Organized sports are among the most common youth activities in the United States, and athletic coaches can often become important mentors to their players. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the characteristics of youth who form mentoring relationships with coaches and whether such relationships are associated with later academic outcomes.…

Despite increases in the high school graduation rate in the United States, large disparities persist for English learners (ELs). These disparities are particularly important given that ELs are the fastest growing segment of the United States public school population. EL youth, though, are not a homogeneous population. Instead, EL youth speak many…

High School graduation rates are key indicators of accountability for high schools and school districts in Oregon. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) implemented the cohort method of calculating graduation rates. The cohort method identifies the year the student entered high school for the first time…

This resource provides data on reporting requirements determined by state statute. Only statutorily created requirements are included. In this resource, the following categories are used: (1) student populations (e.g., recent high school graduates, total number or percentage of students enrolled in developmental courses); (2) student…

Despite advances made in broadening access to higher education, some evidence suggests that college completion rates have actually declined over time, and attainment gaps stemming from race/ethnicity and socioeconomic background have remained stubbornly persistent (Bound, Lovenheim, & Turner, 2010; National Center for Education Statistics,…

This paper presents a three-manuscript dissertation exploring the unmet needs for academic support of TRIO-eligible college students on the Goodman Campus of Holmes Community College (HCC) in Mississippi. The quantitative study uses descriptive and comparative statistic techniques to analyze two data sets, including the academic success of…

Mentoring in higher education and especially at the level of doctoral work is critical for mentees to feel supported during this arduous journey. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study investigated the mentoring experiences of Black female doctoral students in distributed doctoral programs and its effects on degree completion, efficacy,…

Latinx males have the lowest college degree attainment compared to all other male ethnic groups (PEW Research Center, 2017). While the literature identifies the barriers and challenges Latinx males experience accessing and succeeding in college, these students possess assets and cultural knowledge (Yosso, 2005) that can help them overcome barriers…

African American men's graduation rates from institutions of higher education are among the lowest of any demographic group in the United States. I interviewed African American men who shared their narratives on how they lived out their manhood on a mid-western public regional four-year university campus. The purpose of the study was to garner…

Online courses provide flexible learning opportunities, but research suggests that students may learn less and persist at lower rates compared to face-to-face settings. However, few research studies have investigated more distal effects of online education. In this study we analyzed six years of institutional data for three cohorts of students in…

University administrators, boards of trustees, and state and federal legislators spend significant time and effort focused on retention and graduation rates at American colleges and universities. The California State University (CSU) is no exception with its systemwide focus on Graduation Initiative 2025 which includes a commitment to eliminate…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate the relationship between federal Pell Grant status, campus diversity statistics, and their influence on graduation rates within higher education. This study focuses on higher education institutions in the state of Texas and adopts a quantitative design that utilizes a regression analysis to…

This paper estimates the long-run impacts of banning affirmative action on men and women from under-represented minority (URM) racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Using data from the US Census and American Community Survey, we use a difference-in-differences framework to compare the college degree completion, graduate degree completion,…

Many community college students majoring in education plan to transfer to four-year institutions, but they are hampered when course credits do not transfer. This disproportionately impacts low-income students, contributing to low graduation rates. A New York State community college professor and a four-year college professor collaborated to…

To increase persistence, many universities provide first-year seminars (FYS) for entering students. Although there have been consistent positive outcomes for FYS participants, many times, the research is based on short-term outcomes, or less rigorous analysis. This study assessed short- and long-term outcomes for Hispanic (n = 456) and Hispanic…