Wyman Leaders Study

Highlights from The Impact of Wyman’s Teen Leadership Program on College Achievement and Retention authored by R. Reed, N. Thomson, & G. Bramman (Published in December 2018)

Access to full article: https://www.ejournalofpublicaffairs.org/the-impact-of-wymans-teen-leadership-program-on-college-achievement-and-retention/

Study Purpose: To examine the impact of Wyman’s postsecondary access programming, Teen Leadership Program (TLP, now known as Wyman Leaders), on these key measures:

  • College retention (continuing in the same institution)
  • Academic achievement (GPA) 

These aspects were studied to understand the overall experience of participants, and staff perspectives on the traits students gain that are essential to college success.

Quantitative Results: Quantitative data from the freshman year of 39 TLP participants, who each attended Missouri State University during the past 3 years, were compared to 82 students with similar characteristics who did not participate in TLP (i.e., graduated from a TLP partner high school; first generation and low-income).

  • Of the 39 TLP students in the study, 37 (95%) returned to the institution for their second semester of college. The comparison group of 85 students had 65 return for their second semester (79%), a statistically significant difference, p < .05.
  • The mean GPA for the 39 TLP students was 2.88 on a 4.0 scale. The mean GPA for the comparison group was 2.40, a significant difference, p < .05.

Qualitative Results: Fifteen students participated in focus groups. More than half of the participants were female, and the majority identified as African-American. Ten were current freshmen or sophomores; 5 were juniors/seniors. Staff members who had worked longitudinally with students were also interviewed.

Three overarching themes emerged from the qualitative portion of the study as key factors in postsecondary success for low-income, first-generation students:

  • Positive adult student relationships, 
  • Intentional programmatic experiences, and
  • Improved self-efficacy.