Moving to remote, online learning to meet health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic posed a challenge for college science courses due to the interactive nature of laboratories. We developed and implemented a remote/in-person lab partner model where in-person students were paired with remote students in natural science courses during the…

Historically, college and university professors have been known as experts in their respective disciplines but lack training in pedagogy or andragogy. This problem can be particularly impactful at very small colleges where resources for faculty professional development are scarce. Faculty development which creates learning communities encourages…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the first-year experiences of 10 first-generation college students who participated in university-established learning communities at a small private Historically Black College. Further, this study was conducted to discover what participants felt was the role of the learning community…

We describe a research-based mentoring program for new full-time faculty at a small residential college, which emphasizes the empowerment of the new faculty themselves to identify and obtain the resources they need for success. In our model, the mentor takes on a role of primarily providing accountability, easing the burden on mentors, thereby…

This paper describes relationships between tuition discounting (TD), net tuition revenue, and other institutional characteristics at four-year, liberal arts institutions. TD, a practice whereby institutional grants are used to subsidize a student's educational expense, has become a common practice at four-year institutions. TDs impact on…

While there is a lack consensus as to whether orientations for online students should be completed on campus or online, research suggests that having an in-depth orientation and onboarding process increases the academic preparedness of online students and, consequently, improves retention. This action research study attempted to evaluate the…

Although several ethical decision-making methods exist, there is a dearth of research evaluating their use and effectiveness. This study examined graduate student papers by both art therapy and counseling students that applied either the DO ART model (developed for art therapists) or the ABCDE worksheet (for general mental health usage) to case…

This chapter puts forth a model of student-success-focused policy development at small colleges that elucidates the role of the institutional research (IR) professional, highlighting how the breadth of roles and responsibilities that IR professionals serve at these institutions intersect with traditional training and background.

This study evaluated the impact of a First-Year Experience (FYE) program on student success at a small, private, faith-based distance learning university serving a predominantly nontraditional student population. Student data (N = 399) from two groups were compared to determine if the FYE made a difference in student success as measured by…

Community colleges serve more students than any other institutional type in the United States, and internationalization is an inherent component of community colleges that advances student knowledge, facilitates student success, and serves the needs of local communities. As most community college students do not enroll in four-year institutions,…

The relational mixed methods study assesses success of a college-wide critical thinking program to the academic success of community college students. The research compared the pretest and posttest results of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) given to associate degree graduates during their first semester and last semester of…