 18.4  | 17.9  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Native Hawaiian or      | --    | --    | 0.8   | 0.9   | 1.0   |
| > other Pacific Islander  |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > More than one           | 1.5   | 1.6   | 1.6   | 1.7   | 1.8   |
| > race/other^a^           |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| ### Total                 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| ### Number of records     | 2,203 | 3,115 | 3,315 | 3,848 | 3,993 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

--Not available; Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were included
with Asians in program years 1997--98 and 1998--99. To compare across
years, add the percentage for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
to Asian for the program years 1999--2000 through 2001--02.

^a^ Original category was "Other"; in 1999--2000, this option was
changed to "More than one race reported."

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Figure 2.01. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001-02

  ---------------- ------------------------------------ ---------------- ------------- -------
                                                        **Active                       
                                                        participants**                 

                                                                         **2001-02**   

  Race/ethnicity                                                                       

  American                                                               4.1           
  Indian/Alaska                                                                        
  Native                                                                               

  Asian                                                                  4.7           

  Black/African                                                          47.0          
  American                                                                             

  Hispanic or                                                            23.5          
  Latino                                                                               

  White                                                                  17.9          

  Native Hawaiian                                                        1.0           
  or other Pacific                                                                     
  Islander                                                                             

  More than one                                                          1.8           
  race/other                                                                           
  ---------------- ------------------------------------ ---------------- ------------- -------

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

For the purpose of determining eligibility for program services, McNair
projects report participants as low-income and first-generation *or* as
underrepresented. However, many participants are clearly both
underrepresented *and* low-income and first-generation. Indeed, Hispanic
and African American students are both underrepresented in graduate
education and are less likely than Asian or white students to have
parents with college degrees (Nettles & Millett, 1999). Table 2.04
presents the distribution of race/ethnicity by eligibility status for
the most recent year's data. This table shows that many underrepresented
participants were also low-income and first-generation. At least 62
percent of African Americans, 68 percent of Latinos, and 53 percent of
American Indian/Alaska Natives both belonged to ethnic groups
underrepresented in graduate education and were low-income and
first-generation.

Table 2.04. Percent distribution of active participants, by
race/ethnicity and eligibility status:\
2001--02

+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
|                   | N     | Eligibility   |               | Total   |
|                   |       | status        |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
|                   |       | Percent       | Percent       |         |
|                   |       | low-income    | und           |         |
|                   |       | and           | errepresented |         |
|                   |       | fir           |               |         |
|                   |       | st-generation |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| Race/ethnicity    |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > American        | 147   | 53.1          | 46.9          | 100.0   |
| > Indian/Alaska   |       |               |               |         |
| > Native          |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > Asian           | 179   | 90.5          | 9.5^a^        | 100.0   |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > Black/African   | 1,872 | 62.1          | 37.9          | 100.0   |
| > American        |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > Hispanic or     | 934   | 67.6          | 32.4          | 100.0   |
| > Latino          |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > White           | 714   | 94.3          | 5.7^a^        | 100.0   |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > Native Hawaiian | 40    | 75.0          | 25.0          | 100.0   |
| > or other        |       |               |               |         |
| > Pacific         |       |               |               |         |
| > Islander        |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+
| > More than one   | 72    | 63.9          | 36.1          | 100.0   |
| > race/other^b^   |       |               |               |         |
+-------------------+-------+---------------+---------------+---------+

^a^ Although members of these ethnic groups are not considered
underrepresented in graduate education, this table describes eligibility
status as reported by projects.

^b^ Original category was "Other"; in 1999--2000, this option was
changed to "More than one race reported."

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. The totals here may differ from totals presented in
other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Gender

Approximately two-thirds of the active participants in each year are
women, and this proportion increases slightly over time, from 65 percent
in 1997--98 to 69 percent in 2001--02 (Table 2.05).

Table 2.05. Percent distribution of active participants, by gender:
1997--98 through\
2001--02

+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
|                    | Year   |        |        |        |         |
|                    | of     |        |        |        |         |
|                    | active |        |        |        |         |
|                    | p      |        |        |        |         |
|                    | artici |        |        |        |         |
|                    | pation |        |        |        |         |
+====================+========+========+========+========+=========+
|                    | 19     | 19     | 19     | 20     | 2       |
|                    | 97--98 | 98--99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 001--02 |
+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| Gender             |        |        |        |        |         |
+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| > Male             | 35.3   | 33.5   | 32.9   | 31.1   | 30.8    |
+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| > Female           | 64.7   | 66.5   | 67.1   | 68.9   | 69.2    |
|                    |        |        |        |        |         |
| ### Total          | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0   |
+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| Number of records  | 2,203  | 3,118  | 3,310  | 3,870  | 4,004   |
+--------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. The totals here may differ from totals presented in
other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Age at project entry

About a third of active participants each year were between the ages of
17 and 20 at project entry. Slightly fewer than 40 percent were between
the ages of 21 and 22. More than 10 percent in each year were older than
30. Although there were slight fluctuations from year to year, the
overall age distribution was similar across the five years reported
(Figure 2.02). The average age of active participants at project entry
decreased slightly each year, from 24.2 years in 1997--98 to 23.5 years
in 2001--02.

Figure 2.02. Percent distribution of active participants, by age at
project entry: 1997-98 through 2001-02

  ----------- -- ---------------- -- ---------- -- ---------- -- ---------- -- ----------
                 **Age of active                                               
                 participants**                                                

  **Project      **17-20 years**     **21-22       **23-25       **26-30       **30+
  year**                             years**       years**       years**       years**

  1997-98        27.5                36.7          12.9          9.1           13.8

  1998-99        28.8                36.7          12.8          8.2           13.0

  1999-00        28.7                38.2          12.7          7.5           12.9

  2000-01        30.5                38.1          12.3          7.9           11.2

  2001-02        32.7                37.5          11.3          7.4           11.1
  ----------- -- ---------------- -- ---------- -- ---------- -- ---------- -- ----------

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. Percents in each stacked bar may not sum to 100% due
to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Current year in college

The McNair Program targets doctoral degree-seeking juniors and seniors,
and the distribution of grade levels for the active participants
reflects this. Approximately 50 percent of active participants in each
year were seniors, and approximately 25 percent were juniors. Nearly 15
percent were fifth year/seniors, and just fewer than 5 percent were
sophomores (see Table 2.06).

Table 2.06. Percent distribution of active participants, by college
grade level: 1997--98\
through 2001--02

+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                           | Year  |       |       |       |       |
|                           | of    |       |       |       |       |
|                           | a     |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ctive |       |       |       |       |
|                           | par   |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ticip |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ation |       |       |       |       |
+===========================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
|                           | 199   | 199   | 199   | 200   | 200   |
|                           | 7--98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Current college grade     |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st year, never         | 0.3   | 0.9   | 0.2   | 0.3   | 0.3   |
| > attended                |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st year, attended      | 0.0   | 0.2   | 0.7   | 0.1   | 0.3   |
| > before                  |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 2nd year/sophomore      | 3.7   | 3.8   | 5.4   | 4.4   | 4.5   |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 3rd year/junior         | 25.4  | 22.6  | 25.9  | 24.0  | 24.9  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 4th year/senior         | 49.2  | 48.0  | 49.2  | 50.3  | 52.5  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 5th year/other          | 12.7  | 15.7  | 12.7  | 15.7  | 14.3  |
| > undergraduates          |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st-year                | 7.4   | 6.1   | 2.9   | 2.4   | 1.8   |
| > graduate/professional   |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 2nd year or beyond      | 1.5   | 2.8   | 0.3   | 0.2   | 0.3   |
| > graduate/professional   |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Not currently enrolled  | --    | --    | 2.7   | 2.7   | 1.3   |
|                           |       |       |       |       |       |
| Total                     | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of records         | 1,992 | 2,766 | 3,196 | 3,811 | 3,954 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

--Not available; this was not an available response option in these
reporting years.

NOTE: College grade level is determined by institutional credit hour
definitions and not by the number of years of undergraduate enrollment.
The number of participants reported here excludes those with missing or
invalid data, thus, the totals may differ from totals presented in other
tables.

Percents in columns may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Two McNair projects were funded at graduate-level institutions,
accounting for the small proportion of active graduate-level
participants. A small percentage of active participants each year were
not currently enrolled. This group likely included students who stopped
out (are taking a temporary break in otherwise continuous enrollment) or
dropped out (have quit with no plans to return) during the year in which
they were participating in the McNair Program.

New participants

This section describes new participants only. New participants are those
students who received project services for the first time during a
reporting year.[^6] In 2001--02, new students accounted for about\
57 percent of the active program participants and approximately 14
percent of all reported student records (Table 2.01). The number of new
participants described in each table varies slightly due to either
nonreported or invalid data (Table 2.01 also provides the total number
of new participants).

While approximately 40 percent of the new participants each year
participated in the program for a single year, nearly 60 percent
received project services for multiple years (Table 2.07). For program
years 1997--98 through 1999--2000, approximately 30 percent of new
participants remained in the program for two years, and another 15--25
percent remained involved with the program and received services for
three years or longer.

Table 2.07. Percent distribution of new participants, by length of
participation: 1997--98 through 2001--02

+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|                     | New     |        |        |        |        |
|                     | parti   |        |        |        |        |
|                     | cipants |        |        |        |        |
+=====================+=========+========+========+========+========+
|                     | 1       | 19     | 19     | 20     | 20     |
|                     | 997--98 | 98--99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 01--02 |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Length of           |         |        |        |        |        |
| participation       |         |        |        |        |        |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Single year         | 43.5    | 47.2   | 40.4   | 41.8   | 100.0  |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Multiple years      | 56.5    | 52.8   | 59.6   | 58.8   | †      |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Two years         | 32.3    | 30.4   | 33.8   | †      | †      |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Three years       | 15.2    | 14.3   | 25.5   | †      | †      |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Four years        | 6.5     | 7.9    | †      | †      | †      |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Five or more      | 2.6     | †      | †      | †      | †      |
| > years             |         |        |        |        |        |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Number of records   | 1,590   | 1,892  | 2,399  | 2,175  | 2,254  |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Eligibility status

Approximately 70 percent of new participants were low-income and
first-generation students. This percentage remained constant across
reporting years and is consistent with program eligibility requirements,
ranging from 70 to 74 percent (Table 2.08).

Table 2.08. Percent distribution of new participants, by eligibility
status:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
|                      | New    |        |        |        |         |
|                      | partic |        |        |        |         |
|                      | ipants |        |        |        |         |
+======================+========+========+========+========+=========+
|                      | 19     | 19     | 19     | 20     | 2       |
|                      | 97--98 | 98--99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 001--02 |
+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| Eligibility status   |        |        |        |        |         |
+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| > Low-inc            | 71.8   | 73.5   | 69.9   | 70.1   | 69.5    |
| ome/first-generation |        |        |        |        |         |
+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| > Underrepresented   | 28.2   | 26.4   | 30.1   | 29.9   | 30.5    |
|                      |        |        |        |        |         |
| Total                | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0   |
+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+
| Number of records    | 1,585  | 1,891  | 2,396  | 2,203  | 2,270   |
+----------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+---------+

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Race/ethnicity

In 2000--01, the most recent reporting year, slightly fewer than half of
new participants were black or African American, a little more than
one-fifth were Hispanic or Latino, and slightly fewer than one-fifth
were white (Figure 2.03). These proportions were relatively similar
across the years, although some fluctuations occurred (Table 2.09).

