Conceptualizing Openness to Diversity and Challenge: Its Relation to College Experiences, Achievement, and Retention

Openness to diversity and challenge (ODC) constitutes an integral outcome of the undergraduate experience. However, ODC may also serve as a form of generalized openness to experience; if so, then it should be positively related to a host of college experiences as well as student success. The study reported here explored this possibility within a longitudinal sample of 8,475 first-year students at 46 institutions. Results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses showed that ODC is positively and significantly related to several broad measures of college experiences and first-year GPA, and it is also a marginally significant predictor of first-to-second year retention.