Accessible Yet Unequal: A Qualitative Study of Social Class, Race, and First-Year Experiences at a Regional Comprehensive University The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Higginson, Reid Pitney. 2020. Accessible Yet Unequal: A Qualitative Study of Social Class, Race, and First-Year Experiences at a Regional Comprehensive University. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37365899 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Accessible Yet Unequal: A Qualitative Study of Social Class, Race, and First-Year Experiences at a Regional Comprehensive University A Dissertation presented by Reid Pitney Higginson to The Committee on Higher Degrees in Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Education Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May, 2020 © 2020 Reid Pitney Higginson All Rights Reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Julie A. Reuben Reid Pitney Higginson Accessible Yet Unequal: A Qualitative Study of Social Class, Race, and First-Year Experiences at a Regional Comprehensive University Abstract Completing college is associated with tremendous benefits in American society (Carnevale et al., 2015). Yet, while college access has expanded dramatically over the past half- century, graduation rates remain frustratingly unequal by class, race, and parental education (Cahalan et al., 2019). Much of this disparity is due to factors that occur before students step on campus, however, scholars have also begun to focus on processes during college that lead to divergent outcomes (Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013; Stevens et al., 2008). However, most of the research on the within-college processes that shape inequality has left out the most common type of four-year college experience: public regional comprehensive universities (RCUs). Understanding what shapes inequality within RCUs is essential because these institutions educate the majority of all low-income college students and students of color (Bowen et al., 2009). In theory, this should make RCUs better at serving these populations, but unequal graduation rates reveal that is usually not the case. In this dissertation, I use a series of in-depth interviews with 49 students to study the dynamics shaping the first year of college at one RCU, pseudonymously called Middletown State University (MSU). I find that MSU has an institutional culture of regional affordability that supports the inclusion of white, working-class, first-generation students. While this creates a context where first-generation students persist at the same rate as continuing-generation students, it has two key limitations. First, because the institution fails to recognize important differences iii among first-generation students, the context of regional affordability does not support the inclusion of low-income students of color. Second, even though working-class white students feel included, middle-class students are still more likely to experience greater benefits from college. Ultimately, this dissertation finds that regional universities like MSU are uniquely positioned to support less-advantaged students, but unless they recognize and include all the educational, racial, and class differences that students bring with them to college, RCUs will still reproduce inequality on campus. This research expands our understanding of how the intersectionality of students’ backgrounds shapes inequality, and it highlights the need for better understanding of the institutional cultures of regional comprehensive universities. iv Table of Contents Front Matter Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………….. vi Dedication……………………………………………………………………………… viii Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 2: The Participants and Their Paths to College………………………………………... 41 Chapter 3: Sense of Belonging at a Regionally Affordable University……………………….. 71 Chapter 4: Social Class, High Schools, and Seeking Help……………………………………. 101 Chapter 5: Was it Worth it? Academic Relevance…………………………………………….. 129 Chapter 6: Looking Beyond the First Year…………………………………………………… 156 Chapter 7: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………… 166 Back Matter Appendix A: Interview Guides……………………………………………………….. 176 Appendix B: Coding Templates………………………………………………………. 183 Appendix C: Participants……………………………………………………………… 186 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….. 189 v Acknowledgements First and foremost, I want to thank my advisor, Julie Reuben, for her mentorship over the past six years. My path to a PhD has often been winding, and you have helped me find my way as a person and a scholar. You have helped me develop my interests (I never would have dreamed I’d publish a history paper on experimental colleges!) and find my professional calling. I am so happy with where I have ended up and I could not have done it without you. I also want to thank my committee members, Mandy Savitz-Romer and Tony Jack, for their tremendous guidance. Mandy, you have helped me learn how to balance research and practice, and have given me incredible support in following that passion. Tony, you have pushed my thinking, always making me stretch to consider the theoretical implications of my work and what it means for inequality. I feel so lucky to have had such a brilliant and supportive committee. I want to thank all the professors and mentors I have had at HGSE. Your teaching, encouragement, and insight have inspired me in so many ways. In particular, I want to thank Christina Ciocca Eller, Wendy Fischman and the entire LAS21 team, Rachel Gable, Howard Gardner, Roberto Gonzales, Helen Haste, Andrew Ho, Michele Lamont, Meira Levinson, Richard Light, Carla Lillvik, Joe McIntyre, Judith McLaughlin, Jal Mehta, Kay Merseth, Alexis Brooke Redding, James Soto Anthony, Katie Steele, Natasha Warikoo, and Rick Weissbourd. I would also like to thank all the scholars and staff outside of HGSE that I spoke with while conceiving this project. You replied to an email from a random graduate student and shared your time to help me explore research questions and sites. While I cannot name you all, I want to thank Amy Bergerson, Carmen Cid, Laura Hamilton, Susan Hayward, Daniel Hirschman, Colby King, Chris Lambert, Brian Lashely, Howard London, Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur, Ann Mullen, Stephen Nelson, Ron Pitt, Nicolas Simon, and April Yee. Finally, thank you to the vi doctoral programs office, particularly Clara Lau, Khánh-Anh Lê, and Eric Zeckman. The care you put into your work has made this complicated and intimidating process feel much more friendly and simple. I would like to give a very special thanks to all my colleagues at MSU. While I cannot list your names, you know who you are. Working at MSU for the past three years has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life and your support has meant the world to me. Most importantly, I want to thank all the participants of this study: faculty, staff, and especially the students. You shared your time with me and trusted me with your stories. You make this dissertation what it is, and I hope you enjoyed our conversations as much I as did. I am so grateful and I wish you the best on your journeys through college and beyond. To my cohort and friends at HGSE, thank you for making my time in grad school interesting and fun. In particular, I want to mention those who helped me directly with this project—Andy de Barros, Becca Bassett, Monnica Chan, Ian Crookston, Jeraul Mackey, and Nadirah Foley—and my dissertation writing group: Jonathan Hampton, Jae Lee, Daphne Penn, and Amelia Peterson. Your encouragement and feedback on my bad drafts got me through this. To my family and friends, thank you for sustaining me throughout this process, cheering me on from afar, and believing in me. Especially mom, dad, and Drew. Knowing you were there supporting me when I was too busy to call or visit meant so much to me—and I hope to see more of you soon! Finally, I want to thank Emily. You have kept me going, put up with me, and helped me stay connected to why I am doing this work in the first place, all while going through grad school yourself. You inspire me every day. Thank you. vii To the participants at Middletown State who shared their time and lives with me. viii Chapter 1: Introduction Completing college is associated with tremendous benefits in American society. College graduates, on average, make over one million dollars more than high school graduates in their lifetimes (Carnevale et al., 2015) and those with bachelor’s degrees also report greater health and wellbeing (Mayhew et al., 2016).1 In order to pursue the benefits of a four-year college degree, the most common path that students take is attending a Regional Comprehensive University (RCU). These public institutions enroll about 37% of all four-year college students (Grubb & Lazerson, 2005), including the majority of all low-income students and students of color (Ciocca Eller & Diprete, 2018). They are especially critical because they represent the ideal that college is possible for all: RCUs are generally the most accessible and affordable four-year college available. Despite this promise, however, graduation rates