Underserved populations' access to college continues to increase across the United States; however, the number of students from underserved populations attaining college degrees is not growing at the same rate. The purpose of this single case study was to describe how the Collaborative Partners in Success (CPiS) Program supports its participants…

University enabling programs provide historically underrepresented students with aspirational gateways and the academic skills and knowledges essential for success at university. Measurement of the efficacy of such programs has been typically neoliberal and quantitative in nature. This article argues for a nuanced measurement of success, exploring…

The STEM Public Outreach Team (SPOT) at the University of Washington Bothell (UWB) provides training and community building opportunities for diverse STEM students that impact their persistence in STEM majors and careers. The University of Washington Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) evaluated the experiences of SPOT…

Neurodivergent students, including autistic students, often benefit from faculty support to navigate college challenges. To better equip faculty in their interactions with neurodivergent students and enhance their understanding, NeuroPREP, a faculty training program was developed. Comprising four 20-min modules, NeuroPREP addresses key topics…

The robust evaluation of student equity initiatives is now an expected activity in Australian universities. This paper reports on the development of Swinburne's Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program (HEPPP) Evaluation Framework in which the project team adopted a student-centred design approach. The needs of Aboriginal and Torres…

Emotions influence the process of personal development and are an important factor in learning. Reflecting on and understanding one's emotions within an experiential personal development course can contribute to self-knowledge and future professional growth as leisure educators. This study maps the emotions experienced by the participants on a…

Purpose: In light of the expanding prominence of work-integrated learning (WIL), the pedagogical model that integrates work experiences into an academic curriculum, this paper presents a systematic review that uncovers little-explored students' reflections of quality (RoQ). Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the concept of wayfinding rocks…

Research has confirmed that people's attitudes towards starting their own business may be influenced by their education, age, gender and prior entrepreneurial experiences. To support the employability and economic success of tourism graduates, this study, conducted in the South African context, aimed to explore the predictors of tourism students'…

The population of adult learners with Some College, No Credential (SCNC) has risen over the years to over 40 million individuals. A smaller subset of this population has debt that they owe their institutions directly in addition to state, federal, or private loans. As of 2020, approximately 6.6 million students owed more than $15 billion in…

Over the last decade, the number of SWIDs interested in postsecondary opportunities has increased. This is partially in response to the HEOA of 2008, which opened the door to more educational opportunities and supports for SWIDs; SWIDs can now consider college an option, not just a dream. As a result, the demand for new programs continues to grow…

Course satisfaction surveys play a relevant role in Higher Education, aiding in the quality assessment of courses and informing academic promotions. Nonetheless, understanding potential biases and influential factors within these surveys is crucial to their equitable utilization within universities. This study delves into a deconstruction of…

The estimated prevalence of neurodivergent (ND) conditions is approximately 15-20% of the population in the United States (Doyle, 2020; Maenner et al., 2023). ND students are increasingly enrolling in mainstream colleges and universities (Bakker et al., 2019) but report that they are not receiving adequate support on campus (Dexter et al., 2024;…

Background: This study examined students' perceptions of STEM camp experience to gauge whether their participation in an industry-focused STEM camp fostered their familiarity with post-secondary education and facilitated an interest in pursuing STEM-related careers. Related literature points to a lack of experiential learning opportunities with…

Independent students pursue higher education without financial, practical, and sometimes emotional support from family. For these students, asking for assistance when needed is key for college persistence. Decisions around help-seeking are shaped by multiple factors but are often portrayed as a solely individual decision. This study examined…

Research suggests that community college alumni may be underrepresented within PhD programs. As such, we implemented and evaluated the Community College to PhD (CC2PhD) Scholars Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. CC2PhD was a 7-month undergraduate research and PhD preparation program for community college sophomores in the…