Figure 2.03. Percent distribution of new participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001-02

+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
|       |                               | **New   |         |         |
|       |                               | partici |         |         |
|       |                               | pants** |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Race  |                               |         | **20    |         |
| /ethn |                               |         | 01-02** |         |
| icity |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| > Ame |                               |         | 4.4     |         |
| rican |                               |         |         |         |
| > Ind |                               |         |         |         |
| ian/A |                               |         |         |         |
| laska |                               |         |         |         |
| > N   |                               |         |         |         |
| ative |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| >     |                               |         | 5.1     |         |
| Asian |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| > Bla |                               |         | 48.0    |         |
| ck/Af |                               |         |         |         |
| rican |                               |         |         |         |
| > Ame |                               |         |         |         |
| rican |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| > His |                               |         | 21.7    |         |
| panic |                               |         |         |         |
| > or  |                               |         |         |         |
| > L   |                               |         |         |         |
| atino |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| >     |                               |         | 17.6    |         |
| White |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| > N   |                               |         | 1.4     |         |
| ative |                               |         |         |         |
| > Haw |                               |         |         |         |
| aiian |                               |         |         |         |
| > or  |                               |         |         |         |
| >     |                               |         |         |         |
| other |                               |         |         |         |
| > Pa  |                               |         |         |         |
| cific |                               |         |         |         |
| > Isl |                               |         |         |         |
| ander |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| >     |                               |         | 1.9     |         |
|  More |                               |         |         |         |
| >     |                               |         |         |         |
|  than |                               |         |         |         |
| > one |                               |         |         |         |
| >     |                               |         |         |         |
| race/ |                               |         |         |         |
| other |                               |         |         |         |
+-------+-------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Table 2.09. Percent distribution of new participants, by race/ethnicity:
1997--98 through\
2001--02

+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                            | New   |       |       |       |       |
|                            | pa    |       |       |       |       |
|                            | rtici |       |       |       |       |
|                            | pants |       |       |       |       |
+============================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
|                            | 199   | 199   | 199   | 200   | 200   |
|                            | 7--98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Race/ethnicity             |       |       |       |       |       |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > American Indian/Alaska   | 5.5   | 3.9   | 3.5   | 4.0   | 4.4   |
| > Native                   |       |       |       |       |       |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Asian                    | 5.8   | 6.0   | 4.5   | 4.7   | 5.1   |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Black/African American   | 43.3  | 40.8  | 48.8  | 45.6  | 48.0  |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Hispanic or Latino       | 24.4  | 27.4  | 21.7  | 24.8  | 21.7  |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > White                    | 19.5  | 20.4  | 18.9  | 18.5  | 17.6  |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Native Hawaiian or other | --    | --    | 0.5   | 0.7   | 1.4   |
| > Pacific Islander         |       |       |       |       |       |
| >                          | 1.5   | 1.5   | 2.0   | 1.7   | 1.9   |
| > More than one            |       |       |       |       |       |
| > race/other^a^            | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
|                            |       |       |       |       |       |
| Total                      |       |       |       |       |       |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Number of records        | 1,590 | 1,888 | 2,380 | 2,195 | 2,293 |
+----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

--Not available; Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were included
with Asians in 1997--99. To compare across years, add the percentage of
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander to Asian for the years
1999--2002.

^a^Original category was "Other", in 1999--2000 this option was changed
to "More than one race reported."

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Table 2.10 describes the race/ethnicity and eligibility status for new
participants. The proportions of low-income and first-generation and
underrepresented new participants were nearly identical to the active
participants (Table 2.04). Of the new participants in 2001--02, 62
percent of African Americans, 66 percent of Latinos, and 51 percent of
American Indian/Alaska Natives were also low-income and first-generation
in addition to being underrepresented in graduate education.

Table 2.10. Percent distribution of new participants, by race/ethnicity
and eligibility status,\
2001--02

+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| Race/ethnicity         | N    | Eligibility     |            | To  |
|                        |      | status          |            | tal |
+========================+======+=================+============+=====+
|                        |      | Percent         | Percent    |     |
|                        |      | low-income and  | underr     |     |
|                        |      | f               | epresented |     |
|                        |      | irst-generation |            |     |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
|                        |      |                 |            |     |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > American             | 82   | 51.2            | 48.8       | 10  |
| > Indian/Alaska Native |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > Asian                | 109  | 87.2            | 12.8^a^    | 10  |
|                        |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > Black/African        | 1    | 61.7            | 38.3       | 10  |
| > American             | ,098 |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > Hispanic or Latino   | 496  | 65.5            | 34.6       | 10  |
|                        |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > White                | 402  | 94.3            | 5.7^a^     | 10  |
|                        |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > Native Hawaiian or   | 31   | 77.4            | 22.6       | 10  |
| > other Pacific        |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
| > Islander             |      |                 |            |     |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+
| > More than one        | 43   | 62.8            | 37.2       | 10  |
| > race/other^b^        |      |                 |            | 0.0 |
+------------------------+------+-----------------+------------+-----+

^a^ Although members of these ethnic groups are not considered
underrepresented in graduate education, this table describes eligibility
status as reported by projects.

^b^ Original category was "Other;" in 1999--2000, this option was
changed to "More than one race reported."

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data, thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each row may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Gender

As Table 2.11 shows, about two-thirds of new participants were female.
This number increased slightly over time, from 65 percent in 1997--98 to
69 percent in 2001--02.

Table 2.11. Percent distribution of new participants, by gender:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
|              | New       |          |         |          |          |
|              | par       |          |         |          |          |
|              | ticipants |          |         |          |          |
+==============+===========+==========+=========+==========+==========+
|              | 1997--98  | 1998--99 | 1       | 2000--01 | 2001--02 |
|              |           |          | 999--00 |          |          |
+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
| Gender       |           |          |         |          |          |
+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
| > Male       | 34.6      | 33.2     | 32.4    | 31.0     | 30.9     |
+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
| > Female     | 65.4      | 66.8     | 67.6    | 69.0     | 69.1     |
|              |           |          |         |          |          |
| Total        | 100.0     | 100.0    | 100.0   | 100.0    | 100.0    |
+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+
| Number of    | 1,590     | 1,889    | 2,374   | 2,207    | 2,299    |
| records      |           |          |         |          |          |
+--------------+-----------+----------+---------+----------+----------+

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Age at project entry

The percentage of new participants in 2001--02 falling into the youngest
age category was similar to that reported in earlier years. At the time
they began participating in a McNair project, less than one-third of the
participants, 28 percent, were between the ages of 17 and 20. In
1997--98, 27 percent were in this age range at project entry (Figure
2.04). The average age at project entry for new participants varied
little each year, ranging from 23.7 in 2001--02 to 24.1 in 1997--98 and
1998--99.

Figure 2.04. Percent distribution of new participants, by age at project
entry: 1997-98 through 2001-02

  ----------- --- ---------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------
                  **Age of new                                          
                  participants**                                        

  **Project       **17-20 years**  **21-22      **23-25      **26-30    **30+
  year**                           years**      years**      years**    years**

  1997-98         27.3             37.3         13.6         8.4        13.4

  1998-99         25.4             39.0         13.2         9.1        13.3

  1999-00         26.1             39.8         13.6         7.7        12.8

  2000-01         26.2             40.1         13.1         8.8        11.8

  2001-02         28.1             41.1         12.0         7.6        11.2
  ----------- --- ---------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. Percents in each stacked bar may not sum to 100% due
to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Current year in college

Of the students receiving McNair services for the first time, slightly
fewer than one-half were fourth year/seniors, and approximately
one-third were third year/juniors (Table 2.12). A few participated in
graduate-level projects, but these accounted for a small proportion of
all new participants. A small percentage of new participants in each
year were not currently enrolled at the end of the academic year in
which they began participating in the McNair Program.

Project entry date

Students begin participation in McNair projects at three peak times: at
the beginning of both semesters (January and October) and in the spring.
Of the new participants in 2000--01 and 2001--02, 43 and 41 percent,
respectively, entered each spring (March through June) just prior to the
onset of summer research activities; 12 and 13 percent entered at the
beginning of second term in January; and 21 percent each year entered in
the early fall term (October).

Table 2.12. Percent distribution of new participants, by college grade
level:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
|                       | New      |         |      |        |       |
|                       | part     |         |      |        |       |
|                       | icipants |         |      |        |       |
+=======================+==========+=========+======+========+=======+
|                       | 1997--98 | 1       | 1999 | 20     | 200   |
|                       |          | 998--99 | --00 | 00--01 | 1--02 |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| College grade         |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 1st year, never     | 0.1      | 1.4     | 0.3  | 0.4    | 0.4   |
| > attended            |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 1st year, attended  | 0.0      | 0.1     | 1.0  | 0.1    | 0.4   |
| > before              |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 2nd year/sophomore  | 4.7      | 4.2     | 6.7  | 6.3    | 6.3   |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 3rd year/junior     | 29.2     | 27.4    | 29.8 | 30.8   | 32.7  |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 4th year/senior     | 44.8     | 43.5    | 47.7 | 44.2   | 48.9  |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > 5th year/other      | 9.5      | 10.1    | 6.9  | 9.5    | 6.2   |
| > undergraduates      |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| >                     | 11.8     | 13.3    | 4.1  | 4.2    | 3.1   |
| Graduate/professional |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| > Not currently       | --       | --      | 3.5  | 4.4    | 2.0   |
| > enrolled            |          |         |      |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| ### Total             | 100.0    | 100.0   | 1    | 100.0  | 100.0 |
|                       |          |         | 00.0 |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+
| ### Number of records | 1,481    | 1,771   | 2    | 2,180  | 2,292 |
|                       |          |         | ,344 |        |       |
+-----------------------+----------+---------+------+--------+-------+

--Not available; this was not an available response option in these
reporting years.

NOTE: College grade level is determined by institutional credit hour
definitions and not by the number of years of undergraduate enrollment.
The number of participants reported here excludes those with missing or
invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals presented in other
tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

All project participants, 1997--98 through 2001--02

The following description of all project participants includes all cases
on which grantees report. These include active (new and continuing) and
all prior-year participants tracked by each project. Because grantees
must track every participant until he or she obtains a doctoral degree,
the data described here include all students served by all funded
projects over the past five years, except for those who have earned a
doctoral degree. Every participant is reported every year, beginning
with the first year of participation and ending with receipt of a
doctoral degree. Once students earn a doctorate, they are no longer
tracked or included in the annual performance reports. Previous program
reporting described all participants, and we provide this section here
for comparison to previous reports.

This section describes all participants reported in each year. The
number of active participants described in each table varies slightly
due to either nonreported data or invalid data. Table 2.01 provides the
total number of active participants.

Eligibility status

More than 70 percent of all participants were low-income and
first-generation students. This surpassed the requirement that at least
two-thirds of participants be low-income and first-generation. Table
2.13 describes participant eligibility status.

Table 2.13. Percent distribution of all participant records, by
eligibility status and reporting\
year: 1997--98 through 2001--02

+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|                     | All     |        |        |        |        |
|                     | records |        |        |        |        |
|                     | in      |        |        |        |        |
|                     | re      |        |        |        |        |
|                     | porting |        |        |        |        |
|                     | year    |        |        |        |        |
+=====================+=========+========+========+========+========+
|                     | 1       | 19     | 19     | 20     | 20     |
|                     | 997--98 | 98--99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 01--02 |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Eligibility status  |         |        |        |        |        |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Low-income and    | 72.1    | 72.3   | 71.8   | 71.6   | 71.8   |
| > first- generation |         |        |        |        |        |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Underrepresented  | 27.9    | 27.7   | 28.2   | 28.4   | 28.3   |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Total               | 100.0   | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Number of records   | 4,130   | 8,925  | 10,803 | 14,312 | 16,722 |
+---------------------+---------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Race/ethnicity

Slightly fewer than 50 percent of all participants were black or African
American, nearly 25 percent were Hispanic or Latino, and approximately
20 percent were white (Table 2.14).

