Dual enrollment and career pathways are increasingly expanding as viable options for students to complete high school while simultaneously receiving college credits, technical training, or industry certifications. In this research study, dual enrollment and career pathway programs are collectively called alternate pathways. Evaluators can gauge…

The researcher designed this qualitative descriptive study to investigate the experiences of successful first-generation, low-income college students that contributed to their ability to complete a bachelor's degree. A strength-based perspective was used to examine successful students and their unique abilities, allowing them to overcome various…

Recent state and national achievement exam results, as well as academic progress reports, have underscored how the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures had a large, negative impact on students' reading and math development. While a great deal is known about the test-based academic impacts of the pandemic such as test scores that provide…

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative survey method is to gather State GEAR UP leaders' perceptions about the actual program activities and their sense of importance of those same program activities. The objectives of the GEAR UP Program are: (a) to increase the academic performance; (b) preparation for postsecondary education of…

The purpose of this study sought to examine how midterm math performance can impact a student's final math performance, STEM performance, overall performance, as well as retention and graduation with a STEM major. The sample consisted of 283 first-time full-time undergraduate students who were admitted in Fall 2014 as STEM majors within a liberal…

In an effort to improve student success and thus retention, the College of Arts & Sciences at a highly selective MidAtlantic private undergraduate university in the United States developed a for-credit course titled "Psychology of Success." The course, grounded in positive psychology, adopts a strengths-based approach. Students who…

This paper reports on the results of a study of 6,654 unique students on the type of research-related activities (e.g., undergraduate research and internships) they participated in while at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Results indicate that the odds of graduating for students who participated in…

The charter school movement encompasses many school models. In Massachusetts in the 2010's, the site of our study, urban charter schools primarily used "No Excuses" practices, whereas nonurban charters had greater model variety. Using randomized admissions lotteries, we estimate the impact of charter schools by locality on college…

It has long been debated as to whether higher education (HE) is a site of social mobility that promotes meritocracy or social reproduction that creates and exacerbates inequalities in societies. In this paper, I will argue that HE, even when democratised and provided free to everyone, reproduces inequalities unless coupled with an inclusive…

The concept of engagement was first introduced to literature in 1992 by William Kahn. The notion was originally described as psychological presence. "Psychological presence" is described as "the experiential state enabling organization members to draw deeply on their personal selves in role performances, that is, to express thoughts…

This paper aims to determine the effect of parental education, as an important measure of social origin, on the expectations of 15 year olds to complete higher education in the Netherlands. More importantly, the paper tests specific explanations for this effect. For the empirical analysis, Dutch data from the PISA 2018 survey were used. The…

This quantitative study examined non-TRIO participating first-generation college students' graduation rates and the impact of academic and social integration in one community college setting. This study used archival data to analyze tutoring, purchasing a meal plan, and living in campus housing. The study used Tinto's (1993) Model of Student…

Research indicates that older adult learners are faced with a multitude of obstacles and challenges during their experiences as students in higher education. A primary obstacle faced by non-traditional students is adjusting to the use of technology, compared to younger individuals, which is a trend that was exacerbated during the pandemic.…

The 11th edition of "Knocking at the College Door" comes at a critical time for the country. Many sectors of the economy face workforce shortages, while higher education faces increasing skepticism about its value. The data and analyses within these pages will likely fuel further concerns for those across higher education as the nation…

This study was conducted to investigate the impact of school resources on student outcomes in urban K-12 Catholic schools participating in the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (DC OSP). DC OSP, a K-12 federally-funded voucher program enables economically disadvantaged families to enroll their children in private schools, including Catholic…