College transition programs offer early access to the collegiate experience, aid in the adjustment of students transitioning to college, and facilitate positive adjustments for Black women in their early college years. Less is known about whether Black women identify these programs as having a lasting influence on their college degree programs and…

This 5-year, longitudinal, multimethod qualitative case study draws on data from the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project examining a comprehensive college transition and success program called Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC) that serves low-income college students, many of whom are first-generation and racially…

The Elon Gap Experience (EGE) was conceived out of Elon University's most recent strategic plan, the Elon Commitment (Elon University, 2009). One theme calls for "strategic and innovative pathways in undergraduate and graduate education," specifically "to launch a service program as part of a gap-year program" (Elon University,…

Summer bridge programs are designed to ease the transition to college by providing students with academic skills and social resources during the summer between high school graduation and college. Research shows that bridge programs are potentially effective at increasing retention and academic success of at-risk students by providing an early…

This study examined advice Chinese internationals would give to incoming Chinese international first-year students to ease their US college transitions. While the study was limited to 18 students from private, well ranked, 4-year liberal arts colleges who all appeared to be coping with their transitions (struggling students may have shied from…

At the intersection of college and work is a complex transition that graduates face every day. Lower levels of college to career transition self-efficacy (CTSE) and lower levels of perceived adulthood may cause a more difficult transition. In this mixed-method study we sought to better understand the relationships among perceived adulthood, CTSE,…

Foster youth are among some of the nation's most underserved students in higher education. Of the more than 430,000 youth in the foster care system, only about 50% will graduate from high school and as little as 3% will ever earn a bachelor's degree (Pecora, 2012; Wolanin, 2005). While critically important for smoothing students' transition from…

We examined how the experiences--academic, financial, social, and personal--and relationship factors of military-connected students attending a 4-year institution are associated with their academic success. This multi-institution study highlights the demographic characteristics, experiences, and campus relationships that are associated with…

Academic enrichment programs seek to address the challenges first-generation students face, but research tends to focus on academic outcomes. In this study we investigated first-generation students' perceptions of how a program addresses their mental well-being. A total of 25 undergraduate students who were enrolled in an academic enrichment…

This multisite case study explored the role of summer institutes in preparing Students of Color for doctoral programs. Bourdieu's social reproduction theory, particularly the concept of habitus, was employed as a theoretical framework to investigate how the participants further developed habitus (their dispositions, identities, and perspectives)…