Morehead State University
Does Travel Time and Distance to Higher Education Institutions Affect Participation?
Institution
Morehead State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Zachary Bortolot
Abstract
In this study, the impacts of distance and travel time to higher education institutions on higher education participation in Appalachian Kentucky were assessed. Three types of high school-level data were used. First, a mapping website was used to find the driving time and distance to the nearest public university, private college or university, public / private college or university, community college, and higher education institution of any sort. Second, the average 11th grade math score on the Kentucky Core Contents Test (KCCT), the drop out rate, and the percentage of students attending college, vocational / technical training, and work plus part time school were obtained from the Kentucky School Report Cards. Finally, data on the percentage of people in the county with a bachelor’s degree, the percentage of people in poverty, the average family income, the population density, and the unemployment rate were obtained from the US Census. Simple and multiple regression models were then created. For the simple regression models, each predictor variable was used to predict enrollment at a college, vocational / technical school, or any higher education institution. In the multiple regression, four predictor variables were used to predict enrollment. The results show that as travel distance and time from the nearest public university increase, higher education participation increases, which is a surprising result. However, participation decreases with increasing travel time and distance to the nearest community college, and with increasing travel time and distance to the nearest higher education institution of any sort. Travel time and distance to the nearest private college or university were poorly correlated with higher education participation.
Does Travel Time and Distance to Higher Education Institutions Affect Participation?
In this study, the impacts of distance and travel time to higher education institutions on higher education participation in Appalachian Kentucky were assessed. Three types of high school-level data were used. First, a mapping website was used to find the driving time and distance to the nearest public university, private college or university, public / private college or university, community college, and higher education institution of any sort. Second, the average 11th grade math score on the Kentucky Core Contents Test (KCCT), the drop out rate, and the percentage of students attending college, vocational / technical training, and work plus part time school were obtained from the Kentucky School Report Cards. Finally, data on the percentage of people in the county with a bachelor’s degree, the percentage of people in poverty, the average family income, the population density, and the unemployment rate were obtained from the US Census. Simple and multiple regression models were then created. For the simple regression models, each predictor variable was used to predict enrollment at a college, vocational / technical school, or any higher education institution. In the multiple regression, four predictor variables were used to predict enrollment. The results show that as travel distance and time from the nearest public university increase, higher education participation increases, which is a surprising result. However, participation decreases with increasing travel time and distance to the nearest community college, and with increasing travel time and distance to the nearest higher education institution of any sort. Travel time and distance to the nearest private college or university were poorly correlated with higher education participation.