Table 2.14. Percent distribution of all participant records, by
race/ethnicity and reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                           | All   |       |       |       |       |
|                           | re    |       |       |       |       |
|                           | cords |       |       |       |       |
|                           | in    |       |       |       |       |
|                           | repo  |       |       |       |       |
|                           | rting |       |       |       |       |
|                           | year  |       |       |       |       |
+===========================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
|                           | 199   | 199   | 199   | 200   | 200   |
|                           | 7--98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Race/ethnicity            |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > American Indian/Alaska  | 4.1   | 3.9   | 3.9   | 3.7   | 3.7   |
| > Native                  |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Asian                   | 4.2   | 6.1   | 5.8   | 5.3   | 5.7   |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Black/African American  | 47.8  | 40.2  | 43.9  | 44.1  | 44.3  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Hispanic or Latino      | 19.7  | 25.4  | 23.1  | 24.0  | 23.8  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > White                   | 23.0  | 22.8  | 21.4  | 21.0  | 20.4  |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Native Hawaiian or      | --    | --    | 1.2   | 1.1   | 1.2   |
| > other Pacific Islander  |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > More than one           | 1.2   | 1.7   | 0.7   | 0.8   | 1.0   |
| > race/other^a^           |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Total                     | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of records         | 4,138 | 8,937 | 1     | 1     | 1     |
|                           |       |       | 0,786 | 4,279 | 6,725 |
+---------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

--Not available; Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were included
with Asians in 1997--99. To compare across years, add the percentage of
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander to Asian for the years
1999--02.

^a^Original category was "Other"; in 1999--2000, this option was changed
to "More than one race reported."

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables. Column percents may not sum to 100% due to
rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Figure 2.05. Percent distribution of all participants, by
race/ethnicity: 2001-02

  ---------------- -------------------- ----------- --------------------------------- -------
                                        **All                                         
                                        records in                                    
                                        reporting                                     
                                        year**                                        

  Race/ethnicity                        ** **       **2001-02**                       ** **

  American                                          3.7                               
  Indian/Alaska                                                                       
  Native                                                                              

  Asian                                             5.7                               

  Black/African                                     44.3                              
  American                                                                            

  Hispanic or                                       23.8                              
  Latino                                                                              

  White                                             20.4                              

  Native Hawaiian                                   1.2                               
  or other Pacific                                                                    
  Islander                                                                            

  More than one                                     1.0                               
  race/other                                                                          
  ---------------- -------------------- ----------- --------------------------------- -------

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Gender

The majority of McNair participants were female, and their percent share
increased slightly over time. In 1997--98, 65 percent of all
participants were female. In 2001--02, 67 percent were female.

Table 2.15. Percent distribution of all participant records, by gender
and reporting year:\
1997--98 through 2001--02

+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
|                         | All    |        |        |        |        |
|                         | r      |        |        |        |        |
|                         | ecords |        |        |        |        |
|                         | in     |        |        |        |        |
|                         | rep    |        |        |        |        |
|                         | orting |        |        |        |        |
|                         | year   |        |        |        |        |
+=========================+========+========+========+========+========+
|                         | 19     | 19     | 19     | 20     | 20     |
|                         | 97--98 | 98--99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 01--02 |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Gender                  |        |        |        |        |        |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Male                  | 35.5   | 34.7   | 34.1   | 33.5   | 33.3   |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| > Female                | 64.5   | 65.3   | 65.9   | 66.5   | 66.7   |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Total                   | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  | 100.0  |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Number of records       | 4,138  | 8,941  | 10,691 | 14,316 | 16,755 |
+-------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. The totals here may differ from totals presented in
other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Age at project entry

In 2001--02, a quarter of all participants were between the ages of 17
and 20; nearly 40 percent were between the ages of 21 and 22. For all
participants, the population did not change much from year to year
(because each year differed from the previous year only by the addition
of the relatively few new participants). As a result, the average age at
project entry for all participants varied little across years (from 24.1
years of age in 2001--02 to 24.4 in 1997--98).

Figure 2.06. Percent distribution of all participants, by age at project
entry: 1997-98 through 2001-02

  ----------- --- ---------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
                  **Age of all                                         
                  participants**                                       

  **Project       **17-20 years**  **21-22     **23-25     **26-30     **30+
  year**                           years**     years**     years**     years**

  1997-98         25.5             35.9        14.0        9.9         14.7

  1998-99         25.5             36.7        14.3        9.4         14.1

  1999-00         24.5             38.4        14.5        9.1         13.5

  2000-01         24.6             37.7        14.6        9.4         13.7

  2001-02         25.3             38.5        14.0        9.0         13.2
  ----------- --- ---------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

NOTE: Because the number of participants reported here excludes those
with missing or invalid data, the data presented in this table include
valid cases only. Percents in each stacked bar may not sum to 100% due
to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Current year in college

In 2001--02, slightly fewer than 30 percent of all McNair participants
were enrolled in a graduate program, and another third were not
currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program (Table 2.16).
In any year only about 1 percent of all students tracked had an earned
doctorate, and approximately 3 percent had earned other terminal
degrees.

Summary

In 2001--02, the McNair Program had 4,012 active participants. Of those
participants, 2,302 were new to the program and received services for
the first time. Fifty-seven percent of the active participants and 14
percent of all participants were new in 2001--02. Twenty-four percent of
all students reported in the APRs were active and currently receiving
program services. For 1997--98 through 2001--02, approximately 40--47
percent of new participants each year were involved with the McNair
Program for a single year, approximately 30--58 percent received
services for two years, and approximately 25 percent received services
for three or more years.

There was little difference among the types of participants, although
the percentage of new and active participants who were white decreased
slightly over time. In general, just under half of McNair participants
were African American, approximately one-quarter were Hispanic or
Latino, and nearly one-fifth were white. Approximately 5 percent of
participants were Asian; slightly less were American Indian/Alaska
Native; and only 1 percent were Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. New
participants were most often juniors and seniors in college, whereas
active participants followed a similar pattern but with a smaller
portion of juniors and a higher proportion of fifth-year undergraduates.
Consistently, more than 70 percent of participants were low-income and
first-generation. Approximately one-third of McNair participants were
male; this percentage decreased slightly over time. Although the average
ages at project entry were similar, slightly more of the new and active
participants were 17 to 20 years old at project entry than were all
participants. More than half of the students from ethnic groups
underrepresented in graduate education were also low-income and
first-generation.

Table 2.16. Percent distribution of all participant records, by college
grade level and reporting\
year: 1997--98 through 2001--02

+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                           | All  |       |       |       |       |
|                           | rec  |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ords |       |       |       |       |
|                           | in   |       |       |       |       |
|                           | r    |       |       |       |       |
|                           | epor |       |       |       |       |
|                           | ting |       |       |       |       |
|                           | year |       |       |       |       |
+===========================+======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
|                           | 1997 | 199   | 199   | 200   | 200   |
|                           | --98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Current college grade     |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st year, never         | 0.2  | 0.7   | 0.1   | 0.1   | 0.1   |
| > attended                |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st year, attended      | 0.0  | 0.7   | 0.3   | 0.1   | 0.1   |
| > before                  |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 2nd year/sophomore      | 2.7  | 2.7   | 2.0   | 1.5   | 1.4   |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 3rd year/junior         | 17.3 | 11.9  | 9.7   | 8.6   | 7.7   |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 4th year/senior         | 35.3 | 26.7  | 20.5  | 19.1  | 18.0  |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 5th year/other          | 11.7 | 12.4  | 6.9   | 7.2   | 6.2   |
| > undergraduates          |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 1st year                | 17.1 | 17.0  | 10.7  | 10.3  | 10.4  |
| > graduate/professional   |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 2nd year                | 9.7  | 13.4  | 8.8   | 8.4   | 8.2   |
| > graduate/professional   |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > 3rd year                | 4.4  | 7.5   | 4.8   | 4.5   | 4.7   |
| > graduate/professional   |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Beyond 3rd-year         | 1.8  | 7.1   | 4.7   | 5.0   | 5.9   |
| > graduate/professional   |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Completed doctoral      | --   | --    | 1.0   | 1.1   | 1.3   |
| > program                 |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Completed other         | --   | --    | 2.3   | 2.8   | 3.6   |
| > terminal degree program |      |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| > Not currently enrolled  | --   | --    | 28.2  | 31.3  | 32.4  |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Total                     | 1    | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
|                           | 00.0 |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of records         | 3    | 6,330 | 9,377 | 1     | 1     |
|                           | ,047 |       |       | 2,700 | 4,840 |
+---------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

--Not available; this was not an available response option in these
reporting years.

NOTE: College grade level is determined by institutional credit hour
definitions and not by the number of years of undergraduate enrollment.
The number of participants reported here excludes those with missing or
invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals presented in other
tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

For all participants, the population did not change much from year to
year (because each year differed from the previous year only by the
addition of the relatively few new participants). As a result, overall
recruiting patterns showed little change over time. Although projects
may be recruiting younger students and fewer whites and males, these
differences are small.

Chapter 3

Program Outcomes and Impact

The ultimate measure of McNair Program success is a doctoral degree.
However, obtaining a doctorate can take, on average, from 6.3 years for
the physical sciences to 19.2 years for education (Kerlin, 1995).
Although not enough time has elapsed for many McNair participants to
obtain this degree, a number of interim indicators provide measures of
project success in moving participants toward this goal. Specifically,
measures of student progression toward the doctoral degree, or
persistence, can be a reasonable proxy measure. This chapter describes
McNair Program outcomes through students' enrollment and degree status
and is organized in chronological order, describing outcomes as
participants obtain baccalaureate degrees, gain acceptance into graduate
programs, and progress through those programs in pursuit of doctoral
degrees. For additional context, we compare the graduate school
persistence of McNair participants with that of a national sample.

A note concerning data quality

The analyses in this chapter include participants from program years
1997--98 through 2001--02, even though there is some incompatibility
between the way certain questions were asked before and after the
1999--2000 data collection. (Table C-3 describes these data field
changes.)

Because some response options were not available in all years, these
years have higher proportions of missing and invalid data. This is shown
in some tables in this chapter, where occasionally data from earlier
years are not available and appear to be inconsistent with trends
evident in later years. Another source of error in the data arises from
the practice of updating missing and erroneous information in current
and subsequent year data files only. Errors and omissions are not fixed
retroactively (see Table C-2 for the proportion of missing and invalid
data for each year). Because this has been the practice for updating and
correcting student data files, the more recent data will always be more
accurate and complete than the less recent data. As such, conflicts
should be resolved by giving precedence to newer data. A final note
concerns response rates. For all years except 1997--98, at least 95
percent of funded projects provided APR data; in 1997--98, only 77
percent did so. See Table C-1 for response rates.

We include data here from all available years to allow the description
of project outcomes to encompass as many years as possible. However,
because of these issues, the interpretation of the findings presented in
this chapter should take into account that the newer data are more
reliable, complete, and accurate than the older data.

Baccalaureate degrees earned

Individuals wanting to pursue a doctorate must first earn a bachelor's
degree. Table 3.01 shows the percentage of the active participants in
each year who earn a bachelor's degree in the years following
participation in the McNair Program. By 2000--01, nearly one-fourth of
active students earned a bachelor's degree in the same year they
participated in McNair, and approximately two-thirds earned a bachelor's
degree one year later.

Table 3.01. Percent of active participants, by year of active
participation and time to bachelor's degree: 1997--98 through 2001--02

+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
|                       | Year of |        |         |       |       |
|                       | active  |        |         |       |       |
|                       | partic  |        |         |       |       |
|                       | ipation |        |         |       |       |
+=======================+=========+========+=========+=======+=======+
|                       | 1       | 19     | 1       | 200   | 200   |
|                       | 997--98 | 98--99 | 999--00 | 0--01 | 1--02 |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| Number of records     | 2,203   | 3,121  | 3,338   | 3,877 | 4,012 |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| When bachelor's       |         |        |         |       |       |
| degree was earned     |         |        |         |       |       |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| > In year of program  | 35.9^a^ | 3      | 23.8    | 23.4  | 21.0  |
| > participation       |         | 8.7^a^ |         |       |       |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| > One year later      | 54.3^a^ | 70.0   | 58.7    | 63.0  | †     |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| > Two years later     | 86.9    | 86.6   | 84.5    | †     | †     |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| > Three years later   | 92.1    | 93.0   | †       | †     | †     |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+
| > Four years later    | 94.8    | †      | †       | †     | †     |
+-----------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------+-------+

^a^ For reporting years 1997--99, "has not yet earned a BA" was not an
option for degree status. Because of this, this variable has a high
nonresponse rate ranging from 45.6 to 64.1 percent for the active
participants in those years.

