Impact

Rising Star continues to have a significant impact on its scholarship recipients, giving them many opportunities as they pursue their educational goals. Success rates in colleges and universities are measured over a 6-year period. Using this method, Rising Star students have progressed equal to or better than their peers in most categories measured (as of spring 2008). Of the 767 Rising Star students who enrolled their first year in fall 2002 (Class IV), approximately 63 percent have graduated with a degree or certificate, have transferred, or are still enrolled in the DCCCD. (See Class IV completion rates table below.) Also, 124 Class IV Rising Star students have received a bachelor’s degree within the 6-year period.

Other highlights:

• Thirty-three percent (257) of Class IV Rising Star students graduated with an associate degree and/or certificate and 14 percent (108) were still enrolled in a DCCCD college. According to the most recent 6-year tracking report by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board of first-time entering undergraduates in fall 1999, 10 percent of Texas public community/technical college students received an associate’s degree, 5 percent completed a certification and 7 percent were still enrolled in their educational institutions.*
• Overall, 27 percent (204) of Class IV Rising Star scholars have transferred to four-year institutions. Of that group, 61 percent (124) have received at least a bachelor’s degree. These students are realizing the promise of Rising Star and maximizing their college experience by graduating at the university level with a baccalaureate degree or higher.
• Statistics show that transfer students who complete an associate’s degree or certificate at the community college level are more likely to graduate with an advanced degree in the 6-year tracking period than those students who transferred without prior completion. Of the 90 Class IV Rising Star students who transferred to a four-year institution after completing an associate degree or certificate in DCCCD, 73 percent (66) had earned their bachelor’s degree in six years or less. In comparison, 51 percent (58) of those transfer students without prior completion (114) have earned a baccalaureate. This demonstrates that completing more courses at the community college level through structured academic degree paths and core curriculum increases a student’s potential to receive a four-year degree at a quicker rate than taking fewer courses before transferring.

The above statistics are typical ways of measuring success among traditional college students. There are other ways to evaluate success among community college students based on their respective goals, such as completing the essential training to join the workforce. Thus, the 63 percent success rate of Class IV students may be higher, but we report what we are able to document.

* Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. “Community and Technical Colleges: 6-Year Graduation Rates of First-Time Entering Undergraduates, Fall 1999.” Pg 76. http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Reports/PDF/1274.PDF

** Although the overall transfer rate of Class IV students is 27 percent, we have excluded those transfers who have completed their DCCCD degree/certificate, which is already documented in the first item in the table above.

*** Southern Methodist University Office of Institutional Research. “Common Data Set: 2007-2008.”
http://smu.edu/ir/CDS/CDS2007_2008_part_B.pdf