Community colleges serve as critical access points to higher education for Black students. However, current outcomes suggest that Black students are not being properly served in America's community colleges. Although well-meaning institutional leaders often create policies and programs aimed at improving success rates for students from…

Since the 1990s, UK government policy has sought to increase access to higher education, with a plan to improve social mobility. However, enhancing the employability prospects for all has proven difficult to achieve through widening participation alone. This research explores this paradox, via the experiences of first-in-family undergraduates as…

In this longitudinal qualitative study, we examined how 23 undocumented college students with and without DACA navigated the college graduation process and transitioned out of higher education. Despite the growing number of undocumented students with and without DACA enrolling and graduating from college over the past 10 years, few studies have…

Using narrative interviews, this study explored the experiences of belonging among eight first-generation college students (FGCS) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). By applying Strayhorn's Belonging and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Framework, this study sheds light on the challenges and benefits BIPOC FGCS encounter as…

Interpersonal conflict is inevitable as college students live together in residence halls with new and different people (Bresnahan et al., 2009; Ferguson & Lareau, 2021; Fosnacht et al., 2020; Harwood et al., 2012; Morgan et al., 2019; Shook & Fazio, 2008). Whether the conflict stems from small miscommunications to mismatched value…

This study examines how first-generation (FG) college students make meaning of their social class during their first-year of college. As a method, photovoice allowed for the creation of a rich set of data using student photos and accompanying narratives, through which three key themes were derived: (a) broken American dream, (b) honoring family…

Mature-age students who are the first in their family to attend university have navigated a challenging road to higher education. The aim of the present study was to understand the influence and interaction of familial and personal stories of this cohort and their choices about university study -- why they initially did not go after high school,…

Even though the sophomore year in college is a pivotal time when students make important decisions impacting their college experiences, the provision of a structured sophomore-year program has not been a priority in higher education in the United States. For the first-generation, low-income students participating in TRIO Student Support Services…

The increasing demand for a computationally trained workforce that reflects Latinx population growth in America has encouraged institutions to revisit exclusionary practices and develop initiatives that support Latinx undergraduate student persistence in Computer Science (CS). CS is necessary not only to keep pace with the rapid change in…

This qualitative study examines how first-generation Latina undergraduate students perceive their Mexican immigrant parents' engagement in their college experiences. Employing a community cultural wealth framework (Yosso, 2005), this study challenges deficit views on Mexican immigrant parent engagement in higher education. Through semi-structured…

The STEM Scholars program at Bucknell University was originally supported with a five-year National Science Foundation STEP grant to begin recruitment for a summer program in 2014. The grant, with a one-year no-cost extension, supported six cohorts of students. The recruitment of participants was specifically designed to attract typically…

This phenomenological qualitative study examined the intersection between TRIO Upward Bound participation and resilience theory to determine how participation in TRIO Upward Bound impacted the resiliency of its at-risk youth participants. Accordingly, the participants of this study are alumni of the federally funded TRIO Upward Bound program, a…

The primary objective of this study was to examine the differences between historically black colleges and universities and predominately white institutions, and their effectiveness on minimizing depression, stress, and anxiety for African American first-generation graduates. The second objective was to examine the unique advantages that HBCUs…

First Generation College Students (FGCS) account for one third of all doctoral degree recipients in the USA, however, very little is known about their educational experiences. Using a narrative inquiry approach, this study employed a Cultural Proficient framework to explore the barriers that prevent FGCS from pursuing post-undergraduate…

The mastery learning pedagogical approach recognizes that mastery is not always achieved on the first attempt, and learning from mistakes and perseverance is fundamental to learning. Research has suggested that mastery learning can have a positive influence on underrepresented engineering students' learning and course performance. Yet, there is a…