We assume that the missing cases for this variable indicate those who
had not yet earned a bachelor's degree and include them in the
denominator when calculating these percentages.

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

NOTE: Percentages reported include bachelor's degrees or higher because
a bachelor's degree is assumed if a more advanced degree is reported and
a bachelor's degree is not. Percentages reported are of the total number
of active participants in each year and exclude missing cases from the
denominator (\<10% are missing for all years); as such, the totals here
may differ from totals presented in other tables.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Graduate school acceptance and entrance

The percentage of McNair participants enrolling in graduate school is
promising. Of the McNair participants who graduated from college in
2000--01, 40 percent were accepted into graduate programs and 39 percent
entered those programs in 2001--02. Of the graduating McNair
participants in 1999--2000, 35 percent gained immediate acceptance into
graduate school, and 28 percent entered (Table 3.02).

Immediate enrollment in a graduate program after college graduation
varied slightly by participant status and race/ethnicity. Table 3.03
describes participant characteristics for all 2000--01 college graduates
and for those who were enrolled in graduate school at the end of the
2001--02 academic year. Although there were no gender differences,
slightly more underrepresented participants enrolled in graduate
programs the year after graduation than did low-income and
first-generation participants, and higher proportions of white and
American Indian/Alaska Native students enrolled than did students from
other ethnic groups. Forty-two percent of underrepresented graduates
enrolled in graduate school, whereas only 35 percent of the low-income
and first-generation students did. Fifty-three percent of American
Indian/Alaska Native graduates enrolled in graduate school and 48
percent of whites did, compared with 33 percent for African Americans,
37 percent for Asians, and 30 percent for Hispanics.

Table 3.02. Graduate school acceptance and entrance one year after
graduation for McNair bachelor's degree recipients, by graduation year:
1997--98 through 2001--02

+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|                          | Und   |      |        |        |       |
|                          | ergra |      |        |        |       |
|                          | duate |      |        |        |       |
|                          | gradu |      |        |        |       |
|                          | ation |      |        |        |       |
|                          | year  |      |        |        |       |
+==========================+=======+======+========+========+=======+
|                          | 199   | 1998 | 19     | 20     | 200   |
|                          | 7--98 | --99 | 99--00 | 00--01 | 1--02 |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Number of graduates      | 574   | 1    | 1,126  | 1,069  | 1,362 |
|                          |       | ,282 |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Number accepted into     | --    | --   | 390    | 425    | 474   |
| graduate school          |       |      |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Percent of graduates     | --    | --   | 34.6   | 39.8   | 34.8  |
| accepted into            |       |      |        |        |       |
|                          |       |      |        |        |       |
| graduate school          |       |      |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Number immediately       | 79    | 166  | 312    | 417    | †     |
| enrolling in graduate    |       |      |        |        |       |
|                          |       |      |        |        |       |
| school the year after    |       |      |        |        |       |
| graduation^a^            |       |      |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Percent of graduates who | 13.8  | 13.0 | 27.7   | 39.0   | †     |
| entered                  |       |      |        |        |       |
|                          |       |      |        |        |       |
| graduate school          |       |      |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| Percent accepted who     | --    | --   | 80.0   | 98.1   | †     |
| enrolled                 |       |      |        |        |       |
+--------------------------+-------+------+--------+--------+-------+

--Not available; this was not an available response option in these
years.

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

^a^This number is the sum of those still enrolled, graduated, or
withdrawn from a graduate program at the end of the next year.

NOTE: Percentages reported in table are of the total number of
graduating students in each year; the denominator used for calculating
percentages is the total number of students receiving a bachelor's
degree in each year.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Table 3.03. Number and percent of 2000--01 McNair college graduates who
enrolled in graduate programs at the end of 2001--02, by selected
characteristics

+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| #####                           | Number of   | Percent who         |
|                                 | graduates   | enrolled in         |
|                                 | in 2000--01 | graduate school at  |
|                                 |             | the end of 2001--02 |
+=================================+=============+=====================+
| ###### All                      | 1,069       | 36.3                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| ###### Gender                   |             |                     |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Male                            | 353         | 36.0                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Female                          | 712         | 36.7                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| ###### Eligibility status       |             |                     |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| ###                             | 811         | 34.5                |
| ### Low-income/first-generation |             |                     |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| ###### Underrepresented         | 258         | 41.9                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| ###### Race/ethnicity           |             |                     |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| American Indian/Alaska Native   | 47          | 53.2                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Asian                           | 57          | 36.8                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Black/African American          | 428         | 32.9                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Hispanic or Latino              | 279         | 30.1                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| White                           | 225         | 48.0                |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| Native Hawaiian/other Pacific   | ‡           | 25.0!               |
| Islander                        |             |                     |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+
| More than one race              | ‡           | 33.3!               |
+---------------------------------+-------------+---------------------+

‡ Based on fewer than 25 cases, number not reported.

!Percents are based on a small number of cases.

NOTE: The number of participants reported under each of the demographic
categories (gender, eligibility, and race/ethnicity) do not sum to 1,069
due to missing data. The denominator used in computing the percent
enrolling in graduate school reported here uses the valid number of
cases in each category as the denominator.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Nationally, approximately 25 to 30 percent of undergraduates enroll in
graduate school at any time following college graduation (McCormick,
Nuñez, Shah, & Choy, 1999; Nettles & Millett, 1999; Golde & Dore, 2001;
Choy & Geis, 2002). Of the McNair graduates in 2000--01, 36 percent
enrolled in graduate school immediately after graduation and more will
enroll in subsequent years after graduation. Unlike graduate students in
general, McNair graduate students are made up of 72 percent
low-income/first-generation and 28 percent from groups underrepresented
in graduate education. Nationally, 41 percent of graduate students are
first-generation and 14.9 percent are from groups underrepresented in
graduate education (U.S. Department of Education, 2000).

Table 3.04. Graduate school acceptance, enrollment, and retention for
McNair\
college graduates for the years following graduation, by graduation
year: 1997--98\
through 2001--02

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Undergraduate                                    
                                        graduation year                                  
  ------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
                                        1997--98        1998--99   1999--00   2000--01   2001--02

  Number of college graduates           574             1,282      1,126      1,069      1,362

  Number accepted into graduate school  --              --         390        425        474

  One year after graduation                                                              

  Number enrolled at beginning of       79              166        312        417        †
  year^a^                                                                                

  Number enrolled at end of year        76              131        265        388        †

  Percent of graduates enrolled at end  13.2            10.2       23.5       36.3       †
  of 1st year                                                                            

  Two years after graduation                                                             

  Number enrolled at beginning of       124             247        415        †          †
  year^a^                                                                                

  Number enrolled at end of year        101             192        306        †          †

  Percent of graduates enrolled at end  17.6            15.0       27.2       †          †
  of 2nd year                                                                            

  Three years after graduation                                                           

  Number enrolled at beginning of       142             310        †          †          †
  year^a^                                                                                

  Number enrolled at end of year        98              211        †          †          †

  Percent of graduates enrolled at end  17.1            16.5       †          †          †
  of 3rd year                                                                            

  Four years after graduation                                                            

  Number enrolled at beginning of       160             †          †          †          †
  year^a^                                                                                

  Number enrolled at end of year        97              †          †          †          †

  Percent of graduates enrolled at end  16.9            †          †          †          †
  of 4th year                                                                            
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--Not available; the enrollment status variables after 1999--2000 are
not comparable to enrollment status before 1999.

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

^a^ The sum of the number of students who remained enrolled at the end
of that year and those who had graduated or withdrew during the year.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

The number of McNair participants enrolling in graduate school also
increases in subsequent years after graduation. As can be seen in Table
3.04, the number of participants enrolled in graduate school increased
each year as time from the undergraduate degree increased. Of the McNair
participants graduating in 1998--99, 166 were enrolled in graduate
school the year following graduation, 247 were enrolled the following
year, and 310 were enrolled three years after graduation (an increase of
49 percent from the first to second year, and 26 percent from the second
to third year).

One explanation for the increase in numbers of McNair participants
enrolling in graduate school each year is that many participants do not
enroll immediately after graduation from college. Therefore, the number
of students enrolled in graduate school increases with each year
following college graduation. Research indicates that only 25 to 30
percent of graduate students enroll immediately after college graduation
and that another 17 to 29 percent enroll within two years. However,
immediate enrollment is more common for those enrolled in doctoral
programs than for those enrolled in master's or first professional
degree programs (McCormick, Nuñez, Shah, & Choy, 1999; Nettles &
Millett, 1999; Golde & Dore, 2001; Choy & Geis, 2002).

Although it is likely that delayed enrollments account for much of the
increase in graduate degree enrollments with each subsequent year after
college graduation, another explanation is that the quality of the data
continues to improve greatly with each year. As the data quality and
response rate improve each year, grantees include more participants in
the annual reports and correctly report them as enrolled. Those who may
have enrolled in graduate school but were not consistently tracked would
be considered missing or would have incorrect enrollment status reported
until the program corrected or updated the data; at that time, that
individual would be included in that year as a graduate student.
Therefore, in addition to those who delayed graduate school enrollment,
the increase in graduate enrollments likely also reflects those who may
have immediately enrolled in graduate school but were not previously
reported as such until their records were updated in subsequent years.

Graduate school persistence

Because it is difficult to accurately determine persistence when the
number of enrollees increases every year (because every subsequent year
after the first has more students enrolled in graduate school, the
persistence rate will be greater than 100 percent each year), Table 3.05
describes graduate school persistence for just those students who
enrolled in graduate programs the year after college graduation. This
approach likely underestimates persistence because students who took
time off between graduating from college and enrolling in graduate
school are not included, nor are the students who may have enrolled
immediately following graduation but whose records were missing or
invalid in the report for that year.

After the first year of graduate school, between 79 and 96 percent of
these students were persisting (still enrolled at the end of the year).
At the end of the second year of graduate school, approximately 60
percent were still persisting, and after three years, between 44 and 53
percent were still enrolled. Forty-three percent persisted through the
fourth year.

Table 3.05. Graduate school enrollment and persistence for McNair
college graduates\
enrolling in graduate school immediately after graduation, by graduation
year: 1997--98\
through 2000--01

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Undergraduate                         
                                            graduation year                       
  ----------------------------------------- --------------- ---------- ---------- ----------
                                            1997--98        1998--99   1999--00   2000--01

  Number of graduates enrolling immediately 79              166        312        417
  in graduate school^a^                                                           

  Percent of enrollees persisting to end of 96.2            78.9       84.9       93.0
  first year                                                                      

  Percent of enrollees persisting to end of 62.0            59.6       60.3       †
  second year                                                                     

  Percent of enrollees persisting to end of 53.2            44.0       †          †
  third year                                                                      

  Percent of enrollees persisting to end of 43.0            †          †          †
  fourth year                                                                     
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

^a^The sum of the number of students who remained enrolled at the end of
that year and those who had graduated or withdrew during the year

NOTE: Persistence for the graduates of 2001--02 will be included in this
table in future reports as their persistence data become available. For
details describing how these rates were computed, see Appendix D.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

We note that on average, nearly half of all students who begin doctoral
study never obtain the Ph.D. (Golde, 2001; Kerlin, 1995).
Underrepresented and low-income students have less financial and social
support in graduate school, making an ambitious goal even more difficult
for McNair participants, who are more likely to be underrepresented and
low-income than are graduate students in general (see Future Directions
for further discussion). This research suggests that doctoral students
from lower-income backgrounds tend to be less successful in graduate
education, and many McNair participants are both low-income and
underrepresented. Thus, the 43 percent persistence rate after four years
(compared with a 50 percent completion rate on average for all doctoral
students) for McNair participants needs to be interpreted with the fact
that McNair participants are likely to have less financial and social
support throughout graduate school than are others who are not
low-income and first-generation or underrepresented.

