Degree completion on theoretical time is a phenomenon seldom explored in the higher education literature. We applied variance components models and random coefficients models to the microdata of an entire entrant cohort of first-time, full-time undergraduate students who completed their three-year programme at a Portuguese institution during the…

This study investigated the value of ACT Composite scores and high school GPA (HSGPA) in predicting first-year college GPA (FYGPA) and degree completion of students with disabilities who took the ACT with accommodations and enrolled at a two-year or four-year public institution in a single state in the southern US. Descriptive analyses found that…

Students' motivational beliefs, such as disciplinary intelligence mindsets, can influence their physics performance and persistence. Intelligence mindset beliefs have long been argued to fall along of continuum between fixed and growth mindsets. Those with fixed physics mindsets believe that ability in physics is innate and unchangable, while…

Students' self-efficacy in physics classes can play a key role in shaping course outcomes. Prior research has shown that women have a lower self-efficacy than men in calculus-based introductory physics courses. We administered a validated survey to 564 students to investigate the gender differences in self-efficacy and how it predicts student…

In this study, we investigated female and male students' sense of belonging and their academic performance measured by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and course grades in a calculus-based introductory physics course at a large public university in the United States. We find that compared to male students, female students' sense of belonging was…

There is interest in admission criteria that predict future success in biomedical graduate school programs, but identifying predictors of PhD attainment is inherently complex. In particular, high noncompletion rates of PhD programs have long been recognized as a major crisis. Here, we present a quantitative analysis of the PhD students enrolled in…

Prior research has shown the importance of the ACT score and high school GPA (HSGPA) in predicting college success. Early college success, as indicated by students' first-year college GPA (FYGPA), plays a pivotal role in later college success and timely degree completion (Demeter et al., 2022; Gershenfeld et al., 2016). The accurate prediction of…

This study offers a novel approach to evaluating the predictors of first-year grade point average (FYGPA) in college by using multiple imputation and dominance analysis to compare high school GPA (HSGPA), ACT® test score, and demographic factors. Unlike previous research that typically relied on single regression models, this study reveals more…

Student sense of belonging in physics classes may not only play a key role in shaping course outcomes but also influence student persistence and future career aspirations. Prior research has shown that women have a lower sense of belonging than men in calculus-based introductory physics courses. However, prior research has generally not…

The growing concern of doctoral student persistence has increased exponentially in higher education over the past decade. The body of research presented in this dissertation examines the complex phenomenon of persistence and possible pathways to addressing the dilemma of deteriorating academic persistence for doctoral students. It explores and…

This dissertation investigates whether dual credit students' academic performance in subsequent university courses is comparable to that of non-dual-credit students. The study uses data from a Midwest regional public university over a ten-year period and employs propensity score matching and proportional odds ordinal logistic regression to create…

An analysis of 1955 physics graduate students from 19 Ph.D. programs shows that undergraduate grade point average predicts graduate grades and Ph.D. completion more effectively than GRE scores. Students' undergraduate GPA (UGPA) and GRE Physics (GRE-P) scores are small but statistically significant predictors of graduate course grades, while GRE…

In this quasi-experimental study, we examine the effects of three different student teaching conditions--instructional coaching, co-teaching, and co-teaching and instructional coaching--on an elementary teacher candidate's readiness to teach in comparison to a traditional model of student teaching. 244 teacher candidates were randomly assigned to…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how high school academic and non-academic factors are related to college readiness and performance in freshman-level mathematics and science courses and retention in STEM fields. High school academic indicators for college readiness will include performance in high school science and mathematics courses,…

Data-driven decision making is a critical leadership skill. This study describes how leadership at a four-year university used extant data to improve student outcomes. The University identified the high rate of first-time-in-college (FTIC) student withdrawal/failure in initial algebra courses as having a detrimental effect on other student success…