The Latino population is the fastest-growing community in the United States yet falls behind in the percentage of students who successfully graduate from college compared to other cultural groups. While trends of Latino students applying to college are on the rise, many cannot successfully obtain a degree due to detrimental barriers. These…

This study analyzed the impacts of participation in short-term study abroad programs at Oklahoma community colleges through a quantitative research design. Student retention and degree completion are concerns for all types of higher education institutions, but U.S. community colleges experience an even greater struggle to retain students from…

A state-wide Individual Student Alternative Education Plan (ISAEP) seeks to assist high school (HS) students at risk of not graduating in completing HS credentials. The problem was that there was no formal state-wide process for monitoring the program to understand its impact. The purpose of this quantitative exploratory study was to determine…

The Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program at Temple University (TU) seeks to guide first-generation, low-income high school students from Philadelphia in their quest to obtain postsecondary STEM degrees that lead to related careers. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the program by analyzing its students' performance in light of…

California community colleges have a completion crisis problem, with over 70% of students failing to graduate. This study was conducted to identify effective support services in the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program, which serves marginalized community college students. This EOPS program study surveyed almost 2,000 EOPS…

The study evaluated the effectiveness of career and technical education internships during high school and gave the administration some insights that can guide the program forward. A key component of the program's effectiveness is the impact the program has on the overall education and career choices of students involved in career and technical…

Student retention at the study site community college had decreased, which negatively impacted funding. Increased student support that incorporates elements of the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA) model could improve retention rates. This mixed-methods case study examined the effectiveness of a…

The 2010 and 2020 U.S. Census confirmed the overall U.S. population is growing and diversifying. These trends, however, are not matched in higher education enrollment. The disparities are even more pronounced for STEM doctoral education. In response to these inequalities, higher education institutions have responded with a variety of solutions,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and lived experiences of some low-income and first-generation students of color who participated in and graduated from the UB program. This qualitative study utilized the narrative inquiry research method to understand the lived experiences of seven former Upward Bound students. Program…

Although the Mexican population is experiencing tremendous growth, they continue to lag behind the national average in, and have amongst the lowest, educational attainment levels of all Latinos/as (Perez Huber et al., 2015). Some studies have looked at the experience of Mexicans along the K-12, undergraduate, and doctoral educational pipelines.…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are an essential avenue for high-quality change and work. Maintaining unity among groups with differing opinions is challenging. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess elementary teachers' current perceptions of PLCs to determine their effectiveness by answering four research questions: What are the…

This dissertation examines the county-level impacts on college attainment and enrollment, and student-level impacts on success outcomes, from the Garrett County (Maryland) Scholarship Program, an early adopter in the promise scholarship movement since 2006. I conduct a comprehensive review of prior literature on promise programs, which have been…

People of African and Latinx descent are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as a result of systematic marginalization and bias. While there is a great deal of research that investigates the problems underlying underrepresentation, there is less research that centers the perspectives of African and Latinx…

Transitioning back into society successfully after incarceration comes with its downfalls, but educational support could potentially address transitional success, especially for formerly incarcerated women. Previous research mainly focused on exploring education options and recidivism outcomes for formerly incarcerated men. There is limited…

Military experience alone is no longer enough to replace a college degree for many civilian jobs, leaving nearly 15% of transitioning veterans at a disadvantage without higher education credentials. This study explored how active-duty Marines decide whether to pursue postsecondary education and assessed the role of the voluntary education (VolED)…