Major Decision: The Impact of Major Switching on Academic Outcomes in Community Colleges

Vivian Liu, Soumya Mishra () and Elizabeth M. Kopko
Additional contact information
Vivian Liu: Teachers College Columbia University
Soumya Mishra: Teachers College Columbia University
Elizabeth M. Kopko: Teachers College Columbia University

Research in Higher Education, 2021, vol. 62, issue 4, No 4, 498-527

Abstract: Abstract A third of the 2- and 4-year undergraduates beginning college in 2011–2012 changed their major in the first 3 years of enrollment. Yet, few studies have examined the effects of major switching on student outcomes, particularly in community colleges. Major switching can delay or impede college completion through excess credit accumulation, or it can increase the probability of completion due to a better academic match. Using state administrative data and propensity score matching, we find that major switching increases certificate completion rates but moderately decreases the probability of bachelor’s degree completion in community colleges for students who started with a declared major. We suggest that instead of discouraging major switching, institutions should integrate switching into program planning. Policies like common course-sequencing, cross-discipline introductory courses and flexible application of credits can allow students to revise their interests and goals without losing much time, credits, or tuition dollars.

Keywords: Major switching; Academic outcomes; Community colleges; Major choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11162-020-09608-6 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:reihed:v:62:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s11162-020-09608-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/11162

DOI: 10.1007/s11162-020-09608-6

Access Statistics for this article

Research in Higher Education is currently edited by Robert K. Toutkoushian

More articles in Research in Higher Education from Springer, Association for Institutional Research
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().