Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Leadership Studies
College
College of Education and Professional Development
Type of Degree
Ed.D.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Dr. Timothy Melvin
Second Advisor
Dr. Ron Childress
Third Advisor
Dr. Debbie Lockwood
Abstract
Graduate programs use provisional admission to expand access for applicants who demonstrate academic potential but do not fully meet regular admission requirements. This quantitative, retrospective, archival study compared degree completion, completed/enrolled status, and cumulative graduate grade point average (GPA) among provisionally and regularly admitted students across six Marshall University graduate programs. Program-level differences and the roles of age at admission and sex were also examined. After applying the Fall 2017 through Spring 2024 study window, excluding unclassifiable records, and removing duplicate records, the final sample included 2,043 unique students: 1,914 regularly admitted and 129 provisionally admitted. Analyses included chi-square tests, Welch independent-samples t tests, adjusted regression models, and interaction tests. Regularly admitted students had higher degree completion rates than provisionally admitted students, 73.4% versus 50.4%, and higher completed/enrolled rates, 80.5% versus 52.7%. Provisional admission remained associated with lower adjusted odds of degree completion, OR = 0.36, p < .001, and completed/enrolled status, OR = 0.26, p < .001. Provisionally admitted students also had a lower mean cumulative GPA, 3.43 versus 3.68, with a significant adjusted difference, B = -0.304, p < .001. Program significantly moderated the relationship between admission status and cumulative GPA but not the two binary outcomes. Age was associated with lower odds of degree completion and completed/enrolled status, while sex was not significantly associated with the primary outcomes. The findings support pairing provisional admission with clear expectations, intentional advising, early progress monitoring, and program specific support.
Subject(s)
Education.
Educational leadership.
Universities and colleges -- Admission.
Universities and colleges -- Graduate work.
Universities and colleges -- Administration.
Graduate students.
Educational attainment.
Marshall University.
West Virginia.
Recommended Citation
Canterbury, Thomas J., "Provisional vs. regular graduate admission and student success at Marshall University: a multi-program quantitative study" (2026). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 2171.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/2171
