Undergraduate research is a way for students with minoritized racial identities to engage in a high-impact practice that increases their critical thinking, writing, and communication skills as well as their academic aspirations and retention (Bowman & Holmes, 2018). For racially minoritized students, the role of race is a critical component…

While peer tutoring is a valued experiential activity, little is known about the peer tutoring experience and its relationship to desired 21st century outcomes of college. This paper features the results from a multi-institution study of the characteristics and benefits of peer tutoring for tutors. The National Survey of Student Engagement was…

A growing body of research has shown the positive relationship between student engagement and cognitive skills development among Latinx undergraduates at more selective institutions. However, despite the large proportion of Latinx transfer students at four-year institutions, they are relatively ignored in higher education literature. Using data…

The development of undergraduate students' soft skills is crucial because their chances to satisfactorily deal with the demands of various environments and interlocutors increases with the development of their soft skills. Based on the achievement goal theory, this study aimed to examine the role of the school environment in fostering students'…

Universities and colleges are consistently being held accountable for measurable outcomes from internal and external stakeholders. Outcomes such as the development of critical thinking skills have been tied to funding from state and federal governments and employers believe that graduates should be able to think critically and produce results…

High-impact practices (HIPs) are important co-curricular educational experiences in post-secondary education, as they promote learning, development, and persistence among students. The goal of this study was to extend the research on HIPs to explore potential connections with HIP participation and career outcomes. Using data from the National…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its companion projects serve bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities committed to assessing and improving the quality of the undergraduate experience. Created to offer a legitimate and actionable view of college quality, the survey focuses on activities and experiences that decades…

Previous research suggests that creativity training can be effective in academic settings and that teachers, in particular, can have an impact on creativity. Furthermore, creativity is one of many transferable skills in higher education that will benefit students when they enter the workforce. This study extends research on creativity training and…

The recent introduction of a new course in mathematical modeling at Manhattan College has provided students with a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience utilizing tools in applying their mathematical abilities to a real-world problem. This paper describes the steps taken to create this class, from obtaining a real-world partner…

For decades, research has shown that higher levels of education correspond to increased interest in politics and civic engagement. Despite the vast amount of scholarly attention, why this link exists is still disputed. One theory about the connection is the civic education hypothesis, which claims that the causal link between education and civic…

Student surveys are often important elements of assessment in higher education, but alumni surveys can play a substantial role as well. However, little is known about how responses from these two groups compare to one another. Combining data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) and the National Survey of Student Engagement…

Employers of newly minted information technology graduates are concerned that students graduating with information technology degrees offered in online environments are lacking critical noncomputing skills (soft skills). Further, it is unclear whether online environments have the capacity to foster the "soft skills" necessary for…

Few scholars have comprehensively examined benefits of undergraduate research (UGR) participation for students at an institution campus-wide. In this study we examined benefits of UGR participation at a Hispanic-majority institution using National Survey of Student Engagement data. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the…

This study sets out to answer the question: how can we know what learning is taking place in MOOCs? From this starting point, the study then looks to identify MOOCs' potential for future use in HE? Using a specially-adapted version of the HEA's UK Engagement Survey (UKES) 2014, the research team at the University of Southampton asked participants…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine and explore the institutional policy levers that facilitate successful educational outcomes in a TRiO funded Student Success Program at a large, urban research university in the Mid-South. Three research questions guided the study: (1) how do the educational outcomes of the university's TRiO…