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 quasi-experimental pilot study addressed the need for financial literacy services to assist in increasing and providing financial literacy skills development to first-generation, low-income students through a TRIO Student Support Services program. Identification of student needs and support implementation to provide effective services is…

First-generation college students' degree attainment is far below their continuing generation peers (Whitely et al., 2018). This study aims to offer institutions of higher education better insight into how to provide support to be more effective in retaining first-generation college students. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study…

Academia is not the only sector or service that should be focused on and provided to students within higher education institutions. Student affairs services must also be adequately provided to recipients of higher education institution services, namely students. Student affairs services contribute significantly to the overall ranking of higher…

DREAMzone is an educational intervention designed to increase higher education professionals' competency and self-efficacy for working with undocumented students. Grounded in social learning theory, we developed the DREAMer-ally instrument to investigate the effects of DREAMzone on DREAMer-ally competency and self-efficacy. Findings support the…

Many administrators in Learning Assistance Programs (LAPs) have teaching duties, or take on teaching duties at some point in their careers. This study was designed to examine the impact of LAP experience on classroom pedagogy. A pilot study was utilized first through listservs and email chains to ask that question of LAP professionals. After…

These appendices accompany the full report that summarizes the implementation and evaluation of the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program. The ACE program model is designed to improve employment and employment-related outcomes for low-skilled workers through formal partnerships between Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and…

These are the technical appendices for the report, "Supporting Student Parents in Community College CalWORKs Programs." The appendices include: (1) CalWORKs and EOPS Programs at California Community Colleges; (2) Survey of Program Directors; (3) Survey Instrument; (4) Survey Summary Statistics; and (5) Analysis of CalWORKs Students.…

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released joint guidance on January 7, 2015, reminding states, school districts, and schools of their obligations under federal law to ensure that English Learners (ELs) have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve…

This Practice Brief describes a grant-funded pilot program at an urban four-year public college, developed to address the needs of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). This Interdisciplinary Collaborative Support Services program provided (1) more clinical assistance for students with ASD to promote their academic and social success; (2)…

Students with merit-based scholarships and strong high school GPAs typically have high retention rates. Yet, many high ability students did not need to study in high school, and never developed effective academic skills. Such students may expect to excel in college with the same limited effort. Unfortunately, institutions may unintentionally…

The Michigan Center for Student Success commissioned this study to determine whether strategies employed to improve adult students' success at 41 Breaking Through colleges nationwide have taken root at Michigan's original colleges and spread beyond them. A statewide survey revisited four of the colleges profiled in previous publications, and the…

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students of a selected state university in Texas attending the Multi Institutional Teaching Center (MITC)/The University Center (TUC) or the main campus regarding the effectiveness of student services. As universities face limited resources and…

A study of developmental programs in two-year college occupational education in New York State was conducted: to determine the use of program success criteria other than enrollment numbers and access; to identify policies, plans, or strategies specifically addressing program quality and course effectiveness; to determine whether levels of student…

A study was conducted at Oxnard College to assess the effectiveness of a multimodal orientation program designed by the college's Assessment Center to reduce test anxiety traumas by explaining theories of stress and techniques for stress reduction, self-help breathing, muscle relaxation, and creative visualization. The Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI)…