The social experience of transitioning to a 4-year university varies widely among students. Some attend with few or no prior contacts or acquaintances from their hometown; others attend with a large network of high school alumni. Using a sample (N = 43,240) of undergraduates spanning 7.5 years at a public university, we examine what factors…

This 5-year, longitudinal, multimethod qualitative case study draws on data from the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project examining a comprehensive college transition and success program called Thompson Scholars Learning Community (TSLC) that serves low-income college students, many of whom are first-generation and racially…

In recent years, several states and districts have implemented programs and policies that have sparked growth among high school students taking College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP® ) exams to earn college credits, with some states including CLEP in their K-12 accountability structures. In the 2018-19 school year, 22% of CLEP exams taken were…

College has long been viewed as an opportunity for advancement and mobility for talented students regardless of background. Yet for first generation students, elite universities can often seem like bastions of privilege, with unspoken academic norms and social rules. "The Hidden Curriculum" draws on more than one hundred in-depth…

This dissertation examined predictors of retention and graduation for first-generation (FG), first-year students at a selective, private, residential university in the northeastern United States. The theoretical framework was Bean and Eaton's (2000, 2001/2002) Psychological Model of College Student Retention. The purpose of the study was to test…

Aspirations predict students' trajectories, and knowledge of how youth develop and achieve goals is crucial to supporting success. However, rural students may encounter constraining conditions that can curtail their aspirations, and students of color often face institutional barriers that impact their postsecondary pathways. Guided by theories…

Internships can be valuable learning experiences, providing opportunities for professional exploration, development, and growth. While 74% of freshmen plan to participate in an internship during college, only 48% of seniors are completing these experiences (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2017a, 2017b). This study examined the ability of…

Research shows that first-generation college students are less likely to be retained from their first to second year, and struggle with sense of belonging, comfort with faculty, and the establishment of a positive first-generation student identity. This qualitative case study evaluated the effects of a residential living learning community with a…

Compared to the native first-generation college student, community college transfer first-generation students are more likely to experience a host of academic, social, and financial issues at the four-year institution (Bers, 2013: Fann, 2013). The issues that community college transfer first-generation students experience impact their level of…

The prevailing view of student retention has been shaped by theories that view student attrition through the lens of institutional action or inaction and less on the student's situation or college experiences. Students seek to persist and graduate, however obstacles get in their way. More than half of all student attrition takes place in the first…

Academic advising has been identified as a key strategy in helping students to persist and complete their academic goals. This exploratory case study investigated student perceptions of advising, particularly low-income and first-generation students participating in a TRIO Student Support Services program at a midsize midwestern community college.…

Two studies were conducted to better understand the association between higher education and adult success from the perspective of young adult student loan borrowers five years after graduating. Data for both studies were drawn from the Arizona Pathways to Life Success (APLUS) project. This sample borrowed during a period of changing economic…

Racial and ethnic minority groups face extraordinary challenges in access to and success in higher education due to the complicated history of racism in the US educational system and society. This thesis focuses on past and current practices that affect educational equity, college completion, and post-undergraduate success for Black…

This introductory report outlines the challenges of postsecondary completion, the variable value provided by a postsecondary pathway, and the corresponding cost and debt. Together, these challenges create an inequitable, ineffective, and unsustainable U.S. postsecondary system in which individuals are increasingly reluctant to participate or…

Earning a college degree is a major pathway to economic mobility. Although Black women enter college at higher rates than white, Hispanic, and Black men (for example, in 2020, Black women enrolled in college at a 40% rate, compared to 37% for White men, 31% for Black men, and 30% for Hispanic men) they still face barriers to degree completion,…