The industry of higher education has consistently grappled with the issue of student persistence and institutional retention efforts due to the failure to improve student completion rates. Nationwide, only four out of every ten students graduate. According to the Completions Report by the National Center for Education Statistics, between 2006 and…

This study examined retention and First-Year GPA for all FTIC students, Black students, and Black Pell-eligible students at the UOTSE as a function of participation in a First-Year Seminar Course. A statistically significant relationship was determined to exist between First-year GPA and participation in the FYS course. For retention, participants…

Recognizing the changing demographics of students applying to college coupled with Trinity University's responsibility to help our students succeed, we have created a Summer Bridge program that focuses on first-generation, underrepresented students (FGUS). Trinity's Summer Bridge program has been a success--both in terms of student performance and…

Colleges and universities are paying increasing attention to students' transition into post-secondary education, including the provision of support to freshmen through structured First-Year Experiences (FYEs). Although low- and-moderate-income students are participating in post-secondary education at increased rates, their performance remains…

This article describes the Community Grant Writing Project (CGWP), a flexible service-learning framework designed for use in writing-intensive courses. The CGWP incorporates best-practice recommendations from the service-learning literature and addresses recent challenges identified for successful service-learning partnerships. In the CGWP,…