Unique contributions of career -related variables in predicting academic persistence and performance in University 101 college students

The premature departure of college students is a problem for institutions of higher education and has profound long-term implications for the departing student. Consequently, colleges and universities have invested considerable resources in developing retention strategies, and the topic of postsecondary performance and persistence has received considerable empirical attention. To date, research has focused on both institutional and individual factors. Although a number of factors have been shown to predict college persistence and performance, a large amount of the variance remains unexplained. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the degree to which career-related variables account for variance in college students' academic performance and persistence beyond that accounted for by a measure of precollege ability and achievement. Participants included 906 first semester college freshman from a large Midwestern university. Participants completed measures of academic self-efficacy, interests, career decidedness, academic and career choice, vocational maturity, career barriers, and career decision-making self-efficacy. Precollege ability and achievement was assessed using participants' ACT composite score. Participants' performance was assessed using noncumulative grade point averages from the first three semesters of college. Persistence was measured by recording whether or not a student returned for the second and third semester of college. Hierarchical linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to test models of performance and persistence respectively. Results from this study suggest that career-related variables are poor predictors of college student retention, but may contribute to the prediction of college student performance. This study was an attempt to build on previous empirical findings by bridging psychological, educational, and vocational constructs and theory. The results of this study warrant additional research on the utility of career-related variables in predicting academic persistence and performance.