Abstract
Because higher education creates more informed individuals, healthier citizens, social prestige, job satisfaction, and numerous other non-economic benefits, it is important that all members of society have opportunities for successful educational achievement. Using data for undergraduate students enrolled in a business college of a large Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), this study documents the existence of an unadjusted GPA gap between White students and ethnic minority students. This study also shows that the unadjusted GPA gaps decrease when socio-economic indicators are introduced in the analysis. The gaps continue to decrease when units-taken, transfer status, age, and student status are added to the analyses. Findings also show that although the differences between White and Latinx GPA can be explained by the covariates used in the analyses, the same cannot be concluded for Black students. Adding the same covariates reduces the gaps but does not eliminate them. Latinx students thus appear to benefit more than Black from being enrolled in a HIS. To sum up, while a significant amount of the difference between White and Latinx students can be explained by differences in socioeconomic status and other factors introduced in the regression analyses, the same cannot be said about Black students. We think that this is an important outcome that deserves substantial investigation. One size does not fit all.
Recommended Citation
Beer, Francisca and MacDonald, Daniel
(2023)
"One Size Does Not Fit All: A Comparison of White, Latinx, and Black Student's Unadjusted and Adjusted GPAs in a College of Business and Public Administration of a Hispanic Serving Institution,"
International Journal for Business Education: Vol. 165:
No.
1, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30707/IJBE165.1.1680319303.776135
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/ijbe/vol165/iss1/2