This study explored whether the effects of student-faculty interaction on various outcomes--degree aspiration, college GPA, satisfaction with faculty contact, and satisfaction with the college experience--vary by student gender, ethnicity, social class, and first-generation status. The study used data on 95,537 students attending nine colleges who…

As a group, low-income, low-socioeconomic status, first-generation and working class students have lower persistence rates and educational attainment than their peers from higher- socioeconomic backgrounds. These gaps in college persistence and degree attainment have endured over the years with no evidence that they are diminishing in time. This…

Enrollment in higher education in the United States has experienced significant growth in the last two decades. Growth is not only seen in the increasing numbers; diversity is increasing with more minority and non-traditionally aged students attending college. Many of these students are first-generation college (FGC) students; those whose parents…

Data mining and statistical analyses at a less selective institution reveal that the relationships between parents' educational level and some first year success indicators are not linear. Specifically, students who report that either parent or guardian(s) have an educational level beyond a baccalaureate degree or do not report parent education…

A two-week summer program designed to promote interest and learning in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields is documented. The program included a week-long engineering emphasis. Students and teachers from ten rural and financially disadvantaged school districts participated in the program. Three middle school and…

Social changes in indigenous Maya communities in Chiapas, Mexico toward increasing levels of formal education, commercialization, and urbanization are transforming traditional Maya developmental pathways toward adulthood. This mixed-methods study is based on interviews with a sample of 14 first-generation Maya university students who have also…

As a first generation immigrant born in Mexico City, academic coaching is one of the keys to success for Juan Arias, a 24-year-old junior at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California. The community college transfer student was provided with his own personal coach during orientation who provided weekly visits or calls to guide him…

For students to be successful in either two-year or four-year colleges, they need to be engaged in their college experiences. In this investigation, we analyzed data, over 40,000 cases obtained from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, concerning student engagement as it was related with student age and with student generational…

Vocabulary is predominant in improving one's communicative skill. Language is more powerful when it is being used perfectly. Teachers should consider the background of learners and aid them to learn and develop their vocabulary in many interesting ways especially through games. This paper deals with a productive and a logical study, done on a set…

Society's increased dependence on higher education has put many people of color at a disadvantage, as they continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in academia despite efforts to increase diversity and enrollment of Latino/as in public universities (Jones, Castellanos, & Cole, 2002). The purpose of this study was to explore the…

First-generation college students (FGS) often straddle different cultures between school and home. Because of this cultural disparity, FGS frequently encounter barriers to academic success and require additional support resources on campus. Simply offering more financial aid does not address the cultural and emotional challenges that these…

English learners (ELs) are facing unique issues in higher education that remain largely unexplored. This research focuses on college choice, enrollment, and graduation among high-achieving ELs who were eligible for automatic admission to any public higher education institution in Texas by having graduated in the top 10% of their high school class.…

A review of the literature indicates that Latinos lag behind White and African American students in higher education degree attainment. This educational gap is of concern because Latinos are the largest minority group in the United States, and the Latino population is expected to increase in the future. Higher education degree attainment for…

The purpose of the study was to explore student characteristics, academic self-efficacy, and faculty-student interactions as predictors of grade point average for upper-division (college level third and fourth year) education students at a public 4-year degree-granting community college. The study examined the effects of student characteristics…

First-generation, female college students often face an uphill battle in their quest for degree attainment. Literature suggests several areas in which first-generation college students struggle, but there are programs designed to help this demographic of student; specifically the TRiO program, a federally-funded operation that specializes in…