This article draws on a five-year mixed methods study and focuses on the way staff tailor support within a comprehensive college transition program to meet the needs of low-income, first-generation, and racially minoritized students by adapting programmatic offerings and requirements to fit students' multifaceted needs. The study also identifies…

Higher education and leadership educators have long been tasked to develop the next generation of leaders both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Many educators use the Social Change Model of Leadership to highlight a nonhierarchical and collaborative approach to leadership while upholding the idea that everyone can be a leader…

In this article, the authors describe how college transition programs and campuses can go about creating and curating a major and career ecology to support at-promise students and their major and career success. They review literature about the systemic barriers and lack of institutional support for at-promise students as it relates to their major…

Systemic inequalities in higher education have contributed to lower retention and completion rates among low-income, first generation, and racially/ethnically minoritized students, who we refer to as "at-promise" students. In response, educators have implemented comprehensive college transition programs that offer students holistic…

In this report, the second in the On Shared Equity Leadership series, we highlight four distinct ways to structure Shared Equity Leadership (SEL) that we observed from our participating institutions. We lay the groundwork for understanding these structures by first describing some of the more common or traditional ways that diversity leadership…

Background/Context: Low-income, racially minoritized, and first-generation college students (at-promise students) attending predominantly White, middle class institutions often face inequitable access to enriching educational opportunities, discrimination, and marginalization, creating barriers to their success. Institutions are increasingly…

This 5-year, longitudinal, multimethod qualitative case study draws on data from the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project examining a comprehensive college transition and success program called Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC) that serves low-income college students, many of whom are first-generation and racially…

In this publication, the first in the "On Shared Equity Leadership" series, we describe how broadly inclusive and collaborative approaches to leadership are necessary to achieve equitable outcomes. We term this approach "shared equity leadership" (SEL), in which equity becomes everyone's responsibility and multiple campus…

This brief is intended as an evidence-based guide for policy analysts and decision makers to inform critical areas in the Higher Education Authorization Act related to racial justice. Our recommendations prioritize combating systemic racism in higher education with a particular focus on disrupting anti-Blackness, though several sections focus on…

In 2015, the University of Southern California (USC) began a longitudinal, mixed-methods evaluation of the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities (TSLC), a comprehensive college transition program that provides students with multiple, integrated types of support. The evaluation as a whole examined whether, how, and why TSLC, as implemented at the…

Student success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is a major concern in higher education. While overall 6-year graduation rates are around 60% nationally (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016), only about 40% of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM field complete a STEM degree within 6 years. Studies…

This report discusses the findings from a three-year study of the California State University STEM Collaboratives project, funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The project selected eight CSU campuses to rethink the ways in which they support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minority students in science, technology,…

A substantial body of research, conducted over more than 50 years, makes clear that faculty-student interaction is a key factor in promoting student success, particularly among those students who most need support, such as first-generation college students and students of color. This research is consistent, pervasive, and has informed the…