Australian university students who are the first in their family to attend university are more likely to encounter challenges in their transition to university, and programs to support students are important for success and retention. Fifteen first-in-family (FiF) students participated in an Australian-first pilot orientation program. Program…

This article analyzes the effectiveness of an activity we developed to help students better understand intersectionality. Intersectionality is an analytic concept that signifies ways that inequalities may overlap to create unique forms of privilege and subjugation. In the activity, students use assigned vignettes from the perspective of research…

Relocation of an academic unit affects not only the staff, but also the students. A pre- and post-move study examined the responses of undergraduate students to the relocation to a new and spacious campus carried out during the break between two semesters. The distance between the old and the new site did not require home relocation. However, it…

Being part of a cohesive learning community supports retention and success in early mathematics courses. Yet, large, unwelcoming lectures stand in opposition to this goal, isolating students and pushing them away from STEM. This paper offers a comparative analysis of three efforts to build community amongst students, all situated within a single…

Families in deindustrialized cities with high crime rates report prioritizing school safety when opting for charter schools. Yet, very little research has investigated whether charter schools are safer than traditional public schools. This study compares charter and traditional public schools in Detroit, Michigan, on perceived school safety by…

Students from low-income families consistently trail behind their peers in retention and degree attainment. Research on college student experiences suggests that low-income students experience "cultural mismatch" at college--they feel that their backgrounds are at odds with the middle-class values dominant on campus (Armstrong &…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between work, levels of involvement and academic performance between residential and commuter students. One hundred and eight undergraduate students at a private college in the Northeast were surveyed. Surveys aimed at examining work and levels of involvement were administered to the…

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems allowing instructors and/or students to share materials and interact online. This study compared differences in LMS use between instructors and students at a large residential campus with students at a smaller commuter campus. Responses to an online survey about LMS activities and tools were…

Examined differences in alcohol use between one university's commuting students (n=99) who lived at home with their parents and residential students (n=212). Found that resident students exhibited greater frequencies of alcohol use and abuse than did commuters as a function of both precollege factors and involvement in traditional college life.…

Proposed a causal model to examine the impact of resident living on student development. Tested the model with 4,191 college students. Secondary analysis indicated that the influence of on-campus living on intellectual and social self-concept is indirect and mediated through interactions with faculty and peers. (Author/BH)

A study investigated how long it takes Frostburg State University (Maryland) (FSU) commuter students to drive to courses and how long they were willing to commute to pursue their educational goals. Students and graduates of two local two-year colleges, potential matriculants at FSU, were also asked how long they were willing to drive. Little…

Tested hypothesis that living on campus fostered cognitive growth by estimating relative first-year gains in reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, and critical thinking of resident (n=40) and commuter (n=170) first-year college students. Controlling for precollege cognitive level, academic motivation, age, work responsibility, and extent…

Using 10 distinct samples, analyses were conducted to determine whether empirical support could be garnered for the proposition that working adults selecting a college for part-time studies tend to consider the proximity of the school to their home to be more important than the school's proximity to where they work. On a hypothetical task (first 5…

Differences between residential and commuter first-year male college students were examined with respect to students' perceptions of the parent-child relationship and its influence on students' use of alcohol and marijuana. Fifty residential and 57 commuter students completed questionnaires to assess their perceptions of parenting and the…

A survey of 1,200 students at York University (Ontario) found students' place of residence affected student involvement and first-year grades. After controlling for standardized test scores and department, freshman grades of off-campus students were higher than those of on-campus students. Despite off-campus residence and low involvement in some…