Research focused on first-generation students' experiences studying abroad is nascent, with all five extant studies published since 2019 (Brunsting, Chiles, et al., 2023). There is strong overlap between first-generation, students of color, and community college students for study abroad participation, as participants in studies were…

The Pre-College Summer Program at the University of Connecticut is designed to introduce upper-level high school students (rising juniors and seniors) to college life by allowing them to live on campus for a week while taking a college-level course. Within the context of this program, we developed a class designed to introduce high school students…

Study abroad attempts to prepare students to effectively work in a multi-national environment. This study compares students' experiences in a unit operations laboratory course offered in multiple modalities: at students' home university, and four- and eight-week study abroad. The results examine the impact of support on students' learning and…

The COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 caused college classes to be changed from face-to-face classes to online classes. For some students, this was their first introduction to online courses. The pandemic resulted in many summer classes also to be online. Two graduate information systems courses typically taught in face-to-face four week summer…

In spite of the superior effects of semester- or year-long educational experiences abroad, the majority of students prefers short-term study abroad for which participation numbers are steadily rising. Due to the increased student interest in short-term study abroad options, investigations into how a short stay abroad can be designed to maximize…

First-generation college students without broad support networks are more likely to leave STEM majors. In rural West Virginia, the First2 Network aims to improve STEM persistence by including students in creating solutions to STEM attrition. One solution, a research program for rising first-year students in STEM majors, is discussed here. The…

Students of public speaking are often asked if a basic public speaking course helped them deal with their fear of public speaking. Comparisons of anxiety levels between students enrolled in traditional 15-week semester courses and those enrolled in intensive courses has received little attention. The purpose of this exploratory, quasi-experimental…

Studying abroad can be a very beneficial opportunity for a learner in terms of academic, language, cultural, and life experience. This study aims to survey the opinions of twenty-eight university students towards a six-week English programme run by the Centre for Global Programmes (CGP), University of York, UK. Pre- and post-course survey…

This study investigated the efficacy of the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) in improving reading achievement in primary grade struggling readers. 30 readers, enrolled in a summer reading clinic, participated in daily 40-min mini-reading lessons across 5 weeks. During the fluency lessons, readers practiced and developed their literacy skills…

Faculty and administrators often believe that abbreviated courses are less effective than the same courses taught during a full semester. This study examined student academic performance and course evaluations for identical courses taught during abbreviated summer sessions or during regular semester sessions. Contrary to popular convention,…