This study examined the differences between first-year students who continued to Year 2 and first-year students who did not return to the second year at a mid-size, public, research university in the mid-south. The study utilized the National Survey of Student Engagement to compare the level of student-faculty interaction, experiences with the…

This qualitative study aimed to examine the personal experiences of what influences academic success in 9 first-generation African-American college students who attended predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This study examined first-generation African-American college students' experiences of personal and institutional factors contributing to…

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the impact of institutional context on Black first-generation college women's identity development. We examined their experiences along the lines of their minoritized race, gender, and first-generation student status using intersectionality theory. Six Black, first-generation college…

Peer Led Team Learning (PLTL) is an active learning model that is particularly effective for improving the academic achievement and retention of students who have been marginalized in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), such as women, and members of underrepresented minority groups. Cyber Peer Led Team Learning (cPLTL) is a…

This study explores high school families' understanding of college financing. The research examines what college-bound students and parents know about financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), scholarships, and student loans. The report evaluates perceptions, exposes common misconceptions, and gauges how prepared high…

The purpose of my phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the impact of family involvement and engagement on the persistence of first-generation Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designated university. Grounded in Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth (CCW) model, I explored the ways CCW assets learned from…

Across the country, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students appear to be academically successful, completing high school at 95.9 percent (NCES, 2011). However, upon disaggregation of data, AAPI's ethnic subgroups such as Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander (SEAPI) students in Oakland, CA are dropping out at an alarming rate of 50…

This study explores whether there is a heterogeneous effect of high school college counselors on college application and enrollment. Most research on the impact of counselors has focused on the effect of traditional school counselors and not on high school college counselors, individuals whose primary responsibility is to assist students with…

BIPOC students attending a community college in the Bay Area bring traumas to school with them and then they relive their traumas in the classroom through professors' pedagogy and the curriculum. This dissertation which was conducted during twin pandemics of COVID 19 and racism, researched a group of English professors that teach first generation…

First-generation, African American women constitute a small representation in STEM careers in the United States. Rewarding careers offered to STEM majors are many times inaccessible to first-generation African American women. Access to and successful matriculation in higher education is significantly different for first-generation (FG) African…

The effects of childhood adversity on health and socioemotional outcomes have received increasing examination in recent years. However, the impact of childhood adversity on academic outcomes has garnered little attention. This study aimed to explore the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on college graduation rates and whether…

Access to higher education has increased within the last decades, particularly within historically underserved communities, but the challenges of navigating college for first-generation Latino/a/x students still show up in the disproportionate rates of retention, persistence, and graduation for this group (National Center for Education Statistics,…

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an array of stressors that affected college students. We hypothesized that student performance was negatively impacted by the circumstances of the pandemic and some demographic groups suffered larger decrements than others. To address this, we collected institutional grade data from all students at Iowa State…

Since 2019, high school seniors from low-income households in the state of Washington have received guidance from OtterBot, an interactive chatbot texting tool with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The chatbot, designed by the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), provides information to simplify the complex processes involved…

This preliminary, retroactive analysis was done to identify the effects of team-based learning and incorporation of diverse scientist experiences on student sense of belonging and course success in an introductory biology course. Faculty members worked closely with the Office of Institutional Research to make data-informed pedagogical decisions,…