One fundamental aspect of engagement in higher education is faculty-student interaction (FSI). FSI has been associated with student success and persistence in both four- and two-year institutions. Due to limited research concerning diverse students, understanding student engagement in higher education is based on White, traditional-age students…

Identifying the best set of colleges to which to apply is not a simple task. The importance of any one application depends on the likely outcomes of other applications, and this logic and information is difficult to grasp for anyone, let alone high school students. To simplify this task, the College Board recommends that students submit a total of…

There is a gap in the research about the preparation of diversity staff and their multicultural competency. In this dissertation, I address this void by examining the academic, personal, and professional experiences and multicultural competence of the people who work in diversity services. I examine the impact of their demographics and experiences…

This exploratory study examines the difference between two college persistence factors--resiliency and institutional engagement--for low-income, working, first-generation college students. Participants in the study consisted of 52 respondents to the Family History Knowledge and College Persistence Survey. Among respondents, 50 students reported…

First-generation college (FGC) students often encounter a campus environment and set of norms that are substantially different from those they previously experienced. Although the literature exploring the challenges facing these students is growing, less attention has been given to their experiences as they graduate and transition from college to…

First-generation students, those who are the first in their family to earn a college degree, represent one of the fastest-growing populations of college students in our country today. Unfortunately, this segment of our nation's college-going population also happens to be the least successful, according to national retention and graduation…

Community colleges are becoming the primary access point for a growing number of underrepresented and underserved students in the higher education system. First-generation college students make up a large proportion of this population, comprising about 45% of community college attendees (Nomi, 2005). Research has explored the transfer success of…

First-generation college students (FGCS) represent a large proportion of individuals seeking higher education in the United States; yet this population does not perform as well academically as, and persist to graduation at lower rates than, their peers who have more familial context for the college-going experience. Completing a college degree is…

In this qualitative study, the prior experiences, perceived challenges, and support systems of 17 Grade 12 Hispanic students at an early college high school were explored using the framework of social capital theory. Utilizing Moustakas's phenomenological design, data were collected using focus group and individuals interviews. Several themes…

This guide is designed for counselors, teachers, and advisers who work with high school students from low-income families and students who are the first in their families to pursue a college education. It offers strategies for helping these students identify, consider, and enroll in "match" colleges, that is, selective colleges that are…

The Washington Student Achievement Council is charged with setting educational attainment goals to meet the needs of Washington's residents and its workforce. The Council is also charged with developing a ten-year Roadmap to identify key strategies for meeting those goals. In 2013, the Council created the first Ten-year Roadmap, including two…

Purpose: The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Method: The sample for the…

The college-going rates of rural students lag behind those of more urban students, a gap likely due, in part, to rural students' lower educational aspirations. These lower aspirations appear to be tied to the dilemma that higher education presents for many rural students: whether to remain in their rural home, working in traditional trades and…

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…

Today, over 75 percent of high school seniors aspire to graduate from college. However, only one-third of Americans hold a bachelor's degree, and college graduation rates vary significantly by race/ethnicity and parental socioeconomic status. If most young adults aspire to obtain a college degree, why are these disparities so great? In "From…