Faith development in college students constitutes an important topic in higher education research, and Modern Orthodox Jewish college students are a small but particularly under-studied group of college-goers. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study explored how Modern Orthodox Jewish college students understood their religious…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to understand the experiences of adult graduate students who stop-out, or take a break from enrollment, but who ultimately persist by reenrolling. The participants in this study were enrolled in an online master's degree program. Symbolic interactionism was the theoretical framework for this study…

Social, financial, and academic stress often generate difficulties and may be associated with students' self-efficacy and enrollment status. A large percentage of students who initially enroll in college often do not make it to graduation. There are several reasons why college students drop out or stop out and there is a crying need for a solution…

This dissertation measures and describes the factors that impact doctoral student persistence. Using a mixed methods cases study design, I analyzed institutional student record data, survey data on caregiving responsibilities, and data from semi-structured interviews with PhD students at a STEM-focused, public research university in the American…

This phenomenological qualitative study sought to understand reasons contributing to Black or African American students' initial stop out, the decisions that led them to return to college, and the processes used to facilitate their return to college after being away from college for one year or more. This research was guided by the following…

This study analyzes the reasons for stop out behavior in a first-year composition class. The study was intended to be mixed methods, but the quantitative data, which was to be collected via survey, yielded too low of an n-value to allow for statistical analysis; therefore, case study research, analyzed through a social context framework, was…

High attrition rates in doctoral programs have long plagued the field of higher education. Over the past half century, approximately half of all students who enroll in doctoral program at North American institutions fail to earn their degree (Lovitts, 2001; OECD, 2020; Schneider & Yin, 2011; Sverdlik et al., 2018). The purpose of this study…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how the social and academic integration of first-time college students from a midwestern university influenced their decision to return to college. This qualitative descriptive study explored two research questions: RQ1: How do first-time college students describe their role of…

This phenomenological, qualitative study addressed student perceptions of their meaning-making process towards self-authorship in a self-designed gap year experience and was conducted in a public higher educational institution in the Southeast. Data was gathered through interviews from a purposeful sample of gap year program participants and…

Most research on students with interrupted formal education (SIFE) and English language learners (ELLs) documents their struggle with higher attrition rates and behavioral issues in high school. This qualitative study was conducted to examine high school teachers' perspectives working with SIFE/ELLs in the classroom. Vygotsky's sociocultural…

This study explores the role of student support services in fostering persistence among Some College, No Credential (SCNC) students re-entering higher education, with a specific focus on community colleges in Southern California. As the number of SCNC students continues to rise, understanding the challenges and support systems available to this…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to interview enlisted military instructors at a military training base located in the southern United States who have stopped going to college while on active duty. The Air Force Personnel Center states that in the three different enlisted tiers, the senior enlisted tier shows that only 31.9% of…

Over the past decade the concept of taking a gap year has become mainstream in the US. This idea of delaying enrollment, or taking a break from college, before beginning a bachelor's degree, has gained popularity, especially as the cost of attendance in higher education has soared and the burden of paying for it has been placed on the student as…

This qualitative-phenomenological study captured parts of the lived experiences of veterans who chose to stop or end their degree or training program which took place after military service. The researcher focused on this specific population as it was observed that no one had taken the time to hear the stories of those veterans who were ultimately…

This study examined the lived experiences of premedical advisors employed in four-year institutions of higher education in the northeastern U.S. advising premedical students about the gap year options between undergraduate education and medical school. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews of 17 premedical advisors and analyzed…