A comparison of graduate school persistence

To provide additional context for the persistence of McNair participants
through graduate school, we compare the academic progress of McNair
participants with the academic progress of other students. In addition
to providing context, the comparison is also a measure of the impact of
the program on participants' pursuit of graduate degrees. As mentioned
earlier, the desired outcome for participants is the doctoral degree.
However, because not enough time has elapsed for most participants to
have completed graduate school, graduate school persistence is our proxy
outcome measure. This section compares the persistence rates of McNair
participants with the rates of both a nationally representative sample
and a sample of similar students.

*The Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study* (B&B), funded by the
National Center for Education Statistics, is a longitudinal study of the
employment and graduate school experiences of bachelor's degree
recipients. Approximately 11,000 students who completed their
undergraduate degrees in 1992--93 make up the 1993 cohort of the B&B.
The study tracks participants for 10 years, collecting data on
employment, family education background, and graduate school enrollment
at each of three follow-up periods (1, 4, and 10 years following
graduation).[^7] Although a second B&B cohort of students obtaining
their bachelor's degree in 2000--01 has begun, not enough time has
passed for this cohort to provide the graduate degree persistence
information needed here.

The B&B study provided two groups for comparing graduate school
enrollment and persistence with that of McNair participants. The first
was a *nationally representative sample*. This included everyone in the
1993 cohort who participated in both the initial and follow-up surveys
and provided information on postbaccalaureate enrollment (representing
approximately 1.18 million individuals).[^8] Applying definitions
similar to those used by McNair projects, we selected only the
underrepresented, low-income, and first-generation students
(representing approximately 700,000). This is the *demographically
similar sample*.[^9] The McNair group consists of all participants who
received bachelor's degrees in 1998--99 (*n*=1,282).

Table 3.06 presents the results of these analyses, which must be
interpreted with the following note of caution: Because the data quality
has improved greatly in recent years (see earlier in this chapter and
Appendix C for details), the persistence comparison based on these data,
although promising, likely underrepresents the true persistence of
McNair students. We used the 1998--99 participant data because we wanted
data from the earliest year possible to allow enough time to measure
persistence while still allowing the use of a prior year's data to
confirm the year of bachelor's degree obtainment. The prior year's data
were necessary because many projects repeatedly report the highest
degree earned each year, making it difficult, even combined with
end-of-year enrollment status, to otherwise determine when a participant
actually earned a degree.

Table 3.06. Comparing graduate school persistence: McNair and B&B
bachelor's degree recipients

+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+
|                      | McNair        | 1992--1993    |              |
|                      | bachelor's    | B&B           |              |
|                      | degree        | bachelor's    |              |
|                      | recipients,   | degree        |              |
|                      | 1998--99      | recipients,   |              |
|                      |               | 1993--97      |              |
+======================+===============+===============+==============+
|                      |               | Estimated     | Estimated    |
|                      |               |               | dem          |
|                      |               | population    | ographically |
|                      |               |               | similar      |
|                      |               |               | population   |
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+
| Number of graduates  | 1,282         | 1,180,000     | 700,000      |
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+
| Percent completed    | 10.2          | 6.4\*         | 5.8\*        |
| 1st year             |               |               |              |
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+
| Percent completed    | 7.7           | 6.1\*         | 5.4\*        |
| 2nd year             |               |               |              |
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+
| Percent completed    | 5.7           | 5.4           | 4.9\*        |
| 3rd year             |               |               |              |
+----------------------+---------------+---------------+--------------+

\**p*\<.05; statistical comparisons are made between McNair graduates
and the national and similar samples. Percents in table with asterisks
differ significantly from the McNair group.

NOTE: The denominator used for each cell is the number of graduates that
year.

The numbers in this table describing McNair graduates are the same as
those in Table 3.05. These enrollment rates differ from the persistence
rates presented there in that here the percentages are of all graduates
and not just of those enrolling in graduate school.

The number of graduates reported in the three years following graduation
is not removed from the denominator for any of the persistence rates
described in this table because the McNair Program objective is
obtainment of the Ph.D., and Ph.D.s are unlikely to be earned in three
years.

B&B proportions presented here are weighted.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports; Baccalaureate and
Beyond, National Center for Education Statistics 93/94,
[www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b/](http://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b/).

Ten percent of the McNair participants who obtained a bachelor's degree
in 1998--99 enrolled in graduate school during the 1999--2000 academic
year. In comparison data from the 1992--93 B&B Study of bachelor's
degree recipients, 6.4 percent of this population and 5.8 percent of a
demographically similar population enrolled in graduate school. A
similar pattern is evident for the second and third years (Table 3.06).

This comparison suggests that the McNair program has a positive impact
on applying to and enrolling in graduate study for participants
immediately after graduation. In the year following graduation, a higher
percentage of the McNair students entered graduate school than did the
national and similar comparison sample students. However, after three
years, the gain narrows and the proportion of McNair students that
persists is similar to the proportion of the other samples (5.7 vs. 5.4
and 4.9 percent). This suggests that although the McNair Program helps
participants enroll in graduate school, they may have more difficulty
staying enrolled once there.

Examining just those completing the first year of graduate school
reveals differences in graduate school persistence. Of the 131 McNair
students who completed the first year of graduate school, 76 percent
persisted through the second year, compared with 95 percent of the
national and 94 percent of the similar sample. By the end of the third
year, 60 percent persisted, compared with 85 and 84 percent of the
national and similar samples, respectively. This indicates that although
McNair participants gain acceptance into graduate school at higher rates
than do non-McNair participants, a smaller percentage persists once
enrolled.

Doctoral and other advanced degrees earned

Table 3.07 displays the degrees reported by all McNair projects in each
reporting year between 1997--98 and 2001--02. Although just more than
half of all participants have earned a bachelor's degree, this number
will continue to increase as those currently enrolled in undergraduate
programs complete their degrees. Approximately 15 percent of all
participants in each year have earned a master's degree, and
approximately 4 percent of all participants have earned a doctoral or
other terminal degree. However, the average time to complete doctoral
studies is approximately 10 years, and the participants described here
have had time to complete only four years of graduate school. As such,
the interpretation of these results is constrained by the abbreviated
timeframe. Obtaining a doctorate in four years or less is relatively
uncommon. The number of earned doctorates will increase in the future as
time allows students to progress through graduate programs.

Table 3.07. Percent distribution of all participants, by academic
degrees earned in each reporting year: 1997--98 through 2001--02

+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
|                  | Year    |         |         |         |          |
|                  | degree  |         |         |         |          |
|                  | was     |         |         |         |          |
|                  | earned  |         |         |         |          |
+==================+=========+=========+=========+=========+==========+
|                  | 1       | 1       | 1       | 2       | 2001--02 |
|                  | 997--98 | 998--99 | 999--00 | 000--01 |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| Earned degree    |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| > Bachelor's     | 85.9    | 79.7    | 56.8    | 56.2    | 55.7     |
| > degree         |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| > Master's       | 11.9    | 16.6    | 13.4    | 14.8    | 16.1     |
| > degree         |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| > Doctoral       | 2.3^a^  | 3.6^a^  | 1.2     | 1.4     | 1.7      |
| > degree         |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| > Other terminal | --      | --      | 1.6     | 2.0     | 2.4      |
| > degree         |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| > Has not earned | --      | --      | 27.0    | 25.6    | 24.1     |
| > a BA           |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| ### Total        | 100.0   | 100.0   | 100.0   | 100.0   | 100.0    |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+
| Number of        | 2,442   | 6,314   | 10,077  | 13,713  | 16,223   |
| records          |         |         |         |         |          |
+------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+----------+

--Not available; this was not an available response option in these
years.

^a^ Percentages are higher because there was no category for other
advanced degrees, which were likely included here as doctoral degrees.

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each column may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Research suggests that although women and men are equally likely to
enroll in graduate school, women are more likely to enroll in master's
degree programs and thus earn master's degrees, whereas men are more
likely to enroll in and earn degrees from first-professional and
graduate degree programs (Bradburn, Berger, Li, Peter, & Rooney, 2003;
Kerlin, 1995). Other sources also report a higher percentage of males
than females earning doctorates (23 vs. 13 percent; Clune, Nuñez, &
Choy, 2001).

Table 3.08. Percent distribution of all participants, by highest degree
earned and selected demographic characteristics: 2001--02

+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| #####          | Number | Hi    |       |      |     |      | T    |
|                | of     | ghest |       |      |     |      | otal |
|                | partic | d     |       |      |     |      |      |
|                | ipants | egree |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        | e     |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        | arned |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        | as of |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        | 200   |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        | 1--02 |       |      |     |      |      |
+================+========+=======+=======+======+=====+======+======+
|                |        | No    | Bache | Mast | Do  | O    |      |
|                |        | d     | lor's | er's | cto | ther |      |
|                |        | egree | d     | de   | ral | term |      |
|                |        | e     | egree | gree | deg | inal |      |
|                |        | arned |       |      | ree | de   |      |
|                |        | yet   |       |      |     | gree |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| ###### All     | 17,807 | 23.9  | 56.5  | 15.5 | 1.9 | 2.3  | 1    |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| ###### Gender  |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > Male         | 5,972  | 24.0  | 56.2  | 15.0 | 1.9 | 2.9  | 1    |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > Female       | 11,823 | 23.8  | 56.6  | 15.7 | 1.9 | 2.0  | 1    |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| ###### Elig    |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| ibility status |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| #              | 12,661 | 23.6  | 56.6  | 15.8 | 1.8 | 2.2  | 1    |
| #####  Low-inc |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
| ome and first  |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| ####           |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| ##  Generation |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| ######  Un     | 5,098  | 24.2  | 56.4  | 14.7 | 2.0 | 2.6  | 1    |
| derrepresented |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| ######         |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| Race/ethnicity |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > American     | 638    | 29.9  | 55.8  | 11.8 | 1.3 | 1.3  | 1    |
| >              |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
|  Indian/Alaska |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| >              |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| > Native       |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > Asian        | 991    | 18.9  | 58.8  | 16.3 | 2.5 | 3.4  | 1    |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| >              | 7,997  | 25.0  | 55.9  | 15.3 | 1.6 | 2.1  | 1    |
|  Black/African |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
| > American     |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > Hispanic or  | 4,202  | 23.6  | 59.3  | 13.7 | 1.3 | 2.0  | 1    |
| > Latino       |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > White        | 3,568  | 21.2  | 54.0  | 18.8 | 3.1 | 2.9  | 1    |
|                |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > Native       | 210    | 22.9  | 58.6  | 15.2 | 1.9 | 1.4  | 1    |
| >              |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
| Hawaiian/other |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| >              |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| > Pacific      |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
| > Islander     |        |       |       |      |     |      |      |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+
| > More than    | 170    | 38.8  | 50.0  | 8.8  | 0.1 | 2.4  | 1    |
| > one race     |        |       |       |      |     |      | 00.0 |
+----------------+--------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+------+

NOTE: The number of participants reported here excludes those with
missing or invalid data; thus, the totals may differ from totals
presented in other tables.

