- “Ethnic minorities” defined as the first and second generation population with a non-Western foreign background. As the study took place in the Netherlands, the “ethnic majority” is defined as native Dutch. Ethnic minority students made up about 20% of the class. 

Goal-setting intervention methods: Definition of ethnic minority 

- Subjects were recently-enrolled first-year college students
- The goal-setting intervention was delivered to students as a part of the curriculum in their first trimester
- The subjects' academic performance was measured against the enrollment status and average performance of students from three previous years who did not receive the intervention 

Barnard College

- Quasi-experimental design: comparing the academic performance of one post-intervention cohort with three control cohorts
- Two primary dependent variables: number of ECTS credits earned and retention rate 
- Data was gathered using university transcripts

Goal-setting intervention for the gender and ethnic minority achievement gap: Methods

Schippers M C, Scheepers W A and Peterson J B (2015) A scalable goal-setting intervention closes both the gender and ethnic minority achievement gap. Palgrave Communications. 1:15014 doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2015.14.

A scalable goal-setting intervention closes both the gender and ethnic minority achievement gap

- The researchers used European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), a system of standardized course credits awarded for completing coursework required to achieve the objectives of a given higher-education program. This is a primary measure of academic achievement within the EU. 


Goal-setting intervention methods: ECTS credits

- Defined as the percentage of students who remain enrolled at their university after their first semester

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