Latino college students face factors in their lives on a daily basis that affect their persistence in college. While the nation is seeing an increase in Latino enrollment in higher education institutions, the persistence rates of Latino students are not higher than other students, regardless of ethnicity. Several theorists such as Astin, Tinto,…

According to Saenz and Ponjuan (2009), "Latino males are effectively vanishing from the American higher education pipeline" (p. 54). Despite a steady increase of Latino students enrolling over the past several decades, the problem remains that Latino male student persistence and completion rates are not keeping up proportionally with…

The purpose of this qualitative dissertation was to provide insight as to the experiences of Latino/a students at community colleges preparing to transfer as compared with those from Latino/a students who had already transferred. The Latino/a population is one of the fastest growing minority populations in the United States yet despite the growth…

Renewed attention to quality in higher education in all sectors, particularly since the 2007-2009 Great Recession, has raised interest in the value of education. While research associating the quality of education and institutional attributes with graduate earning potentials has been conducted among four-year higher education institutions, fewer…

The nursing profession is facing a serious shortage of registered nurses based on current numbers, projected retirements, and estimates of future need. Nursing schools accept the largest numbers of students that they are able to accommodate, but many of these students do not complete the programs; this is especially true for associate degree…

I aimed to document the online undergraduate course supply in biology to evaluate how well biology educators are serving the diverse and growing population of online students. I documented online biology course offerings in the 2015-2016 academic year at 96 American colleges and universities. I quantified differences in variety, extent, and…

Postgraduation outcomes for community college students are complex. In addition to traditional job placement and earnings information, transferring to a 4-year institution is a positive first-destination outcome. Furthermore, community college students may have education and career goals that do not include earning a degree. Community college…

Background: While literature is abundant on factors associated with community college student outcomes, limited attention has been paid to what shapes educational expectations after students enroll, and how these expectations are linked to educational progress. To address this gap, Weidman's (1989) undergraduate socialization theory is…

Adding technology to the classroom has been an instructional strategy used by many higher-education institutions to increase student success, but merely adding computers, multimedia devices, and other technology to the classroom with pedagogical arbitrariness has proven to have little effect. The purpose of this study was to determine if using the…

This study explored factors that influence success at a mid-sized community college in North Carolina and the impact of those factors on university success. Using student surveys (Spring 2016), student transcript data from the community college (Fall 2007 through Fall 2013), and completion data from the National Student Clearinghouse, the results…

This report provides a snapshot of certain aspects of transfer student success and costs using data from four transfer cohorts matriculating at four-year institutions between 2006-07 and 2009-10. These cohorts allowed for the tracking of students post-transfer for up to six years. Transfer efficiency can have a direct and significant effect on the…

Community college students often lack an academic plan to guide their choices of coursework to achieve their educational goals, in part because counseling departments typically lack the capacity to advise students at scale. This randomized controlled trial tests the impact of guaranteed access to one of two alternative counseling sessions (group…

When students enroll in community college, they interact with a range of individuals who help shape their college experiences. The role that faculty can play in creating a welcoming and inclusive campus environment has been well-documented (Felten & Lambert, 2020; Komarraju et al., 2010; Rendón, 2002). Yet personnel in student services…

Transfer students are an important population in higher education, and this has prompted a significant amount of research on their completion and success. Yet research on transfer student college choice and factors involved in the decision-making process remains fairly limited. Using a case study approach, the current research aims to identify and…

Faculty development is often under-emphasized in community colleges (or 2-year colleges; 2YCs). This research reports on data collected from a National Science Foundation (NSF) project involving 2YC geoscience faculty as "change agents." We studied 22 geoscience faculty involved in a NSF funded longitudinal project that focused on three…