Despite extensive efforts to increase the number of undergraduates majoring and persisting in science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) fields, there is surprisingly little understanding of recent patterns of switching from these majors to those in other fields of study. In addition, little is known about whether the racial, class, and…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been studied consistently as a single institutional group. However, at least ostensibly, HBCUs are relatively heterogeneous. Consequently, we evaluated the homogeneity of three educational outcomes that have been recognized as potentially distinguishing features of HBCUs (i.e., STEM major,…

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a complex problem that continues to persist at the postsecondary level, particularly in computer science and engineering fields. This dissertation explored the pre-college and college level factors that influenced undergraduate women's persistence in…

For many underrepresented minority students, the path to the baccalaureate degree begins with initial enrollment at a community college. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of students interested in transferring actually do transfer to a 4-year institution. Of these transfers, few graduate with a baccalaureate degree within 6 years of initial…

Developmental education has been cited as one of the most difficult issues facing community colleges. Despite the controversy and changes to educational policy regarding developmental education, there is a notable dearth of rigorous research measuring the causal effect of remediation on community college student outcomes. The present study uses…

There are numerous differences and similarities between community colleges and proprietary schools. Demographically, both institutional types serve high proportions of low-income and students of color. This study examines minority male (including African American, Hispanic, and Native American) satisfaction outcomes between institutional types.…