The rising costs of college attendance and changes in financial aid packages leave students with little option other than to incur a debt of some amount. Unfortunately, colleges often fail to provide adequate financial literacy and student loan information so prospective students planning to attend college can make informed decisions. Student…

This research study examined the developmental and prescriptive academic advising preferences of two Texas community first-time-in-college (FTIC) students. For more than 100 years, higher education institutions have employed academic advisors to undertake meaningful interactions with students to assist with their academic progress. Their…

In 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) plagued the United States, becoming one of the greatest disruptions to the U.S. higher education system in history. Affecting every aspect of institution's operations, prospective fall 2020 and beyond students were impacted greatly by the interruption of traditional college recruitment practices which…

Understanding first-generation African American students' experiences in their journeys to graduating from a 2-year community college is key for educators, staff, and college administrators to best serve the students in this demographic. The problem addressed by this descriptive qualitative study was that first-generation African American students…

Black, First-Generation, and Pell Grant recipient college students have faced tremendous obstacles and overcame substantial hurdles as a worldwide health pandemic, the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, disproportionately harmed the students, their family members, and communities. With over 1,000,000 deaths in the United States at the time of…

Hispanic males, including Mexican-Americans, are enrolling in community colleges at a high rate, especially in Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) that are in urban low-income areas. Unfortunately, these students are not graduating at the rate at which their population is growing in colleges. They are often stereotyped as unwilling to learn, but…

Indigenous academics are a minority within the academy, with the disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, staffing and student numbers well established. A growing body of literature examines the motivations of Indigenous peoples who enrol in and complete university degrees; however, there is a dearth of literature examining the…

The purpose of this study was to explore factors affecting attrition of undergraduates with a strong STEM content background into the field of Education, particularly within high-need school districts. This research was conducted as part of the NSF-sponsored Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship project collaboration between a four-year private…

This study delves into disparities in undergraduate research participation among Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx students using large-scale, multi-institutional data. The study's focus is guided by Intersectionality Theory and Quantitative Critical Theory, examining how race, social identities, academic majors, and institutional…

Internships and practicums are a required component of nearly all degree programs in human services and its subfields--and most are unpaid. These unpaid positions often have a disproportionate impact for BIPOC and first-generation students, especially women--many of whom are economically disadvantaged and must work to support themselves and…

Earning a bachelor's degree is an increasingly necessary step for economic success, as economic opportunity for non-degree holders continues to shrink, and bachelor's degree holders continue to earn more over the course of their lifetimes than those without a college degree. While the transfer pathway from the California Community Colleges to the…

Students who are the first in their families to attend college and have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, question whether they will be welcomed, accepted, and safe in their relationships and on campus. Setting the stage for this paper, the authors provide definitional overviews of DACA, first-generation to college status, and…

Recent reports show that low-income students make up a significant share of those participating in higher education, and their well-being constitutes a key factor that influences their college success. This mixed-methods study examined first-year, low-income students' time use and its relationship to well-being framed by an equity-oriented lens…

Objective: To compare physical activity (PA), sitting time, and substance use pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 pandemic among US college students. Participants: 484 students from a large Western university (20.6 ± 1.4 years, 80.0% female) were recruited. Methods: Self-reported online surveys were completed in June-August 2020. T-tests and…

Emerging research suggests that first-generation queer and trans (QT) students experience disproportionate discrimination in schooling leading to disengagement early on in their educational trajectories. Although labeled as "at risk", first-generation QT students are actually more cognitively engaged in academics than their cisgender and…