In the Republic of the Marshall Islands, college readiness and early college success are major concerns. More than 75 percent of a recent cohort of incoming students at the College of the Marshall Islands placed into developmental courses, which suggests that students might not be academically prepared to take postsecondary coursework. A lack of…

African American males' academic achievement has been a concern for school officials, policy makers, administrators, colleges, and universities. African American males' graduation rates continue to decline at colleges and universities across the United States. The problem addressed by this qualitative study was that African American males who come…

The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether a student's sense of financial security can increase the degree of predictability of retention over and above the more traditional predictors typically found in the literature, and to get a better sense for how student financial security impacts student persistence decision-making in college. To…

Community colleges are more likely to serve student populations commonly categorized as at-risk, including students attending part-time, students from lower-income groups, or underprepared students. Each year, over 2,000,000 community college students are considered underprepared and enroll in remedial or developmental education courses.…

This study used qualitative constructivist grounded theory research methods to explore with focus groups of 16 racial/ethnic minority undergraduates underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) their experiences of microaggressions, sense of belonging in STEM, and their strategies to negotiate these experiences.…

Despite the increase in enrollment of first-generation college students at four-year institutions, this student population was more than twice as likely to drop out before their sophomore year compared to their non-first-generation peers. Specifically, a subgroup of first-generation college students that has been identified as greatly…

Disparities in academic performance between African-American and White students are larger in online courses than in face-to-face courses. As online learning grows and students enroll in more online courses as a way of balancing school with work and family obligations, African-American enrollment in online courses threatens to exacerbate the…

There is a crisis on campus. Across Southern California and nationwide, unprecedented numbers of college students are seeking counseling for mental and emotional difficulties (Boyd-Barrett, & Haire, 2018). College students arrive at college with more severe mental health issues each year (Danitz, et al., 2016). A recent assessment by the…

In the United States, college attrition is a problem affecting the outcomes of our educational and labor market pipelines. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education reported that only 65% of students who enrolled in post-secondary institutions from the graduating class of 2009 persisted or attained a diploma within six years of initial enrollment…

The purpose of this study is to understand how students with historically marginalized identities are developed through their experiences serving on the executive board of departmentally advised student organizations. With marginality and power, forms of resistance, and high impact engagement literature together serving as a framework, this also…

Teachers are some of the most powerful people in a child's life. These professionals spend a significant amount of time educating students not only academically, but socially and emotionally. Yet, effective teachers do not stay in the profession long. A significant number of teachers leave the profession in less than five years. Retaining teachers…

Marginalized minorities have encountered difficulty pursuing a college degree which has widened the gap in enrollment and retention rates in higher education. This qualitative study implemented a phenomenological methodology to understand perseverance and degree achievement through the essence of the lived experiences of first-generation Hispanic…

The purpose of this study was to determine if, at rural elementary schools in New Hampshire, there was a significant difference between participants' beliefs about school climate and collective teacher efficacy (CTE) during in-person and remote instruction in order to determine best practices to support teacher retention, and ultimately, increase…

This chapter examines exemplary practices and challenges of recruiting and retaining women in information technology programs in an Iowa community college context.

In its well-intentioned effort to create alternatives to public school dropout factories, the charter school sector has created teacher burnout factories. But it does not have to be this way. Charter schools can continue to maintain high standards while creating a more sustainable work environment for teachers. This article examines the teacher…