High-performing first-generation and economically disadvantaged students are more likely to attend colleges and universities that are less competitive than their academic qualifications allow, which makes them less likely to graduate. EMERGE is a multiyear, personalized college advising program that aims to address this problem by preparing…

The institution in this study is a medium size, public liberal arts institution located in a rural setting. At the beginning of Fall 2012 term, 5,366 undergraduate and 922 graduate students were enrolled in the university's ten-week quarter system. In an attempt to increase student success and retention, the institution implemented a student…

The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), is an uncommonly comprehensive and long-term program designed to address low graduation rates among community college students. MDRC has been studying the effects of ASAP on low-income students with developmental (remedial) education needs at…

The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), is an uncommonly comprehensive and long-term program designed to address low graduation rates among community college students. MDRC has been studying the effects of ASAP on low-income students with developmental (remedial) education needs at…

One half of all students who begin college fail to complete their degrees, resulting in wasted talents, time, and resources. Through use of mixed methods, but primarily qualitative, comparative case studies, this research reveals ways a 3-week course in study strategies improved the performance of students placed on academic probation. The…

Student retention continues to be a major concern in higher education. Every year many individuals enroll in higher education institutions but never obtain a certificate or degree within a six-year span. The following quantitative descriptive-comparative study addressed how academic advisors' relationships with advisees may affect student…

This research study compared the effects of the intrusive form of developmental academic advising (IDAA) and the influence of additional academic support services on the mean cumulative Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of 4 randomly assembled groups of academically at-risk college students during 2 separate semesters. Academically at-risk students are…

The present study sought to investigate the impact of a first-year, faith-based leadership learning community in a Catholic, urban and northeastern institution of higher education. The research assessed the impact of the organizational model of appreciative advising, utilized as the framework for the curriculum of this first-year program. This…

Faculty at a two-year community/technical college undertook a project in the spring 2010 semester to incorporate more intensive and intrusive academic advising into the Freshman Seminar (COL 105) course. A study was undertaken in which 14 sections of COL 105 were divided into an experimental group (taught by specially-trained instructors who…

Quinsigamond Community College (QCC), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, experienced a decline in enrollment and persistence between 2003 and 2007. The institution responded to this issue through several initiatives, including the creation of an orientation course for developmental students enrolled in its General Studies program, an Event…

In January 2009, in the last week of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), upon orders from the departing political appointee staff, published the final report in a long running National Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB). The study was conducted by the contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. After more than a year in…

The College Ambition Program (CAP) model was developed to support high schools in preparing their students to enter STEM fields. CAP includes four programmatic components: mentoring, course counseling and advising, college-related activities and workshops, and teacher professional development and instructional support. This study is part of a…

A quasi-experiment using quantitative methods was conducted to examine the effects on academic student outcomes when a cohort of employed low-SES community college commuter students (the treatment group, N=198) participated in a comprehensive support and access intervention program, compared with similar students (the matched comparison group,…

A study compared student use of and satisfaction with the central advising office and departmental advising in a college of engineering by surveying 57 central office walk-in advisees and, by mail, 103 other advisees. No significant differences were found in advisor availability and concern, but more students used departmental faculty advisors.…

In response to California Assembly Bill 3 requiring community colleges to evaluate the success rate of remedial students, Oxnard College (OC) conducted a study of the academic performance and persistence of entering students who were advised to take a remedial reading course, comparing students who subsequently enrolled in the recommended course…