Percents in each row may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Percents here are accumulative and therefore are larger than those
described in table 3.07.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

For McNair participants, men and women were equally likely to enroll in
graduate school (see Table 3.03). Table 3.08 describes participants'
earned degrees by gender and suggests that McNair participants do not
show any large gender difference in their obtaining either the
bachelor's or the doctoral degree. However, the percentage of males
earning other terminal degrees is slightly higher than that of females,
and the percentage of females earning master's degrees is slightly
higher than that of males. These results suggest that for McNair
participants, men may be more likely to earn other terminal degrees, and
women may be more likely to earn master's degrees, but there are no
gender differences in who earns doctoral degrees. However, these
differences are quite small and are the result of relatively small
numbers of advanced-degree holders. Future reports will continue to
explore any gender differences as more participants obtain degrees.

There were little differences in highest degree obtained for low-income
and first-generation and underrepresented students. Higher proportions
of white and Asian participants earned advanced degrees, including
master's, doctoral, and other terminal degrees, whereas smaller
proportions of African American, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska
Native participants earned advanced degrees.

Table 3.09. Comparison of the percent distribution of doctoral degree
recipients and all students who ever participated in the program, by
selected demographic characteristics:\
2001--02

+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
|                                 | Participants   | All participants  |
|                                 | with Ph.D.s    | in database       |
|                                 |                | 2001--02 (18,714) |
|                                 | \(478\)        |                   |
+=================================+================+===================+
| ###### All                      | 100.0          | 2.6               |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| ###### Gender                   |                |                   |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Male                            | 35.2           | 33.3              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Female                          | 64.8           | 66.7              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Total                           | 100.0          | 100.0             |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| ###### Eligibility status       |                |                   |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Low-income and first-generation | 68.5           | 71.8              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Underrepresented                | 31.5           | 28.3              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Total                           | 100.0          | 100.0             |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| ###### Race/ethnicity           |                |                   |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| American Indian/Alaska Native   | 2.6            | 3.7               |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Asian ^a^                       | 7.4            | 5.7               |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Black/African American          | 41.9           | 44.3              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Hispanic or Latino              | 18.1           | 23.8              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| White                           | 29.0           | 20.4              |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Native Hawaiian or other        | 1.0            | 1.2               |
| Pacific Islander ^b^            |                |                   |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| More than one race/other        | 0.0            | 1.0               |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Total                           | 100.0          | 100.0             |
+---------------------------------+----------------+-------------------+

^a^ Prior to 1999-2000 number of doctorates awarded to Asians included
those awarded to Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

^b^ Not a response option in all years; doctorates awarded to Native
Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders prior to 1999--2000 were\
included with Asians.

NOTE: The number of participants reported here includes all students
ever reported--including those who had graduated with their doctorates
in earlier years.

Percents may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

The total here represents all students ever reported in any reporting
year.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Individuals who participated in McNair projects between 1997--98 and
2001--02 earned 478 doctorates as of 2001--02; 121 of those were
reported in 2001--02. Table 3.09 describes the participants who have
earned doctoral degrees. Compared with all McNair participants, the
group of doctoral degree recipients comprised more whites and Asians and
fewer Hispanics and American Indians than were expected. There were no
differences by gender or eligibility status.

Reflecting the target population served, the McNair Program is producing
higher proportions of doctorates among low-income and first-generation
and underrepresented groups. Nationally, women earn 35 percent of
doctorates; first-generation college students earn exactly half, and
members of underrepresented ethnic groups earn only 8 percent (Nettles &
Millett, 1999; Kerlin, 1995). Compared with these national proportions,
higher percentages of McNair doctorate recipients were female,
first-generation and low-income, and underrepresented. McNair doctorate
recipients were 65 percent female and 69 percent low-income and
first-generation. Sixty-three percent of McNair doctorates were earned
by students from groups underrepresented in graduate education.[^10]

Summary

Approximately 40 percent of McNair graduates gain acceptance to graduate
school, and in 2000--01, 98 percent of those accepted enrolled. The
percentage of bachelor's degree recipients enrolling in graduate school
increases with each program year, from 13 percent in 1998--99 to 39
percent in 2000--01. A higher percentage of underrepresented students
enrolled in graduate school than did low-income and first-generation
students, and a higher percentage of whites and American Indian/Alaska
Natives enrolled than did members of other ethnic groups.

The number of participants enrolled in graduate programs not only
increases with each program year but also increases with each year
following college graduation (by 15 to 47 percent, depending on the
year), suggesting that many participants do not enroll in graduate
school immediately after graduation. Of the participants who enrolled in
graduate school, between 79 and 96 percent (depending on the cohort)
persisted after one year, approximately 60 percent persisted after two
years, just fewer than half persisted through three years, and 43
percent persisted to four years. Compared with other groups (a national
sample and a demographically similar sample), a slightly higher
percentage of McNair participants enrolled in graduate school (10.2
percent, compared with 6.4 and 5.8 percent). However, compared with the
same samples, McNair participants persist less once in graduate school,
(60 percent after three years compared with 85 and 83 percent,
respectively).

Although nearly all participants earn bachelor's degrees (95 percent
after four years), whites and Asians are more likely to earn advanced
degrees. Overall, 15 percent of all participants have a master's degree;
4 percent have earned a doctoral or other advanced degree. In the past
five years, nearly 500 participants have earned doctorates, and of those
who did, slightly higher percentages were Asian and white.

Chapter 4

Future Directions

Participation in the McNair Program is associated with increased
graduate school entrance rates. McNair participants, who benefit from a
higher entrance rate into graduate school than nonparticipants, persist
through graduate school at similar rates as nonparticipants. On average,
nearly half of all students who begin doctoral study obtain the Ph.D.
(Golde, 2001; Kerlin, 1995). Of McNair participants who enroll in
graduate school, slightly less than half are still enrolled four years
later.

Research suggests that financial difficulty is the most frequent reason
for graduate school withdrawal, and students from low-income backgrounds
(the target population of the McNair Program) are particularly
vulnerable to financial difficulties (Nettles & Millett, 1999; Kerlin,
1995; Lovitts, 2001). Further, most graduate support comes in the form
of research or teaching assistantships, and the amount and availability
of this support vary by field of study. Assistantships in science and
engineering programs are more readily available and tend to provide more
money than assistantships in other fields (Choy & Geis, 2002). However,
the majority of doctoral students are not enrolled in science or
engineering fields. In addition, the underrepresentation of African
American and Hispanic students is particularly pronounced in science and
engineering, the fields that provide more assistantships (National
Association of Graduate-Professional Students, 2000; Nettles & Millett,
1999). Because McNair participants may be more likely than traditional
graduate students to face financial difficulty, exploring the
relationship between financial assistance, pursued majors, and
persistence in graduate school could be of great relevance and warrants
future exploration.

After financial difficulties, a lack of social support is the most
frequent reason for leaving doctoral programs (National Academy of
Sciences, 1997). Even though most graduate programs actively recruit
members of groups underrepresented in graduate school, the environment
is not always supportive of them once they enroll. Fewer women reported
satisfaction with the graduate school environment than did men (69 vs.
80 percent), and smaller proportions of African Americans, Latinos, and
Alaska Natives reported satisfaction than did whites and Asians (60 vs.
74 percent; National Association of Graduate-Professional Students,
2000). Indeed, more Hispanic and African American doctoral students
stopped out of their programs because of a "lack of social fit" than did
whites and Asians (8 and 6 percent vs. 4 and 5 percent; Nettles &
Millett, 1999). We suspect that students who continue their graduate
studies in the same institution from which they received McNair Program
services would receive a higher level of social support than those who
continued their graduate work in a different institution. As a result, a
plausible research question is determining whether participants who
pursue their graduate work in the same institution have a higher
retention rate than those who transfer to a different institution.

In addition to determining persistence from the APRs, we also recommend
conducting a small intensive survey on former McNair students who have
dropped out of graduate school. The purpose of this survey is to gain
understanding about the circumstances under which the student decided to
terminate his or her graduate work, thus providing insights into how
existing services and activities should be modified and what new
activities should be developed. However, querying students about the
reasons they stopped pursuing a doctoral degree requires identifying
who, among the McNair participants, has actually dropped out and will
not continue. Presently, there is no definition of dropout for McNair
participants---the assumption applied is that ultimately all McNair
participants will earn their doctoral degrees so there is no definition
for failure. Defining dropouts among the McNair participants would be a
useful first step in exploring the factors related to graduate school
attrition among McNair participants.

The *Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study* began following a new
cohort consisting of 2000--01 bachelor's recipients. In future years, we
will compare McNair participants with this newer cohort for graduate
persistence and degree obtainment rates. Including graduate financial
aid and graduate field of study in future data collections will
highlight how these factors relate to graduate school success for McNair
participants.

As briefly described in Chapter 1, our analysis also revealed that some
grantees report serving many more students than they were funded to
serve. Further investigation based on conversations with project staff
and analysis of the project objective portion of the APRs suggests that
overreporting may be the result of lacking a common understanding of how
"students served" should be defined---some grantees define students
served more liberally than others. For example, some grantees define the
number of participants a program is funded to serve as the number of new
participants they are expected to recruit each year instead of the total
number they are expected to serve including new *and* continuing
participants. Another reason for the overreporting is a misconception
that grantee performance is determined, in part, by how far the grantee
exceeds the targeted number of students to be served. Future
correspondence to the grantees should clarify the definition of students
served and the importance of defining and reporting this number
correctly in the evaluation of grantee performance.

References

Golde, C. M. (2001). *Questions to ask when thinking about pursuing a
Ph.D.* Madison: Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison. Available at
www.phd-survey.org/advice/advice.htm.

Golde, C. M., & Dore, T. M. (2001). *At cross purposes: What the
experiences of doctoral students reveal about doctoral education*.
Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts. Available at www.phd-survey.org.

Kerlin, S. P. (1995). Pursuit of the Ph.D.: "Survival of the fittest,"
or is it time for a new approach? *Education Policy Analysis Archives,
3*(16).

Lovitts, B. E. (2001). *Leaving the ivory tower: The causes and
consequences of departure from doctoral study*. Lanham, MD: Rowman
Littlefield.

National Academy of Sciences. (1997). *The path to the Ph.D.: Measuring
graduate attrition in the sciences and humanities*. Washington, DC:
Author. Available at www.nap.edu/books/0309054826/html/index.html.

National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. (2000). *The
2000 national doctoral program survey.* Washington, DC: Author.
Available at survey.nagps.org/about/factsDocEd.php.

Nettles, M. T., & Millett, C. M. (1999). The human capital liabilities
of underrepresented minorities in pursuit of science, math, and
engineering doctoral degrees. *Making Strides,* *1*(2), 11--14, 16.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(1993). *National Postsecondary Student Aid Study*. Available at
www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(1993--94). *Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study*. Available at
www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b/.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(1999). *Life after college: A descriptive summary of 1992--93
bachelor's degree recipients in 1997, with an essay on participation in
graduate and first-professional education*, NCES 1999--155, by A. C.
McCormick, A. M. Nuñez, V. Shah, and S. P. Choy. Washington DC: Author.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(2000). National Education Data Resource Center (NEDRC) Table Library,
Table 80. Available at
http://nces.ed.gov/das/library/tables_listings/nedrc_table.asp?sbj=parent%20education.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(2001). *Competing choices: men's and women's paths after earning a
bachelor's degree*, NCES 2001--154, by M. S. Clune, A. M. Nuñez, and S.
P. Choy. Washington, DC: Author.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(2002). *Student financing of graduate and first-professional education,
1999--2000, profiles of students in selected degree programs and their
use of assistantships*, NCES 2002--166, by S. P. Choy and S. Geis.
Washington, DC: Author.

U.S. Department of Education. National Center for Education Statistics.
(2003). *A descriptive summary of 1999--2000 bachelor's degree
recipients one year later, with an analysis of time to degree*, NCES
2003--165, by E. M. Bradburn, R. Berger, X. Li, K. Peter, and K. Rooney.
Washington, DC: Author.

Glossary

This glossary lists the terms used in the report. Some of them are
specific to the TRIO program and do not necessarily apply to other
Department of Education programs or grants.

