This study describes course withdrawal behaviors in the Texas public higher education institutions and examines the predictors of course withdrawal by using statewide administrative datasets. The findings showed that two-thirds of the college students in the sample withdrew from at least one course, highlighting course withdrawal as a prevalent…

Computing career opportunities are increasing across all sectors of the U.S. economy, yet there remains a serious shortage of college graduates to fill these jobs. This problem has fueled a nationwide effort to expand and diversify the computing career pipeline. Guided by social cognitive career theory (SCCT), this study used logistic regression…

This study models reverse transfer, lateral transfer, and college withdrawal behavior for a national sample of students who began college at bachelor's granting institutions. Descriptive data illustrate statistical differences in the characteristics, habitus, early college experiences and supports, and institutional characteristics of students who…

As the number of international students increases worldwide, it is crucial to explore what makes international students feel welcomed at university campuses. The study investigates whether higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities and higher frequencies of contact with ethnically diverse students strengthen the sense of belonging…

Using large-scale longitudinal data, this study sought to examine factors influencing two important student development outcomes in students with disabilities attending 4-year colleges and universities. Informed by Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome model and the interactional model of disability, this study investigated the effect of student…

This longitudinal study was aimed to describe and understand student adjustment trajectories during the college transition. Participants came from a large random sample of Quebec high school students. They completed a multidimensional measure of adjustment at two times before entering college and at two other times after college admission.…

Atheists are often marginalized in discussions of religious and spiritual pluralism on college campuses and beyond. As with other minority worldview groups, atheists face challenges with hostile campus climates and misunderstanding of their views. The present study used a large, multi-institutional sample to explore predictors of non-atheist…

In this paper we study the factors that influence both dropout and (4-year) degree completion throughout university by applying the set of discrete-time methods for competing risks in event history analysis, as described in Scott and Kennedy (2005). In the French-speaking Belgian community, participation rates are very high given that higher…

This paper delves into a facet of socioeconomic diversity relatively unaddressed in the literature: student reports of cross-class interaction ("reported CCI"). Previous research has found that student interaction across social class is a significant predictor of cross-racial interaction, but it is unknown whether the actual…

Math self-concept (MSC) is considered an important predictor of the pursuit of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Women's underrepresentation in the STEM fields is often attributed to their consistently lower ratings on MSC relative to men. Research in this area typically considers STEM in the aggregate and does not account…

Although interest in study abroad has grown consistently in recent decades, study abroad professionals and higher education scholars have been unable to explain or rectify the long-standing gender gap in study abroad participation. This study applies an integrated model of the student-choice construct to explore differences between male and female…

A meta-analytic method synthesized results of 108 studies of the relationship between college grades and various criteria of adult achievement or success. Results showed little correlation, although effects were larger for military settings and studies before 1950. The predictive value of grades is questioned. (MSE)

This study examined patterns of coursework and levels of involvement of 1,099 adult students to evaluate whether some key factors commonly used to predict undergraduate students' academic performance are appropriate for use with this population. Results suggest traditional models are inappropriate for this large and growing proportion of the…

Questionnaire responses from 782 undergraduates suggest that the perception of educational benefits seemed to be the most critical variable in predicting student satisfaction. Other variables examined were age, student level, grade, and satisfaction with college experience. (Author/LB)

Using constructs from Bean's (1990) [In: D. Hossler and J. P. Bean (Eds.), The strategic management of college enrollments. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass] student attrition model and the Berger and Milem (2000) [In: J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. XV, pp. 268?338). New York: Agathon Press] college impact…