Financial aid is designed to increase access to postsecondary education at all socioeconomic levels; however, college students are not always knowledgeable about personal finances or capable of making sound decisions regarding complex college and program choices, debt options, and long-term spending. This article reviews previous research on the…

The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study is to determine the effectiveness of a corequisite delivery model for developmental math students at a 4-year public institution. Nationally, close to fifty percent of incoming college students are placed in non-credit bearing remedial courses (Complete College America, 2012). Students must…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the relationship between (a) student demographic variables (i.e., ethnicity, gender, first generation status, low income), college admission variables (i.e., admission status, SAT/ACT scores, remediation requirements), and (b) GPA and retention was influenced by first-year…

"How America Pays for College", introduced in 2008, is a Sallie Mae national study conducted by Ipsos that annually surveys undergraduate students and parents of undergraduates about how much they pay for college and the resources they use to fund the expense. Now in its tenth year, this study also asks families about their attitudes…

This report discusses the findings from a three-year study of the California State University STEM Collaboratives project, funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The project selected eight CSU campuses to rethink the ways in which they support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minority students in science, technology,…

Using the HSLS:09 [High School Longitudinal Study of 2009] data set and social capital theory as a framework, the authors examined which student and school characteristics predicted students' identification of their school counselor as the person who had the most influence in their thinking about postsecondary education (N = 3,239,560). Results…

There are many variables that impact a classroom experience including the instructor, the student, and the class itself. Much research has been done in the area of undergraduate student expectations and preferences for instructors, course format, etc. This paper explores how specific student characteristics such as first-generation status, age,…

This paper examines a pilot residential learning community (RLC) project at Indiana University Southeast. The RLC targeted first-generation students who were academically at-risk. The purpose of the project was to see whether the combination of several high-impact educational practices within the context of an RLC would improve 1) student…

This article examines factors associated with college outcomes in a migrant Latina/o college student sample enrolled in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP). We also examine the relationship between CAMP services and students' academic perceptions (i.e., college academic self-efficacy, academic resilience, and school connectedness). High…

Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study examines the validity of the Usher and Pajares Sources of Self-Efficacy in Mathematics (SSEM) for prospective or eventual first-generation college students while still in middle school, a population not studied with the SSEM heretofore. Studying this population is especially noteworthy as educators…

This chapter explores a grant-sponsored program and examines the role of departmental and institutional collaborations in advancing student performance outcomes. It provides a theoretical framework and a description of best practices for ensuring the success of first-generation urban community college students.

Researchers have reported that the graduation and retention rate of students whose parents do not hold college degrees (first-generation college students or FGCS) are lower than that of their peers whose parents do hold college degrees. FGCS are 1.3 times more likely to leave college after their first year compared to their non-FGCS peers…

A report on a successfully implemented program to increase student participation in extra-curricular activities in an undergraduate business program with a high percentage of first-generation college students. A market-research study offered insight as to why students were not participating before the program was launched. Greater participation in…

The experiences of Latino male students are oftentimes consolidated with those of other student populations from similar backgrounds. While the research on Latino males has been slowly expanding to include their varied experiences, it has been mostly characterized by a deficit-oriented narrative focusing on their challenges rather than their…

This study examines the experiences of first generation college students at a rural university campus on the Southern Plains through narrative inquiry. Respondents who were recent graduates or who were about to graduate shared their stories through an interview and drawing process. Their interview responses indicate how they chose to attend this…