The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effect that course format had on student success rates and withdrawal rates at an Alabama community college from 2012 to 2014. The goal was to determine if students who were enrolled in online, hybrid, or face-to-face developmental courses were more or less likely to withdraw from those…

This paper examines the graduation rates between 2000 and 2015 of United States colleges and universities at the national, state, and institutional levels. This research focuses on two-year and four-year programs. Rates are investigated longitudinally along with variables that distinguish between public/private institutions, percentages of…

Active instructional approaches have been demonstrated to result in greater student achievement, prompting institutions to transition to more active learning environments. However, little work has been conducted to specifically measure the retention of knowledge gained. The purpose of the research presented here was to test assumptions regarding…

Disparities exist among Latinos in educational attainment. These disparities are magnified when comparing their access, persistence, and degree attainment to their Caucasian and Asian American counterparts. The purpose of this quantitative study is to discover the impact of cultural competence among academic advising professionals as it relates to…

The introduction of SB-1440 in 2010, also known as the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, appeared to be an opportunity for California educators and policy makers to address the achievement gap among community college students with the introduction of the streamlined associate degree for transfer (ADT) (Padilla, 2010). If implemented…

An experiment was conducted to investigate methods that enable college students to learn the meaning of unknown words as they read discipline-specific academic text. Forty-one college students read specific passages aloud during three sessions. Participants were randomly assigned to three vocabulary learning interventions or a control condition.…

Beginning in 2013 and spanning four research articles, we have implemented an empirical analysis protocol for honors education that is rooted in demography (Scott; Scott and Smith; Smith and Scott "Growth"; Smith and Scott, "Demography"). The goal of this protocol is to describe the structure and distribution of the honors…

Previously, we analyzed the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation in terms of a resources-based model that allows for clustering of questions so as to provide useful information on how students correctly or incorrectly reason about physics. In this paper, we apply model analysis to show that the associated model plots provide more information…

Not beginning college at a four-year institution has been demonstrated as one key obstacle to equitable rates of bachelor's degree attainment among Hispanic individuals in the United States. Drawing on nationally representative longitudinal data and social capital theory, this research investigates the process of four-year college enrollment among…

The study investigated motivational differences and higher education outcomes between limited English proficiency (LEP) Hispanic students compared with non-LEP Hispanic students. With a sample of 668 Hispanic community college students, we measured various forms of achievement motivation informed by self-determination theory, grade point average…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of developmental math, English, and reading courses by evaluating the success of students in the corresponding college-level math, English, and reading course. This study analyzed select student characteristics (sex, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status) or student developmental education status as predictors…

Higher education research highlights the difficulties students face when transitioning from a junior college to a traditional university. This study explored a gap between junior vs. traditional university students' academic self-efficacy beliefs. This study also controlled for the effects of the student role-identity and academic performance on…

Introductory psychology students at a technical college, 2-year community college, and a regional university rated how important textbook chapters or topics were to them now and in the future and how interesting they were. Importance and interest ratings were highly correlated, and the whole course was rated of greater importance and interest than…

Using 1,400 survey responses collected from two large urban community college systems in Texas, this study examined how students' financial habits, stress, and well-being influenced their enrollment behaviors. Working students, compared to their nonworking peers, reported significantly lower levels of overall financial well-being. After…

This dissertation is a policy evaluation of the HOPE Grant Program in the state of Georgia. It examines if the HOPE Grant policy change related to the shifts in enrollment and financial aid awards at two-year technical colleges in Georgia. It particularly focuses on the FY2011 policy change where the GPA was raised from a 2.0 to a 3.0 as a…