The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to determine whether there were significant differences in fall-to-fall retention and graduation rates, between first-time, full-time students who engaged in at least one early post-secondary opportunity (EPSO) while in high school and those who did not. Archival data for…

The high school (HS) graduation rate of students with disabilities who have individual education programs (IEP) is historically low compared with their non-disabled peers. The problem was that a statewide initiative to improve the standard HS diploma graduation rate of students with disabilities, the April Dunn Act (the Act), was perceived as…

Many students enter into higher education institutions to pursue degrees in STEM fields with varying levels of academic preparedness, and many students will never finish a college degree. To address academic underpreparedness, many institutions have developed remedial coursework to increase student persistence and graduation rates with varying…

In the state of South Carolina, African American students make up 34% of the student population but 59% of students receive out-of-school suspension. It was assumed by prior research statistics that the disproportionality of discipline produces lower academic achievement for African American students. An examination of the disproportionality of…

This dissertation was a multiple case study research project designed to identify whether the "Men of Merit Program" (MOMP) met its goal of increasing persistence, retention, and graduation rates of African American male students at a Western New York Community College. Earlier statistics reported that other American colleges had shown a…

In the landscape of modern education, the role of a superintendent has become increasingly complex, marked by demands for higher student achievement and round-the-clock communication. This complexity, underscored by technological advancements and evolving accountability measures, underscores the criticality of strategic planning for school…

There was a recognized high rate of students enrolled in technology programs who did not graduate college. Scholars who had studied predictors of college completion surmised there were several behavioral traits associated with a student achieving their college objectives through graduation; one of those factors was persistence. Persistence, the…

Mentoring is widely recognized as an effective approach to addressing educational needs in U.S. schools, emphasizing the importance of strong, long-term mentor-mentee relationships (Karaferye, 2018; Wood & Mayo-Wilson, 2012). These relationships can provide crucial support for youth facing social, emotional, and financial challenges (Kuperminc…

The low graduation rate of African American students is currently a problem. African American students are being enrolled in predominantly white institutions (PWIs) of higher education but are not graduating at the same pace as their counterparts. It is important for higher education institutions to learn more about their student population and…

Students with disabilities have lower rates of graduation from institutions of postsecondary education as compared to their nondisabled peers (National Council on Disability, 2020). Supports for disabled students in higher education have relied primarily on a deficit-based, regulatory model of access, ignoring a more wholistic approach to access…

Nationally collected data reveals that transfer students encounter added difficulty graduating on time from four-year institutions than non-transfer students. Since transfer students traditionally graduate at a lower rate, targeting and improving transfer students' graduation percentages is one way to augment an institution's overall graduation…

School officials, policymakers, administrators, and colleges and universities express concerns express concern regarding issues that affect the persistence of community college students. Graduation rates from community colleges continue to decline at colleges across the United States. The problem investigated in this study was how the negative…

Even though teen pregnancy rates are declining, teen pregnancy remains a complex and problematic phenomenon in our culture. The problem addressed by this study was that although the number of births to teen mothers is decreasing, less than 50% of teen mothers are completing high school. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was…

The purpose of this study was to assess whether student satisfaction with faculty and academic advisors varied based on the sex of the student and the students' academic college at a large public university in the Southeast. With the university aiming to improve its graduation rates, particularly male graduation rates, the Theory of Student…

A collection of data points can show an abundance of information about a college student, telling a data-driven story about a student's past, current, and sometimes predicting future challenges at the university but some challenges may not be able to be indicated by data points alone. Challenges such as mental health, financial challenges,…