The problem investigated in this study was the trend of decreasing student retention of first-year, degree-seeking college students at an independent community college located in northeastern New Mexico. The purpose of the study was to examine the association between student retention and program utilization. The research question was to determine…

This Critical Discourse Analysis looks at the perspectives and experiences of academic advisors regarding incarceration to determine how discourses might impact college access for this emerging student population. Key implications of this work demonstrate that (a) academic advisors are not aware of how to best support students with incarceration…

Impacts to postsecondary institutions' enrollment and financial positions that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic were examined in this study. Taking a quantitative observational approach, enrollment trends as they relate to changes in tuition and fee revenue, unrestricted cash on hand, and unrestricted investments held are analyzed to determine…

In the United States, teacher shortages in high-needs fields such as special education have considerable negative impacts on the academic and functional achievement of students with disabilities. Furthermore, strategies such as the employment of undercertified teachers to serve as teachers of record and fill vacant positions raise questions about…

The present study examines the differences between public baccalaureate institutional expenditures and Pell Grant recipient graduation rates at high and low Pell Grant recipient graduating institutions. IPEDS data were analyzed, including instructional, academic support, student services, institutional support, and Pell Grant recipient 6-year…

Higher education has long been seen as a vehicle for social mobility for individuals and an engine for national advancement. Yet, over the years, as governments worldwide have faced competing priorities and declining revenues due to economic challenges, funding for post-secondary institutions has been negatively impacted. For example, in the…

With tuition increasing at a faster rate than inflation, many college students depend on grants to access education. The largest of these, the federally funded Pell Grant, subsidizes over 30 billion a year worth of tuition for eligible students (Cardona, 2023) yet no longer meets its goal of covering 75% percent of tuition costs. While the…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to understand if select student characteristics (student status, age, gender, Pell status) predicted student success. In this study, student success is defined as acceptance into a dental hygiene program and completion of a dental hygiene program for Black students at a community college.…

Many community college students are hungry, and this problem has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The amply available Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds, created by the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, have helped institutions address campus hunger during and after the pandemic. The study's guiding research…

According to public discourse, one of the most critical college access and affordability issues is the nation's rising student loan debt. Public concern over the rising cost of college and the use of education loans has incited a great debate on if a student loan debt crisis exists, and if so, for who? Researchers have found that, among federal…

During and in the immediate years after the global COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has given school districts across the United States millions of dollars through a series of three final grants called the Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) Grant to help improve education, decrease student learning losses suffered…

One of the important things experts consider when reintegrating veterans back into society is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The illness mainly affects this population due to their different experiences in their line of duty as soldiers. The enactment of the Post-9/11 Veterans' Educational Assistance Act of 2008 enabled student veterans to…

The first goal of this study was to better understand the differences between rural and urban students' selection of academic program upon entering a public university in Pennsylvania. The second goal of this study was to better understand if particular academic programs impacted rural to urban migrations after graduating from the university. The…

This research evaluates the role of urban universities in economic growth. The study employed inherently rich data from IPEDS to create a panel dataset aggregated at the county level for 1065 colleges and universities in the Middle Atlantic region of the US. Using linear regression analysis, this study found that increases in expenditure per…

The long-term financial viability of private higher education has been a topic of concern for some time, with experts predicting their decline. This concern has been exacerbated by declining enrollment, mounting deficits, and a wave of closures among small private institutions. Demographic changes, including declining high school graduate…