Current measures of student success fall short in capturing the nuanced and multiplicitous ways that underrepresented and misrepresented students (e.g., Latinx, first-generation college students) who are navigating the intersection of multiple contexts important to their identities (e.g., home communities and university), define and understand…

The university is a highly politicized and fractious realm for students and academics. Amidst trade-offs between the processes of massification, democratization, commodification, and globalization, the question of transformation "for" sustainability has become crucial to the social good(s) of higher education. This paper considers…

This dissertation investigates whether dual credit students' academic performance in subsequent university courses is comparable to that of non-dual-credit students. The study uses data from a Midwest regional public university over a ten-year period and employs propensity score matching and proportional odds ordinal logistic regression to create…

Community colleges have long been touted as a pathway to increase social mobility through their transfer function, yet this promise has not always been realized. This study uses the lens of community cultural wealth, particularly the concepts of aspirational, social, and navigational capitals, to understand vertical transfer students' experiences…

College is a worthwhile investment for many people. Research shows that attending college is associated with a variety of benefits, including higher earnings, a lower chance of being unemployed, greater job satisfaction, and better health (Oreopoulos and Salvanes 2011). However, these benefits come at a cost. As many current and prospective…

This qualitative study explored what support community college transfer students relied upon while transitioning to a 4-year university. Investigators examined experiences of 12 full-time degree-seeking students who previously attended a community college. Data included a series of three individual interviews with participants and reflective…

This study was aimed to explore Chinese college and university students' motivations to study abroad and examining how their career aspiration influence their decision-making process. 5 research questions were developed from this research topic. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was applied. The researcher himself and the face-to-face…

Student learning agency, encompassing key abilities, essential mental characteristics and active actions, is recognized as a crucial factor for effective teaching and learning in the generative artificial intelligence (AI) era. This study examines the structural relationships among perceptions of generative AI (i.e., effort expectancy, performance…

Several authors (Bowman & Denson, 2014; Gilbreath et al., 2011) have claimed that measures of fit between a student and the institution they are attending should be useful for institutional decision-making. These student-institution fit instruments were originally developed for research with specific student populations in one institution, but…

The current study examined hindering factors of 2-year community college students' vertical transfer to 4-year colleges. Rational choice theory guided the study and provided the scope of the problem, which is community college students' apprehension about vertically transferring to 4-year colleges. A quantitative Likert-scale survey, which…

Longstanding disparities in four-year transfer rates for Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic community college students, relative to their Asian and white peers, raise important equity questions about the vertical transfer function in the U.S. higher education system. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially and…

Given inequities in transfer student success, emerging research about transfer students has focused on students' familial relationships and identities including race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. This qualitative study uses the reconceptualized model of multiple dimensions of identity to explore how social and relational identities influence…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled during the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of North Carolina's 58 community colleges. In 2010, a review process…

Background/Context: Community colleges are positioned as a cost-effective way for students to complete the first two years of a bachelor's degree, yet informational barriers to the transfer process are well documented. To transfer, students must overcome informational constraints, navigate bureaucratic hurdles, and resolve conflicting requirements…

This dissertation examines how first-generation high school Students of Color from California's San Joaquin Valley navigate digital marketing and advertising during their college search and application processes, offering a timely contribution to the study of college admissions in a post-affirmative action landscape. Higher education institutions…