Given the current surge in student participation in dual enrollment programs, an updated synthesis of literature relating to how these programs impact students is warranted. Furthermore, while there are qualitative literature reviews relating to dual enrollment and student outcomes, there has not been a quantitative synthesis of literature…

This study examines how intersections of race, class, and collegiate involvement shape students' educational outcomes, specifically degree attainment. It explores (a) to what extent involvement influences student's educational outcomes and (b) how the relationship between involvement and outcomes varies by socioeconomic status, race, and the…

Despite the importance of obtaining a university degree, retention rates remain a concern for many universities. This longitudinal study provides a multi-domain examination of first-year student characteristics and behaviors that best predict which students graduate. Graduation status was assessed seven years after students entered university.…

The purpose of this article is to examine student retention rates and graduation among a doctoral program at a Mid-Atlantic institution. This qualitative study found that faculty encouragement, self-motivation, the cohort model, and the structure of this program contributed to its success. The authors recommend a universal model of retention, as…

Data from the Healthy Mind Study were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analyses to determine the role of discriminatory experience in students' confidence in their ability to persist through graduation, controlling for age, extracurricular activity participation, housing, years in their degree program, and their sense of belonging.…

Academic undermatching--students enrolling in colleges that are less academically selective than those for which they qualify--is a barrier hindering college degree attainment. Given the many reasons students undermatch, this phenomenon is likely to continue; yet, we know little about the characteristics that may be related to degree attainment…

A recent increased focus is being placed on college completion agendas, yet there is limited research on senior attrition. Examining why students leave school when they are so close to being done and what motivated them to return when they did, this exploratory case study analyzes several data sets at one public university where a degree…

This study examines the dispositions and experiences of support of college students associated with unexpected pathways toward college graduation. The final sample was drawn from a national sample of 3,998 youths who participated in a longitudinal project. Using the k-nearest neighbors' algorithm, we created four groups based on the Québec High…

This study examined graduation and persistence among social and behavioral science students at a regional comprehensive university. Hazard analyses identified predictors of student trajectories, times at which predictors were more or less impactful, and interactions between predictors such that particular risk factors were more detrimental for…

This study investigated the effect of personal identity and social comparison on college graduation. First-year college students completed an online survey measuring exploration and commitment to personal identity and perceptions of the prototypical student. Those who perceived the typical student as favorable but dissimilar to themselves had the…

Learning Support Services at the University of California, Santa Cruz is intended to aid students--particularly those who are at highest risk of academic failure--to master the required material and succeed in their courses. It includes two primary components: modified supplemental instruction (MSI) and tutoring. This study uses data from…

Success in college is built upon classroom success, but success in the classroom does not in itself ensure college completion. Completion arises from success in a sequence of classes one after another over time. It does so most frequently when students are presented with coherent course pathways to degree completion, are able to gain degree credit…

Unfortunately, within the extant scholarship that has explored queer and trans* historically Black college and university (HBCU) students, the discourse(s) that deliberately center how they can be retained, persist, and ultimately graduate have largely been absent from the literature. Thus, this conceptual exploration offers strategies that HBCUs…

Many students enter college without the skills and knowledge needed to successfully perform college-level work. An important leverage point for increasing college readiness is the transition from high school to college. One strategy implemented at postsecondary institutions to ease this transition, boost academic and social readiness, and foster…

The researchers examined the effect of a course, Introduction to Life Calling (LDR150), on retention and persistence to graduation at a private, Midwestern university. The course emphasizes self-assessment, student-faculty engagement, personal values, and the student's developing sense of Life Calling. The subjects consisted of 3338 students who…