This study sheds light on the assets First Generation Students of Color bring with them to a Research I University and highlights the role a small learning community plays in helping them identify and activate their assets. Through a qualitative case study consisting of five synchronous online focus groups and document analysis, I delve into the…

Enrollment in higher education has increased over recent years with more students entering college underprepared for the academic rigor. Through expanded access, more minoritized students who are Pell eligible are enrolling. To retain these and other students, higher education institutions are implementing high impact practices to provide…

This study examined the extent school psychologists reported pre-service training programs addressed involvement in transition programming (e.g., planning, monitoring, and evaluation); their involvement in it; their desire to be involved in transition; possible factors influencing school psychologists' involvement in it; and if pre-service and…

The purpose of this dissertation in practice is to determine how the University of Louisville's College of Business can better support transfer students as they enter the college. Current practices do not best support this transition phase for students which can lead to academic struggles. Considering the Fall 2020 population consisted of 416…

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), Summer Bridge Programs (SBP)across the California State University (CSU) system vary in design and delivery. This mixed-methods study investigated six CSU SBP designs, delivery, and 4-year graduation rates of SBP participants during the 2015 through 2019 years. The qualitative portion of this study consisted…

First-generation college students make up one-third of the undergraduate population of college students in the United States. It is essential to understand all aspects of a first-generation student, their desire to persist in college, and their experiences while in college. Once they are enrolled in college, first-generation students will need…

This dissertation closely examines the model of a suburban northern Delaware alternative program. The researcher determined how well this program successfully prepared 52 scholars to successfully transition forward into a comprehensive school. Each student in the study was removed from the comprehensive school and enrolled into the alternative…

As the Hispanic/Latin* population in the United States experiences rapid growth, a concerning decline in college completion rates among these students demands further investigation. This study aims to establish an understanding of historical disparities that pervade the provision of advanced education and experiences, which consequently impact…

This phenomenological research study investigated how participation in the Educational Opportunity Fund summer bridge program shaped first generation low-income students' learner identity as they entered college. Learner identity is generally defined as a learner's personally and socially constructed roles that influence his or her capacity,…

This single qualitative case study explored teacher and parent perceptions of the kindergarten transition program at a small, rural school district in a Midwestern state. Thirteen subjects met the criteria of either being a kindergarten transition teacher or a parent of an incoming kindergarten student and participated in this study. Data was…

This study investigated the transfer pathway between a rural university and a community college to understand what procedural barriers exist for student degree attainment within existing structures. Process mapping was used as the intervention to examine the influence of enrollment and student services processes and investigate the perceptions of…

This quantitative study investigated the academic outcomes of high school students from one community college district in Illinois who took a high school transitional math course designed to give them direct placement into a college-level math course. The goal of successful completion of a transitional math course is to allow students direct…

Students with disabilities are entitled to an effective transition to post-school instruction, community commitment, employment opportunities, and living independently. They may require assistance from educators and parents in order to make that transition as successful as possible (Povenmire-Kirk et al., 2017). In the course of recent decades,…

The future of individual and societal progress is largely dependent on students' success following completion of K-12 education. For most traditionally aged students, this entails a journey into higher education at colleges and universities. This transition is rife with pitfalls that may lead students to stop out, fail out, or make inadequate…

This dissertation research is an exploratory multiple-case study of special education transition program structures in three virtual public charter schools in a southern state in the United States. Virtual public charter schools are extensions of public school systems or districts that are required to comply with state and federal-mandated special…