**Annual Performance Report (APR)** is a program report submitted to
TRIO by each grantee. APRs include information describing the
participants, activities and outcomes for every funded program.

The **Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B)**, sponsored by
the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education
Statistics, is a longitudinal study providing information concerning
education and work experiences after completion of bachelor's degrees.
B&B provides both cross-sectional information one year after bachelor's
degree completion, comparable to the Recent College Graduate (RCG)
Survey, and longitudinal data concerning entry into and progress through
graduate-level education and the workforce. B&B provides information on
entry into, persistence and progress through, and completion of
graduate-level education. This information has not been available
through follow-ups involving high school cohorts or even college-entry
cohorts, both of which are restricted in the number who actually
complete the bachelor's degrees and continue their education.

In the first B&B study, about 11,000 students were identified in the
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS):93 who completed their
degree in the 1992--93 academic year. These students made up the first
B&B cohort and were followed up in 1994 (B&B:93/94) and 1997
(B&B:93/97), with a third follow-up scheduled for 2003 (B&B:93/2003). A
new B&B cohort began with NPSAS:2000 and involved only a one-year
follow-up in 2001 (B&B:2000/01). Future B&B cohorts will alternate with
Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) in using NPSAS surveys as their
base. See http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b/.

**Carnegie classification system** is a systematic classification of
institutions of higher education in the United States according to such
variables as degrees offered, size, and commitment to research. The
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Menlo Park,
California, offers a free online version of *A Classification of
Institutions of Higher Education* (2000)
(www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/). The Carnegie
*Classification*, originally published in 1973, was subsequently updated
in 1976, 1987, 1994, and 2000.

**Federal regions** are as follows:

Region I: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, Vermont

Region II: New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, New York

Region III: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia

Region IV: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

Region V: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin

Region VI: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

Region VII: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

Region VIII: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming

Region IX: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam,
Northern Mariana Islands

Region X: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

**FTE enrollment** is full-time equivalent enrollment (FTE). Full-time
equivalent enrollment is determined by taking the total number of credit
hours in which students are enrolled and dividing by 15 (the credit hour
load of a hypothetical full-time student). The resulting statistic
expresses instructional activity in terms that are comparable to
headcount enrollment.

**Low-income individual** is defined in the McNair Program as a person
whose family taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the
poverty-level amount in the calendar year preceding the year in which
the individual initially participated in the project. The U.S.
Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, sets guidelines to
determine the definition of the poverty level. For example, the poverty
threshold in 2000 for a four-person family with two children less than
18 years of age was \$17,463 (Poverty Thresholds by Size of Family and
Number of Children: 1980--2003, *U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population
Survey,* January 30, 2004, www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/threshld.html).
For this family, 150 percent of the poverty threshold would be \$26,195.

**Participant status** indicates each student's involvement in the
McNair Program for each year. Participant status can be one of the
following: new, continuing, or prior year. We describe two types of
participant status---the status as reported by grantees in the APRs and
status as verified by the data. We verified participant status to
resolve inconsistencies in this variable as reported by grantees.

Participant status as reported by grantees could be one of the
following:

\(1\) A *new participant* is an individual who participated in the
McNair Program for the first time in the reporting period.

\(2\) A *continuing participant* is an individual who participated in
the project in both the current reporting period and in a previous
reporting period.

\(3\) A *prior-year participant* is a former project participant who did
not participate in the project during the current reporting period.

Participant status was then verified using prior-year data for all
students as described below, and all students reported in each year were
then reclassified into one of the following participant groups for that
year: active participant, new participant, and all participants. It is
according to the following definitions of participant status that we
describe participants in Chapters 2 and 3.

\(1\) *Active participants* as described in Chapters 2 and 3 include
those students whom grantees classify as "new" participants and who (a)
are not reported in previous years or (b) have a project entry date in
the academic year in which they are reported as "new." Active
participants also include students classified as "continuing" who are
currently enrolled as an undergraduate.

\(2\) *New participants* as described in Chapters 2 and 3 include those
who (a) were not present in previous year's data and whose participant
status was "new" or (b) whose project entry dates indicated they were
new to the McNair Program in the year they were first included in the
APR.

\(3\) *All participants* as described in Chapter 2 include active (new
and continuing) and all prior-year participants reported by each
project, except for those who have earned a doctoral degree (once a
student earns a doctorate, they are no longer tracked or included in the
annual performance reports).

A *first-generation college student* is the following:

\(1\) an individual neither of whose natural or adoptive parents
received a baccalaureate degree; or

\(2\) a student who, prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and
received support from only one natural or adoptive parent and whose
supporting parent did not received a baccalaureate degree.

**Services.** Definitions applicable to "services" include the
following:

• *Academic counseling* means assisting students in making educational
plans, selecting appropriate courses, developing career plans, meeting
academic requirements, and planning for graduation education.

• *Admissions assistance* means workshops or individualized assistance
to help participants successfully complete graduate school applications.

• *Campus visitations* mean project-sponsored trips to postsecondary
institutions for the purpose of acquainting students with institutions
that the project participants may wish to attend.

• *Career awareness* means project-sponsored activities, such as field
trips, special lectures, and workshops, to increase students' knowledge
of the various career opportunities available.

• *College entrance exam preparation* means workshops, tutoring, or
individualized assistance specifically designed to help students meet
scoring requirements on national or state standardized tests given to
students for admission into a postsecondary educational institution.

• *Financial aid assistance* means workshops or individualized
assistance to help participants complete various financial aid
applications, including scholarship applications, U.S. Department of
Education federal student financial aid applications, and state
applications for financial aid.

• *Other research* means research activities for which students did not
receive any payment from the McNair program.

• *Seminars* mean any seminar intended to prepare students for graduate
school.

• Summer internships mean only those research activities for which
students who have completed their sophomore year received the legislated
stipend of up to \$2,800.

• Tutorial assistance means individual or small-group informal academic
assistance provided by professional staff or students who are either
part-time paid, volunteer, or internship-for-credit students.

An **underrepresented** student is one belonging to a group that is
underrepresented in graduate education, including those of Hispanic,
African American or American Indian/Alaska Natives descent.

Appendix A

Other Related References

Bailey, J. D. (1996, February). *Encouraging diversity in an era of
recession*. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Chicago, IL.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Higher Education Coordinating Council.
(1995). *McNair reserve study panel: Final report*. Unpublished paper.
Boston: Author.

Grimmett, M. A. S., Bliss, J. R., & Davis, D. M. (1998). Assessing
Federal TRIO McNair Program participant's expectations and satisfaction
with project services: A preliminary study. *Journal of Negro Education,
67*(4), 404--415.

Hopkins, V. M., & Ishiyama, J. T. (2001, April). Assessing the impact of
the McNair Program on students at a public liberal arts university.
*Opportunity Outlook*, 20--24.

Lees, K. A., & Carruthers, S. S. (1997). *Unlocking the door to
effective mentoring: An activity-based handbook for mentors and
mentees*. Greenly: University of Northern Colorado, Center for Human
Enrichment.

Nnadozie, E., Ishiyama, J. T., & Chon, J. (2001). Undergraduate research
internships and graduate school success. *Journal of College Student
Development, 42*, 145--156.

Thayer, P. B. (2000, May). Retention of students from first-generation
and low-income backgrounds. *Opportunity Outlook*. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED446633)

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. (2002).
*A Profile of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement
Program: 1998--1999*. By W. Mansfield, K. D. Sergeant, & M. Cahalan.
Washington, DC: Author.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. (2002).
*A Profile of the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement
Program: 1999--2000*. By J. Humphrey, N. Carey, & W. Mansfield.
Washington, DC: Author.

Appendix B

Region of McNair Grantee Institutions

Table B-1. Geographic distribution of grantees.

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Federal   Percent of States included in region
  region    grantees   
  --------- ---------- ------------------------------------------------------
  Region I  2.6        Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New
                       Hampshire, and Vermont

  Region II 13.5       New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands

  Region    9.0        Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West
  III                  Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

  Region IV 12.8       Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,
                       North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

  Region V  18.6       Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and
                       Wisconsin

  Region VI 16.0       Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas

  Region    6.4        Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska
  VII                  

  Region    5.1        Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
  VIII                 and Wyoming

  Region IX 12.2       Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, The
                       Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and American
                       Samoa

  Region X  3.8        Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington
  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs.

Appendix C

Response Rates and Data Issues

For all years except 1997--98, at least 95 percent of funded projects
provided APR data; in 1987--98, only 77 percent did so. Because of these
issues, the interpretation of the findings presented in this report
(especially in Chapter 4) should incorporate the awareness that the
newer data are more reliable, complete, and accurate than the older
data.

Table C-1 describes the number of projects, student records, and
response rates for the reporting years 1996--97 through 2001--02.
Recently, the response rate for the data collection efforts reached 100
percent, with all funded institutions providing Annual Performance
Reports (APR).

Table C-1. Number of records reported and response rates for McNair
grantees: 1996--97\
through 2001--02.

+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|                     | 199   | 199   | 199   | 199   | 200   | ####  |
|                     | 6--97 | 7--98 | 8--99 | 9--00 | 0--01 | # 200 |
|                     |       |       |       |       |       | 1--02 |
+=====================+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+
| Number of student   | 3,618 | 4,140 | 8,948 | 1     | 1     | 1     |
| records             |       |       |       | 0,816 | 4,328 | 6,772 |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of           | 99    | 99    | 99    | 156   | 156   | 156   |
| institutions        |       |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of new and   | 2,028 | 2,286 | 3,509 | 4,245 | 5,074 | 5,645 |
| continuing          |       |       |       |       |       |       |
| participants        |       |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of prior     | 1,586 | 1,850 | 5,205 | 6,481 | 9,138 | 1     |
| year participants   |       |       |       |       |       | 0,937 |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Number of           | 63    | 76    | 95    | 148   | 156   | 156   |
| institutions        |       |       |       |       |       |       |
| responding          |       |       |       |       |       |       |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Percent responding  | 63.6  | 76.8  | 96.0  | 94.9  | 100.0 | 100.0 |
+---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+

NOTE: The sum of the total number of current (new and continuing) and
prior-year participants does not equal the total number of student
records because of missing data for participant status, and for years
with response rates lower than 100%.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

Another source of error in the data arises from the practice of updating
missing and erroneous information in current and subsequent year data
files only. Errors and omissions are not fixed retroactively. In other
words, information that is missing for a participant in 1996 will always
be missing in 1996 even if it is corrected and updated in 1997. (Table
C-2 describes missing and invalid data for each year.) An erroneously
reported doctoral degree in 1998 will always be part of that year's data
even if the error is corrected and updated information is reported in
subsequent years. Because this has been the practice for updating and
correcting student data files, the more recent data will always be more
accurate and complete than will less recent data. As such, conflicts
should be resolved by giving precedence to newer data.

The quality of the data provided by McNair grantees is steadily
improving. Table C-2 describes the percentage of all cases reported each
year by all projects that are missing, invalid, or out of range. Most
data fields have fewer than 5 percent of cases that are invalid, and the
percentage of these cases decreases each year.

Because McNair Programs are required to track participants until the
Ph.D. is awarded, each participant is included in every year's Annual
Performance Report until the Ph.D. (or other terminal degree) is
granted. After a participant graduates, projects must track and report
on his or her academic progress through graduate school. Because not all
participants enroll in graduate school or obtain a Ph.D., the APRs
include many prior-year participants not currently enrolled in any
academic program. The difficulty associated with tracking and reporting
on participants every year who are no longer making academic progress
accounts for the relatively higher percentage of invalid data for the
"current grade level," "enrollment status," and "degree" variables.

