Previous research on preparation for the VPSA role has emphasized career progression rather than participation in professional development activities. This study aimed to explore the perceived effectiveness of 11 different professional development activities across 8 of the NASPA/ACPA Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators in…

This study collected information on the professional development of 177 senior student affairs officers (SSAO) at higher education institutions in the United States. The purpose of the study was to identify the professional development activities that these SSAOs engaged in to prepare for the role and the perceived effectiveness of those…

Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduates who work in active-learning classrooms with students facilitating discussions and encouraging deeper thinking, while also receiving pedagogical training. We describe how we built an LA program at a regional comprehensive university starting as a grassroots STEM initiative to recruit teachers, and…

University student support services are broad and varied. These services are generally located centrally on campus rather than in a specific academic area. Offering a decentralized, college-specific student support and retention model that partners with academic and student affairs allows for a more holistic, integrated approach to student support…

Campus support programs (CSPs) in higher education institutions seek to address the barriers encountered by students who experienced foster care or homelessness (SEFC/H). This mixed methods study of a CSP at Florida State University examined the SEFC/H's service use and students' perceptions of the CSP to better understand student experiences.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of educational service quality (ESQ) on student academic performance via the mediating role of student satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: To serve the study's purpose, the study adopted a quantitative research approach. Three public universities representing 30% of the ten public…

Studies indicate that minoritized students attending Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) may struggle with engagement and establishing a sense of belonging. Peer mentoring may play a role in enhancing these opportunities to foster academic performance and retention. The sense of belonging and engagement for minoritized students at a PWI is…

CUNY ASAP is a three-year program offering comprehensive student support, financial aid, and structured pathways. The program has served over 100,000 students since 2007 and been replicated across seven states. ASAP's primary goal is to increase the completion of college associate degrees. Specifically, the comprehensive intervention is expected…

Latine persons involved in migrant farmwork are more likely to face challenges to higher education access and achievement (Araujo, 2011; Willison & Jang, 2009). The demands of migrant farmwork can create challenges for children in migrant farmworking families that pose obstacles to higher education success (Green, 2003; Lopez et al., 2001;…

In developing countries like Ethiopia, although destitute students technically have access to education, they still face significant barriers to completing their schooling. This study analyzes the impact of the Institute for Global Outreach's (IGO) Student Empowerment Initiative, particularly its monthly stipend, and the university-provided Life…

Disparities in academic performance and degree attainment continue to affect systemically marginalized (SM) college students. Amidst these persistent inequities, this qualitative study aimed to better understand how SM students at a competitive university navigated their choice to engage with support and how they conceptualized success. The study…

This quantitative study investigated factors influencing first-year student retention at a midsized regional comprehensive university. Using archival data from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years, the research examined the retention rates of Standard Admit students and conditionally admitted Success First students. The study explored…

In this paper, we describe and evaluate a graduate mentoring program named "First ChEnnections," organized by the department of chemical engineering and later expanded to all engineering departments at a large, public research institution in the Southwest U.S. The main goal of this program was to develop a community to support first-year…

This study focused on understanding the circumstances that led to students being placed on academic probation and the effect of a support program on their academic recovery. Understanding students lived experiences that lead to academic underperformance is vital to the development and implementation of academic support programs. Ensuring that the…

In this study, we examined the effectiveness of an educational training program in reducing psychological, cultural, and social alienation among international students. A total of 73 undergraduate students from diverse nationalities participated in the study. The training program comprised six seminars delivered over three weeks, with two lectures…