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Abstract Integrating microintervention strategies and the bystander intervention model, we examined social cognitive predictors (i.e., moral disengagement, empathy, and self-efficacy) of the five steps of the bystander intervention model (i.e., Notice, Interpret, Accept, Know, and Act) to address racial microaggressions in a sample of 452 racially diverse college students. Data were collected using an online survey. Path analyses showed that moral disengagement was significantly and negatively related to each step of the model for White students, but for students of color, it was only significantly negatively associated with Act. Empathy was significantly and positively associated with Interpret, Accept, and Act for White students. For student of color, however, there was a significant and positive association solely between Empathy and Act. For both White students and students of color, self-efficacy was positively associated with Notice, Interpret, Accept, Know, and Act. Finally, race did not significantly moderate any relationships. Strengths, limitations, future directions for research, and implications of the study findings are discussed. 

To sustain the higher education industry and address U.S. economic downturns, researchers must prioritize research on undergraduates aged 24 or above – contemporary students. This empirical study finds contemporary students have lower chances of attaining degrees—any degrees—than their younger peers. Using nationally representative U.S. data from the Beginning Postsecondary Longitudinal Study, our interaction models reveal that the penalty experienced by contemporary-age students is more significant at four-year colleges where older students are less than half as likely to attain degrees as their younger peers. Transferring also distinctly and positively enhances the predicted probability of degree attainment for contemporary-age students (p < .000), reducing the age penalty. Our findings underscore the significance of prioritizing contemporary students in research and practice to increase degree attainment. We close with implications for practice, policy, and research.