Table C-2. Percent of missing, out-of-range, or invalid student records,
by reporting year:\
1996--97 through 2001--02.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Reporting                                               
                           year                                                    
  ------------------------ ----------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
                           1996--97    1997--98   1998--99   1999--00   2000--01   2001--02

  Number of records        3,618       4,140      8,948      10,816     14,328     16,772
  reported                                                                         

  Gender                   0.0         0.0        0.1        1.2^a^     0.0        0.0

  Race/ethnicity           0.1         0.0        0.1        0.2        0.0        0.2

  Date of birth            0.6         2.8        3.1        4.8        2.5        2.1

  First school enrollment  0.9         2.9        2.3        1.7        3.5        3.7
  date                                                                             

  Project entry date       0.8         6.1        2.5        6.5        3.0        3.3

  Eligibility status       0.5         0.2        0.3        0.1        0.1        1.0

  Participant status       0.1         0.1        2.6        0.8        0.8        1.1

  College grade-level at   0.8         0.2        1.6        0.4        1.5        0.6
  entry into project                                                               

  Current college          23.4^a^     26.4^a^    29.3^a^    13.3       11.5       11.5
  grade-level                                                                      

  End of year enrollment   10.2        5.7        7.4        5.5        4.7        4.6
  status                                                                           

  Degree                   39.9^b^     41^b^      30^b^      6.9        4.3        3.3
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

^a^ For these reporting years, there was no response option for
participants who were no longer enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate
program.

^b^ For these reporting years, there was no response option available
for those who had not yet earned a bachelor's degree.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

The analyses in this report include participants from 1997--98 through
2001--02, although there is some incompatibility between the way certain
questions were asked before and after the 1999--2000 data collection.
The "degrees earned" and "enrollment status" items for the two earlier
years, for example, did not allow projects to identify pre-baccalaureate
participants (enrolled undergraduates with no degree yet) or students
who were no longer enrolled in any academic program. Because these
options were not available, these years have higher proportions of
missing and invalid data (i.e., projects not reporting students for
which there was no appropriate option or including them in other, less
appropriate categories). This incompatibility is evidenced in the tables
presented in Chapter 4, where occasionally data from the earlier years
exaggerate or diminish trends evident in later years. Data for these
years are included (with this caveat) to allow the description of
project outcomes to encompass as many years as possible. As more years
of data become available, analyses will exclude data from the earliest,
most problematic years.

Table C-3 describes the data field changes that occurred during the data
collection for the participant-level information described in this
report.

Table C-3. Data field changes: 1997--98 through 2001--02.

+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
|          | Reporting year          |                                 |
+==========+=========================+=================================+
|          | 1997--98 and 1998--99   | 1999--00 and after              |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Data     |                         |                                 |
| field    |                         |                                 |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Current  | 1 '1st year, never      | 1 '1st year, never attended'    |
| grade    | attended'               |                                 |
|          |                         | 2 '1st year, attended before'   |
|          | 2 '1st year, attended   |                                 |
|          | before'                 | 3 '2nd year/sophomore'          |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 3 '2nd year/sophomore'  | 4 '3rd year/junior'             |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 4 '3rd year/junior'     | 5 '4th year/senior'             |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 5 '4th year/senior'     | 6 '5th year/other               |
|          |                         | undergraduate'                  |
|          | 6 '5th year/other       |                                 |
|          | undergraduate'          | 7 '1st year                     |
|          |                         | graduate/professional'          |
|          | 7 '1st year             |                                 |
|          | graduate/professional'  | 8 '2nd year                     |
|          |                         | graduate/professional'          |
|          | 8 '2nd year             |                                 |
|          | graduate/professional'  | 9 '3rd year                     |
|          |                         | graduate/professional'          |
|          | 9 '3rd year             |                                 |
|          | graduate/professional'  | 10 'Beyond 3rd year             |
|          |                         | graduate/professional'          |
|          | 10 'Beyond 3rd year     |                                 |
|          | graduate/professional'. | 11 'Completed doctoral program' |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 12 'Completed other terminal    |
|          |                         | degree program'                 |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 13 'Not currently enrolled in a |
|          |                         | postsecondary or graduate       |
|          |                         | degree program'                 |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| End of   | 1 'Enrolled in          | 1 'Enrolled in undergraduate    |
| year     | undergraduate program'  | program/has not earned a BA'    |
| en       |                         |                                 |
| rollment | 2 'Dismissed or         | 2 'Dismissed or withdrew from   |
|          | withdrew'               | undergraduate program'          |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 3 'Graduated'           | 3 'Graduated from undergraduate |
|          |                         | program'                        |
|          | 4 'Enrolled in Graduate |                                 |
|          | degree program'         | 4 'Graduated and accepted to    |
|          |                         | graduate program'               |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 5 'Enrolled in Graduate degree  |
|          |                         | program'                        |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 6 'Dismissed or withdrew from   |
|          |                         | graduate program'               |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 7 'Graduated from graduate      |
|          |                         | program'                        |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Degree   | 1 'Bachelor's degree'   | 1 'Bachelor's degree'           |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 2 'Master's degree'     | 2 'Master's degree'             |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 3 'Doctoral degree'     | 3 'Doctoral degree'             |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 4 'Other terminal degree'       |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          |                         | 5 'Has not earned BA yet'       |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+
| Race/e   | 1 'American             | 1 'American Indian or Alaska    |
| thnicity | Indian/Native American' | Native'                         |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 2 'Asian/Pacific        | 2 'Asian'                       |
|          | Islander'               |                                 |
|          |                         | 3 'Black or African American'   |
|          | 3 'Black (non-Hispanic) |                                 |
|          | '                       | 4 'Hispanic or Latino'          |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 4 'Hispanic'            | 5 'White'                       |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 5 'White (non-Hispanic) | 6 'Native Hawaiian or Pacific   |
|          | '                       | Islander'                       |
|          |                         |                                 |
|          | 6 'Other'               | 7 'More than one race           |
|          |                         | reported'.                      |
+----------+-------------------------+---------------------------------+

Appendix D

Persistence Rate Documentation

Table D-1. Graduate school persistence for McNair college graduates
enrolling in graduate school immediately after graduation: 1997--98
through 2000--01.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               Undergraduate                                    
                               graduation year                                  
  ---------------------------- --------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
                               1997--98        1998--99   1999--00   2000--01   2001--02

  Number graduating            574             1,282      1,126      1,069      1,362

  Number accepted into         †               †          390        425        474
  graduate school                                                               

  Number enrolled -- beginning 79              166        312        417        †
  of first year^a^                                                              

  Number quit/withdrew during  1               16         14         3          †
  1st year                                                                      

  Number graduating at end of  2               19         33         13         †
  1st year                                                                      

  Number enrolled -- end of    76              131        265        388        †
  1st year                                                                      

  Percent persisting after one 96.2            78.9       84.9       93.0       †
  year^b^                                                                       

  Percent exiting program for  1.3             9.6        4.5        0.7        †
  1st year^c^                                                                   

  Number enrolled -- beginning 59              109        224        †          †
  of 2nd year^a^                                                                

  Number quit/withdrew during  3               0          7          †          †
  2nd year                                                                      

  Number graduating at end of  7               10         29         †          †
  2nd year                                                                      

  Number enrolled -- end of    49              99         188        †          †
  2nd year                                                                      

  Percent persisting after two 62.0            59.6       60.3       †          †
  years                                                                         

  Percent exiting program for  5.1             0.0        3.1        †          †
  2nd year                                                                      

  Number enrolled -- beginning 62              103        †          †          †
  of 3rd year                                                                   

  Number quit/withdrew during  6               1          †          †          †
  3rd year                                                                      

  Number graduating during 3rd 14              29         †          †          †
  year                                                                          

  Number enrolled -- end of    42              73         †          †          †
  3rd year                                                                      

  Percent persisting after     53.2            44.0       †          †          †
  three years                                                                   

  Percent exiting program for  9.7             1.0        †          †          †
  3rd year                                                                      

  Number enrolled -- beginning 59              †          †          †          †
  of 4th year                                                                   

  Number quit/withdrew during  4               †          †          †          †
  4th year                                                                      

  Number graduating during 4th 21              †          †          †          †
  year                                                                          

  Number enrolled -- end of    34              †          †          †          †
  4th year                                                                      

  Percent persisting after 4th 43.0            †          †          †          †
  year                                                                          

  Percent exiting program for  6.8             †          †          †          †
  4th year                                                                      
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

†Not applicable; not enough time has passed to determine cell value.

^a^ The sum of the number of students who remained enrolled at the end
of that year and those who had graduated or withdrew during the year.

^b^ The number enrolled at the end of the year divided by the number who
enrolled in graduate school immediately after graduation.

^c^ The number dismissed/withdrew divided by the number enrolled at the
beginning of that year. Attrition is underreported by projects; true
attrition rates would be the difference between the number enrolled and
the number who graduated minus any missing cases.

NOTE: The number of graduates is not removed from the denominator for
any of the persistence rates in this table because the objective of the
McNair Program is obtainment of the Ph.D., and Ph.D.s are unlikely to be
earned in less than four years. Program graduates in the first few years
of graduate school are unlikely to represent PhD recipients and as such,
are retained in the denominator. In future years, as Ph.D.s are earned,
the recipients will be subtracted from the denominator when computing
persistence rates. The majority of the degrees reported here are assumed
to be master's degrees, many of which may be earned enroute to a
doctoral degree.

SOURCE: Data from the program files of the U.S. Department of Education,
Office of Federal TRIO Programs, Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate
Achievement Program, Annual Performance Reports.

[^1]: A *low-income individual* is one whose family's taxable income for
    the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty
    level. A *first-generation college student* is one whose parents (or
    single parent) have never completed a baccalaureate degree.

[^2]: This category initially included women and Asian or Pacific
    Islanders until the current definition became policy in 1996.
    Current grantees may seek to include other groups as
    underrepresented by providing supporting statistical documentation
    to the secretary of education.

[^3]: Grantees reported serving more students than we describe in this
    report. According to the numbers reported in the APRs alone,
    projects actually reported serving 150 percent of the students they
    were funded to serve. Through conversations with grantee staff and
    consultation with the TRIO office, we concluded that this
    over-reporting was likely due to a misunderstanding of the
    definition of "students served." As such, we include only the
    participants selected as new or continuing based on participant
    status in conjunction with prior year participant and enrollment
    status (resulting in 106 percent instead of 150 percent). See
    "Future Directions" chapter for further discussion.

[^4]: Projects are required to follow *all* students who ever received
    services at any time from the McNair Program until the time they
    receive a doctoral degree. The program does not currently allow
    projects to identify participants who have completed their
    educations with lesser degrees than the Ph.D. In many cases, this
    means that a student is reported as being "not enrolled" year after
    year. Because many of these participants are no longer receiving
    services from the McNair Program or even making academic progress,
    the inclusion of all prior participants in the analysis distorts, to
    some degree, the actual services that projects provide.

[^5]: Active participants include those students whom grantees classify
    as "new" participants and who (a) are not reported in previous years
    or (b) have a project entry date in the academic year in which they
    are reported as "new." Active participants also include students
    classified as "continuing" who are currently enrolled as an
    undergraduate.

[^6]: New participants were those who were not present in previous
    year's data and (a) whose participant status was "new" or (b) whose
    project entry dates indicated they were new to the McNair Program in
    the year they were first included in the APR.

[^7]: Additional information on the B&B can be found at
    http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b.

[^8]: As the goal of the McNair Program is obtainment of the doctoral
    degree, "postbaccalaureate enrollment" included only those who
    enrolled in master's or doctoral programs and excluded those
    enrolled in MBA, JD, OD, certification, and licensing programs.

[^9]: Although demographically similar, the B&B sample is not
    proportionally similar to the McNair sample---the proportion of
    low-income students is higher in the similar sample than for McNair
    participants, and conversely, the proportion of underrepresented
    students is smaller in the similar sample than in the McNair
    population.

[^10]: We obtained the 62 percent by adding the percent of doctorates
    received for underrepresented ethnic groups as reported in Table
    3.09 and not by reported eligibility status.