Imagine: A Promise Scholars and McNair Scholars Journal

At the University of California, Santa Barbara, 3,408 college students were academically dismissed between the years of 2008 and 2021. Through data gathering and comparison research, we discovered that the elevated rate of dismissal among college students was associated with certain self-identified race/ethnicity groups and socioeconomic factors. We distributed a survey to the listed academically disqualified students and with 42 survey responses, it was indicated that mental health played a significant role in the increased rate of college student dismissals. Following mental health issues, the change in environment caused by the Coronavirus-19 pandemic, as well as feeling lost and unmotivated, also had an impact on many students. In this study, the data showed that the majority of students affected were Chicano/Latin/other Spanish, White/Caucasian, and Asian/Pacific Islander, in that order, according to the data regarding academically dismissed students. For the affected students, difficulties started in the first-year fall quarter, which led to a larger proportion of students being placed on probation during the following winter quarter. Among the dismissed students, it was also found that first-generation and low-income students were impacted at higher rates. The purpose of this study is to identify the reasons why students struggle academically and are dismissed at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It is crucial to identify the causes of these negative outcomes so the university can better support its students.