The Division of Student Engagement and Enrollment Services at Old Dominion University (ODU) submitted a Request for Assistance to examine the challenges sophomore students face that can lead to attrition. A doctoral research team conducted a exploratory, sequential, mixed-methods study consisting of a literature review, focus groups and interviews…

Although acceleration has been studied thoroughly as an educational practice for the gifted, early entrance to college specifically has been overlooked. Furthermore, a large portion of this research pertained to early college entrance programs, which provide resources that many early college entrants may not have. The lived experiences and…

As higher education institutions make intentional steps to include underrepresented groups and ensure their success in school, it is particularly important to understand their epistemological, intrapersonal, and interpersonal development as a key factor of supporting their academic and developmental needs. Institutions of higher education are…

This paper explores commonly expressed classroom experiences and needs of adult students who are participating in higher education primarily for career-related reasons while having other major responsibilities and roles. I will identify factors that affect their classroom experiences and needs and discuss implications for supporting their…

Management education research has provided educators with new instructional tools to improve course design and update the methods used in the classroom. In an effort to provide the typical undergraduate management student with the best possible learning experience and outcomes, it is important to recognize how and why these new activities benefit…

In 2015, leaders within Achieve's Competency-Based Pathways State Partnership set out to more clearly understand the potential of learning progressions research to transform instructional practice and what is being done to translate that research into training and tools for educators. After a series of conversations with experts in the learning…

Immigrant college student populations continue to grow, but the complexity of their unique needs and issues remain relatively unknown. To gain a better understanding of the multiple contextual factors impacting immigrant students from a systems-based approach, I applied Bronfenbrenner's (1977) human ecology framework to the study. Students…

Most colleges adopt strategies to improve student performance. In this article, the authors describe how Valencia Community College in Florida developed a strategy that would move it from the already much better than average results in student learning, persistence, and success it was achieving toward the quantum level of improvement. They also…

Discussed the advantages of the "new" physical education curriculum being taught and practiced in New Jersey schools. (RK)

A mother reviews the radical acceleration of her high school daughter who will enter college at the age of 14. She recounts both positive and negative experiences during elementary and middle school, the encouragement of individual educators, flexible scheduling to allow taking advanced courses at other institutions, and barriers of school system…

For any student, the first semester of graduate school is the most traumatic experience in his or her career as a graduate student. Fortunately, there are some things that can be done to make the transition for these students easier. Getting undergraduate students involved in the classrooms in positions of pedagogical responsibility is the most…

A classification system for freshman courses that is useful as a planning tool and descriptive guide is presented and examples of analogous programs are described. Three approaches to freshman courses--interdisciplinary, developmental, and utilitarian--form a continuum, since many courses are derived from more than one philosophical base. The…

Improvements in student services are documented in this description of a unique resource network which has devised bold strategies to solve problems and combat alienation at the 24,000-student University of Massachusetts campus at Amherst. (Author/AF)

This paper discusses methods for providing students from diverse home environments with essential educational experiences. It emphasizes the importance of patience in teaching children comprehension and offers guidelines for fostering children's development of comprehension, memory, and evaluative and relational thinking skills. (PB)

Perspectives on going through the education system are offered by an adult who was diagnosed with learning disability. Experiences are shared concerning elementary school, high school, college, employment, and graduate school. Ten tips are also offered for teachers of students with learning disabilities. (SW)