Challenges in retaining minority male students is an on-going issue in higher education in America. In addition, research suggests that the challenge is greater at Predominantly White Institutions. For many years, institutions have adopted principles and strategies suggested by researchers to counterattack this concern. Although a vast wealth of…

The purpose of this study was to identify which aspects of mentoring contribute to intent to graduate, college GPA, and levels of thriving in a sample of 416 juniors and seniors at a public university in Southern California. A secondary interest was to determine the extent to which the contribution of the mentoring components to the variation in…

Persistence and retention of college students is a great concern in American higher education. The dropout rate is even more apparent among first-generation college students, as well as those majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). More students earning STEM degrees are needed to fill the many jobs that require the skills…

Underrepresented students have been identified as being less likely to attain a college degree than their majority counterparts. Experiential pedagogies, specifically service-learning (SL), offer students an opportunity to engage in community work and improve skills that might contribute to their educational success in college. The present study…

It is more important now than ever before to have a diverse, highly skilled, and better educated workforce in order to compete in a global economy. Society has to increase the number of college graduates to ensure positive economic growth and, more importantly, to enhance society as a whole. Citizens who are better educated are more likely to vote…

In January 2014, the White House urged that college be made more accessible for low-income Americans. Yet, moving beyond access to success requires knowing more about the experiences of these students. A new research report captures the challenges low-income, first-generation students faced in their collegiate journey, examining the strategies…

"Collective impact" is a new place-based model of educational and social intervention that aims to shift responsibility for improvement in outcomes from individual organizations to entire systems that affect the lives of people in a particular location. CCRC's "Corridors of College Success Series" provides insights into…

Low-income, first-generation, and racial/ethnic minority students encounter unique challenges in higher education because they contend with fewer economic and social resources, and fewer familial role models who have successfully navigated college. Just as importantly, these students contend with negative cultural stereotypes and expectations…

Our longitudinal study unpacks how an informal summer science and mathematics enrichment program influenced the educational pathways of four first-generation college-bound students. Through the lens of identity-in-practice and navigations, we explore their figured worlds of science, positioning and authoring of self in science as they applied to…

Utilizing current research on college readiness as well as the role of cultural agents as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study investigates student and faculty beliefs about readiness and the pedagogical practices that allow instructors to effectively serve as cultural agents for first-generation, low-income students. Three major…

This case study examined the perceptions of scholarship recipients participating in Southwest Virginia Community College's (SWCC's) S-STEM scholarship program which examined whether the program helped remove barriers to students' educational goals and STEM career aspirations. The study used a focus group and a survey to elicit responses from…

The phenomenon of interest in this exploratory case study was the self-reported leadership skills of first-generation college students who were actively participating in intramural sports. Specifically, the purpose was to describe participants' reports of engaging in behaviors or actions, during intramural sports, that are aligned with the…

The purpose of this study is to understand how the "flipped classroom" shaped the learning experiences of university students in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The paper describes the challenges and advantages students faced while engaging in new technologies aimed at enhancing the social component of learning. Of particular interest is how…

Research indicates that health problems are becoming increasingly complex and prevalent among college students, while largely going without recognition or treatment. Low-income racial minority students may have additional personal and academic issues associated with demonstrating grit and overcoming barriers to entry (i.e. institutional racism)…

"Teachin' It!" is a hands-on guide to cutting-edge research and classroom strategies that redress the graduation gap in community and open-access colleges. Drawing from the author's 30 years in the education field as a math and college skills instructor, teacher educator, and researcher, this book describes an asset-based model that…