Examining Relevant Influences on the Persistence of African-American College Students at a Diverse Urban University

In this study, campus involvement, faculty mentorship, motivational beliefs (self-efficacy and utility value), and sense of belonging were examined as potential predictors of African-American college student academic persistence. Participants (n = 139) in the study were African-American college students from a large-urban university. Separate analyses were conducted to predict two related aspects of student persistence. A multiple linear regression was used to predict self-reported student persistence and a logistic regression was used to predict actual enrollment in the following semester. Results indicated that utility value was the only significant predictor of self-reported persistence. Surprisingly, results of the logistic regression indicated that students who reported having higher levels of self-efficacy in the fall were less likely to enroll in the subsequent spring semester. Findings in this study add to the body of research on college student persistence.