Effect of University Age and Tuition & Fees on Graduation Rates in Top American Universities

Assessing the Effect of University Age and Tuition & Fees on Graduation Rates in Top American Universities
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Table of Contents Context 3 Purpose  3 Hypotheses  4 Data Collection Plan  4 Analysis Plan  4 Data Analysis  5 Conclusions  7 Next Steps  8 Reflection  8 References  9 Appendix  10 Assessing the Effect of University Age and Tuition & Fees on Graduation Rates in Top American Universities Globally, there is a continued interest in the choice of universities that students choose to attend. Consequently, the graduation rate is an important aspect to be assessed when making such a decision since it shows the level of success that students gain in their higher education. The university age variable, operationalised as the number of years a university has existed, is an important factor in determining its experience and knowledge base. More so, the tuition & fees variable represents a financial checkpoint determining the affordability of education in a particular university. Therefore, these factors are considered crucial elements that influence a university’s reputation, resources, and student body based on the graduation rate (Miotto et al., 2020). In this case, the graduation rate is taken as the dependent variable, while tuition & fees and the university age are considered the independent variables of the study. Purpose             The purpose of this research paper is to assess the potential effect of the university age and tuition & fees on graduation rates of top American universities. This is important because it will enable a better understanding of the factors affecting graduation rates while further highlighting any possible relationships between them and the ability of the university to produce graduates. Ultimately this study will provide valuable insights into the main factors contributing to higher education graduation rates in American universities hence informing stakeholders and administrators of universities on the areas to improve these rates. Hypotheses Null Hypothesis 1: University age has no significant impact on the graduation rates of top American universities  Alternate Hypothesis 1: University age has a significant impact on the graduation rates of top American universities Null Hypothesis 2: Tuition & fees has no significant impact on the graduation rates of top American universities  Alternate Hypothesis 2: Tuition & fees has a significant impact on the graduation rates of top American universities Data Collection Plan

Research Question	Data Collection Method
Does the founding year of a university have a significant impact on its graduation rate?	Identify the year a university was founded and calculate its age based on the current year of operation (2023)
Does the amount of tuition fee charged by a university have a significant impact on its graduation rate?	Identify the tuition & fees charged by all the selected American universities

  Analysis Plan

Analysis Question	Method
Is there a relationship between the university’s age and the graduation rate?	Scatter plot, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, regression coefficients (Bluman, 2014)
Is there a relationship between the university’s tuition & fees and the graduation rate?	Scatter plot, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, regression coefficients (Bluman, 2014)

  Data Analysis This section shows the outputs of the data analysis undertaken on the data that is presented in the forms of charts and tables.  Scatter plot of the tuition fee against the graduate rate   Scatter plot of the university age against the graduate rate     Table of Correlation coefficients of the dependent and independent variables   Table of regression coefficients