In 2020, the US was consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial justice protests. California was further compounded by a devastating fall wildfire season. Negative effects related to these events have been documented in research. Objective: This study sought to expand the literature by exploring areas of personal growth and development among…

Through a phenomenological approach, this study aims to identify the developmental experiences of transfer students as they moved in, through, and out of a university. The research techniques used in this study include focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Findings are derived from the narratives and experiences of seven transfer students…

This study examined the experiences of students with disabilities transitioning from high school to the post-secondary institution. Participants were seven successful students enrolled in their second year at a Southern California community college and two resource specialists who worked closely with them. A case study was determined to be the…

Background/Context: Sociologists of education have studied how community colleges' institutional authorities and organizational barriers stratify students' postsecondary aspirations. Notions of how students might diverge in their pursuits are less understood. This study builds on imagined futures and postsecondary aspiration literature to…

First-year students enrolling into higher education institutions experience multiple transitions requiring the support of student success programs. Students who enter college undecided about a major face additional hurdles to their success and may experience low academic self-efficacy as a result. A strengths-based approach to assisting these…

This qualitative study assesses the influence of a college-level intervention program on its student participants' self-efficacy. Self-efficacy theory provides an essential foundational lens for this study as it provides the necessary sources to broaden an intervention program's plans from students' individualized experiences. Study participants…

Educators and student affairs professionals are responding to the call for internationalizing education to keep pace with social, political, and economic globalization. This article provides a qualitative description of the transformation and globalization of an undergraduate college. Successful implementation of a college-wide international…

Within a traditional organizational structure in higher education, academic and student affairs divisions may not be collaborating well, and the lack of such collaboration may be impacting the students' holistic experiences. Students' academic and personal development depends not only on the quality of the curriculum and classroom instruction, but…

Expanded learning time and opportunities (ELTO) requires a committed school leader who is willing to partner with community-based organizations in order to provide strong academic and enrichment daily experiences for his or her students. This article examines four such leaders and the diverse approaches they took to implement ELTO in their…

A preservice teacher learning community at California Polytechnic University was created to guide adult learners in being able to effectively teach diverse learners. From the spring quarter of 2008 to 2009, these preservice teachers engaged in working with each other to write their own lesson plans and teach mathematics and literacy to English…

This study addressed two questions: (a) Do different forms of campus racial diversity contribute uniquely to students' learning and educational experiences when they are simultaneously tested utilizing multilevel modeling? (b) Does a campus where students take greater advantage of those diversity opportunities have independent positive effects on…

This study compared the outcomes and experiences of 275 older and 442 younger liberal arts students who had transferred from California community colleges to a research I California university in fall 1994 and spring 1995. The study's conceptual perspective was that of "quality of effort," which considers both what the institution offers…

An overview of the Far West Laboratory (FWL) version of Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) is presented to acquaint potential adopters with the distinctive features, key roles, learning procedures of the Far West model, and its adaptability to local needs. (Core areas of the FWL-EBCE in which all students are expected to progress are career…