The Academic Advancement Center is committed to centering the needs and experiences of institutionally minoritized students by creating opportunities to access higher education. A FA22 assessment report examines the association between AAC participation and student success outcomes among a sample of first generation and/or limited income students (the eligible population for AAC support) using propensity score matching.

We find that in a matched sample of full-time, new undergraduates, AAC students have a 9-11 percentage point (PP) higher likelihood of persisting to 2nd fall and 3rd fall relative to non-AAC students, holding constant student level characteristics. They also have a 12 PP higher likelihood of graduating in 4 years and a 19 PP higher likelihood of graduating in 6 years.

In a matched sample of full-time, transfer undergraduates, AAC students have a 9-11 PP higher likelihood of persisting to 3rd fall relative to non-AAC students, though there is no difference in 2nd fall persistence rates by AAC status. AAC students also have a 15-18 PP higher likelihood of graduating in 4 years relative to non-AAC students. Though, due to the small headcounts of transfer students in the analysis, the magnitude of these estimates is imprecise and likely to fluctuate with small changes in student behavior.

The estimated association between AAC participation and student success outcomes did not vary even when we accounted for students’ additional support from Key and/or C4E programming.