Development and validation of a survey to identify predictors of choice and early departure among tennessee promise scholarship recipients

The decision to attend community or technical college is influenced by a variety of individual and institutional factors, including financial barriers, academic preparation and self- efficacy, and support structures (Perna, 2006). To address the cost of college, the most consistent barrier to enrollment for students (Kelchen et al., 2017; Kinzie et al., 2004), several states and individual institutions introduced “free” college, or “promise” initiatives (Perna et al., 2017). Early research on these programs has shown that although enrollment rates increased (Collom, 2022; Jaggars, 2020), traditionally underserved students, including low-income and marginalized populations, still face significant barriers (Collom et al., 2021; Perna et al., 2021). Many of these factors persist beyond the initial barrier of enrolling in college and influence the decision to drop out. To date, no survey instruments specific to the college choice and early departure process within the context of promise programs have been published. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to reveal factors affecting college choice and early community or technical college departure among promise- eligible students. The instrument was developed using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2017), where the results of an initial exploratory qualitative phase were used to develop and validate a survey in a sequential quantitative phase (Biddix, 2018; Greene et al., 1989). The resulting instrument may be used by student and academic affairs professionals, especially in admissions, advising, and retention, to understand factors that specifically affect college choice and departure for this population. In addition, such understanding bears implications for policy, practice, and research on student success.