Researchers point to several obstacles in higher education that can impact student veterans. For some, learning to seek help when needed is often a challenge. Student veterans may feel they must live up to a false expectation and not burden others with their problems, and have indicated challenges with interactions with faculty and difficulty with…

The purpose of this article is to share UNCF's promising practices for implementing the Careers Pathways Initiative at HBCUs, which include: (1) involving faculty throughout planning and implementation phases; (2) identifying a point of contact with a direct reporting line to leadership; (3) imbedding the initiative into the curriculum; and (4)…

In 2021, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) made a monumental move to require postsecondary institutions to evaluate and document their actions to ensure fairness in admissions, an inclusive learning environment, and equitable student outcomes. Around the same time, a team comprising educational measurement experts, diversity…

Across the country, postsecondary education leaders are striving to increase graduation rates. Among a variety of evidence-based strategies to boost those numbers, perhaps the most prominent are multifaceted student support programs. These programs use multiple components over two to three years to address students' barriers to success.…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) excel at providing inclusive and supportive environments for Black students--and technology is important to support, not supplant, their strong in-person culture. This report examines the critical role of digital learning infrastructure at HBCUs and its impact on student success. The report…

In this article, the author discusses how relationships are central in enacting an Ethnic Studies pedagogy in the role of a student affairs administrator charged with the development and implementation of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA&PI) Student Services-Asian American and Pacific Islander Retention and Education (ASPIRE), the first…

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. Without adequate mental health support, college students, including those at community colleges,…

"One-stop" centers are evidence of institutions' recognition of students' changing needs and habits. The centers enable students to manage all of their business in one location (mirroring somewhat the process of managing tasks in industries outside of higher education). A one-stop center moves services from a process-centered approach to…

Just over ten years ago, John Schuh and Ann Gansemer-Topf authored NILOA Occasional Paper #7, "The Role of Student Affairs in Student Learning Assessment" (2010). The authors identified contributions and challenges for student affairs assessment and called on student affairs professionals not only to develop meaningful programs and…

Greater levels of self-determination (SD) can positively impact the retention and college completion of students with disabilities (SWD). However, many SWD do not disclose and instead are likely accessing traditional campus supports. Disability/accessibility services professionals play an important role in helping all professionals working with…

Scholarship on students who enter college without a declared major indicates that this population of students faces unique challenges (Anderson, 1985; Beal & Noel, 1980; Lewallen, 1993), but also may be more likely to persist to graduation and earn higher grades than those who enter college with a declared major (Lewallen, 1995). Based on…

For several years now, the Old Dominion University community college leadership research team has been examining academic affairs and student affairs outcomes on community college student success. College student professionals on two-year campuses most typically provide a wide variety of supports and interventions across campus, in settings that…

This chapter explores the web presence needed for instructors, students, administrators, and staff as hybrid courses are implemented at the institutional level and discusses the physical presence (office(s) and staff) needed to effectively provide and sustain online support for hybrid education.

In 2013, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) board of governors' meeting, a motion was passed that would have a significant impact on future planning at the university. The board of governors directed the president to develop a strategic enrollment management plan (SEM) for the university for the…

Community colleges play a critical role in providing access to higher education for over two million Californians seeking an educational foundation that will prepare them to transfer to a four-year university or to participate in the workforce. However, community colleges have not always delivered on that promise--fewer than half of students who…