The ACPA/NASPA (2015) Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators (PCASAE) were intended to educate students and professionals as whole individuals while providing guidelines for specific knowledge areas and expected skill sets. They can be used for self-assessment, professional development, and staff training. Student affairs…

The creation and implementation of holistic educational experiences is invaluable for optimal student and staff development and retention in an institution of higher education. This dissertation involves a participatory action research on one such mechanism: mentorship. This study on mentorship leverages Tinto's (1975-2014) theoretical frameworks…

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) professionals work to support low-income and first-generation college students prepare for, enroll in, and complete college. However, while other student affairs practitioners often take part in extensive formalized training, EOP professionals typically do not. This action research study sought to address this…

Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These…

With a decade-long stagnant 34% Black male college graduation rate, there was little understanding of how and why Black male initiatives, designed to improve Black male persistence and graduation in 4-year colleges, affected retention and graduation-related behaviors, as understood by the Black male participants in such initiatives. This…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the mediating role of students' knowledge of sustainable development (SD) in the relationship between green campus initiatives by higher education institutions (HEIs) and student proactivity. Design/methodology/approach: The research, with a quantitative approach, was carried out with students linked to HEIs…

With community colleges struggling with the completion rates of their students, it is important to understand the social and academic integration of community college students and their relationships to retention and completion. Research focuses on the critical role of internal college actors such as faculty, staff, and students in these…

Given the proliferation of college promise programs and the increasing popularity of last-dollar designs, we explore changes to states' financial aid resource environments following the adoption of two of the largest and longest-operating state programs: Tennessee Promise and Oregon Promise. We leverage descriptive tools and a causal-inference…

This study aims to elucidate the policy's rationale-building for the inclusion of English-medium degree programmes in Japanese higher education. The concept of 'externalisation' is employed as the lens to explore the degree to which international references are used to build consensus among multiple government councils with different interests.…

Strategic partnerships between community-based college success programs and higher education institutions can play a critical role in students' degree completion and workforce readiness. This paper describes partnerships between four community-based organizations and higher education institutions based on interviews with staff directly involved.…

This study examined factors influencing veterans' postsecondary institutional choices. Individual interviews were conducted with 30 veterans separating from military service and twelve military education officials and counselors. Results indicated most veterans transitioning from the military who aspire to enroll in postsecondary education intend…

Social work programs have progressed in ensuring equal access for qualified students with disabilities. Yet, schools of social work and their faculty have often struggled to fully include and comfortably balance the rights of students with disabilities and the gate-keeping role that rests with them to ensure that trained social workers are…

Writing about art is a complex task that differs considerably from other forms of writing because it requires detailed understanding and application of certain theoretical frameworks for visual analysis. This has proven to be a major challenge amongst university and college students in Nigeria who grapple with interpreting visuals into text. The…

This qualitative study was designed to explore the programs, policies, and initiatives at Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that contribute to the upward economic mobility of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. While general knowledge surrounding IHEs performance in graduating students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds into…

The U.S. college-going population has diversified significantly in the past five decades. That fact, combined with a large community college capacity, an increased need for highly skilled workers, and the knowledge that higher education means social and economic mobility, makes improving student success at community colleges essential. All 116…