It is essential that all students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have the motivational supports to persist in their STEM career trajectories. "STEM role models," or successful individuals in STEM, can be powerful tools to motivate college students towards STEM careers, particularly if students…

Higher education institutions' success relies on student retention and graduation rates, especially among underrepresented minority (URM) groups, where persistent disparities exist. This dissertation focuses on URM Division I student-athletes, often overlooked despite their significant influence within universities. Notably, academic success gaps…

Although African Americans report the lowest graduation rates in the United States--approximately 35% at undergraduate level--the rate is lower for African American males (30%) than African American females (37%). The performance of African American males in higher education is influenced by faculty role models and faculty expectations of their…

Women make up a little over half of higher education enrollment in the United States and earn more college and graduate degrees than men earn. However, the gender gap in science education at all academic levels persists. This is especially true in high-end, math-intensive fields such as engineering and statistics. Research suggests that a…

The very low college success rate of American Indians and Alaska Natives has inspired a scholarly literature that seeks to explain this outcome and, more recently, to account for why some Native students persist in college. Few studies, however, look at Native students who actually have graduated from college, and these rarely reflect Native…

Almost half of the students who begin college are not retained at the institution in which they began. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions of first-year college students and the impact peer mentoring has on student success. This quantitative study utilized the College Student Mentoring Scale to measure perceptions of…

Although students from underrepresented groups (URGs) matriculate into higher education at continually increasing numbers, the undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree completion rates for students from URGs remain low. In the United States, institutions of higher education (IHEs) continue to face the challenge…

This study was designed to explore, record, explain and describe the lived experiences of African American male students engaged in mentorship programs for post-secondary education. This study takes an exploratory phenomenological approach to research and is conducted at a mentorship program site. The following research questions guided this study…

Black women are earning doctoral degrees in the field of education at a rate higher than any other demographic group; however, their overall degree obtainment is increasing at a slower rate than other minority groups. In addition, median degree completion rates in the field of education are higher than any other measured field of study. At the…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine how African American men at three community colleges in Georgia perceive the academic advising process and how the academic advisor influences their retention. A declining number of African American men are attending and completing college. This trend is troubling not only because of its…

The majority of students who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) attend community colleges and approximately 90% of community colleges serve this population (Raue & Lewis, 2011). Over the last several decades, the post-secondary enrollment of this population has increased; however, the attrition rate remains problematic. Compared to the…

Non-traditional college students benefit from unconventional teaching methods. Hispanic students now attend colleges and universities in growing numbers, and still this demographic is the least likely to earn a postsecondary credential. Due to the projected growth of the nation's Hispanic population, efforts to support the success of…

Mentoring can change the course of our lives and, in graduate education, is defined as "a personal relationship in which a more experienced faculty member or professional acts as a guide, role model, teacher, and sponsor of a less experienced graduate student or junior professional" (Johnson, 2002, p. 88). It has been posited that this…

Hispanics, and women in particular, continue to be underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The purpose of this study was to analyze cognitive and motivational factors that inspired Hispanic female college students to major in STEM programs and aspire to academic success. This mixed methods study…

Colleges and universities have used a multitude of strategies to ensure that historically marginalized men of color graduate from their institutions. However, these schools have utilized deficit-based approaches that assumed this population did not have the skills to be successful in college. There was little evidence that utilizing this…