The current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), while enabling millions of students to apply for college aid, also presents significant barriers for low-income and first-generation students seeking to attend college. The application process is complicated, resulting in only a 44-percent completion rate for all high school seniors by…

School district-university research collaborations represent one strategy to increase educators' ability to use current, research-based information in program decision-making and efforts to improve student achievement. However, differences in organizational structures, goals, values, and prior collaborative experiences, have made successful…

Many science, technology, engineering, and math degrees require passing an introductory physics course. Physics courses often have high failure rates that disproportionately harm students who are historically and continually marginalized by racism, sexism, and classism. We examined the associations between learning assistant (LA) supported courses…

Technology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received informational messages in distinct behavioral frames:…

Many students face unique and significant obstacles as they pursue postsecondary degrees, including the navigation of two complex systems: higher education and financial aid. Given the importance and complexity of the issues, multiple stakeholders, including philanthropists and researchers, have dedicated resources to understanding and improving…

Community college students face a number of financial decisions and obligations along the path to degree completion. Students must secure resources to pay for college expenses, including their tuition, fees, and basic living necessities. Central to this is students' abilities to access financial aid resources including federal, state, and…

The complexity and scope of the challenges today's students face explain why community and technical colleges across the country are reexamining the student experience and the support services they provide. As open access institutions, community and technical colleges by their very existence open the doors of higher education and workforce…

As with other student populations community colleges serve, part-time students often face multiple challenges that present additional barriers to completion, including unfamiliarity with the college experience, parenthood, and food and housing insecurity. Community colleges have historically opened their doors to all those interested in pursuing…

At the beginning of the 2016 academic year 77,214 freshman students at 44 campuses began the fall semester participating in the Re-Imagining the First Year (RFY) initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). These 44 institutions have formed a learning community that reviews and shares evidence-based practices,…

Students who double major have higher earnings and are more satisfied with their educational experience in college than those who graduate with a single major. In this study, the authors examine the extent to which a student's experience with academic acceleration programs in high school, specifically successful participation in the Advanced…

This study compared first generation and non-first generation doctoral students' levels of perceived stress, sense of coherence, and mindfulness. These variables were assessed both separately for each trainee group and in hypothesized relationships with each other. In addition, moderator analyses were conducted to assess whether key relationships…

This report, the first of an annual series, establishes meaningful metrics about the outcomes of students served by college access and success programs. Using data collected from 24 college access programs, enrollment and graduation rates for the high school classes of 2007, 2008, and 2009 and an enrollment rate for the high school class of 2013…

This qualitative study examines how working influences students' college experiences, extending the predominantly quantitative research in this area. Findings based on interviews with Latino first-generation students who work reveal three themes. First, these students bring a familial orientation that motivates them to increase occupational…

This study focuses on Texas Borderland students admitted through the Texas Top 10% admissions policy, which assumes that Top 10% students are college ready for any public university and provides Top 10% high school graduates automatic admission to any 4-year public university in Texas. Using descriptive and inferential statistics, results…

Experiential learning theory has been referenced as a possible method for attracting and retaining members in student organizations. In a survey, undergraduate students evaluated a variety of organizational features pertaining to their intention to participate in professional student organizations. The study found that students value activities…