This manuscript focuses on student veterans' best option to start their post-high-school education: attending community colleges. It illustrates this point using the story of the author, a US Army combat veteran who began his career at a community college, and other veterans who also began their college careers at the community college. Using…

While fostering a sense of belonging among university students is an objective of many universities, the landscape of belonging is complex and multifaceted. It is worthy of deeper interrogation, particularly for "non-traditional" students. This article draws on data from a national mixed-methods study that explored proactive ways of…

The problem investigated by this study is the low completion rates of nontraditional undergraduate adult students attending a 4-year university located in the West coast region of the United States. In 2020, the program completion rate was less than 44% at the study site and 45.8% for nontraditional undergraduate adult students nationally. The…

This article examines the transition of adult learners from adult general education to a college program. The ethnographic inquiry methodology used for this research relies on Long's theoretical model which postulates three different levels of dimensions in adult education (1989) and on Bélanger's lifelong learning model (2011). On this…

The purpose of this study was to examine the individual perspectives and experiences of adult college students and their life contexts, resources, and demands experienced as they engage in the college environment and explore how adult college students utilize developmental regulation strategies to overcome goal conflict and achieve success while…

This study sought to identify the support needed by returning baby boomers to succeed in online master's programs at a Midwest institution. Tinto's (1975, 1987, 1993) theory on social and academic integration, Kember's (1989) model of dropout distance education, Bean and Metzner's (1985) student attrition model, and Park's (2007) model for adult…

Little is known about the higher education experiences of gay and sexual minority male veterans. This study utilizes a general qualitative design to explore these experiences. Using Phillips and Lincoln's (2017) Veteran Critical Theory as a theoretical framework, I explore the supports and barriers that gay and sexual minority male veterans…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Student Veterans as they pursue a post-secondary degree. The primary focus of the study was threefold: first, to explore the struggles Student Veterans face while pursuing a post-secondary degree, secondly, to explore the positive and negative experiences Student Veterans encounter while…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore single-mother college students' perceptions of their college-related experiences and to learn about campus services related to these experiences that could help them during their college journey. Ten single mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Five themes emerged…

For more than 25 years, thousands of colleges and universities have used the Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys to assess their students, strengthen the student experience, increase student success and completion, and prioritize campus planning initiatives. The surveys are valued so highly because they reveal where…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications for adults of learning in a residential context and whether the residential aspect intensifies the learning process, and can lead to enhanced personal transformation, moving beyond professional skills and training for employability. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports on…

The scope of this study examines the experiences of African American (AA) Black males as they navigate the college environment in the pursuit of a bachelor's degree. The main research questions asked: What is the campus climate of a selected CSU campus that has a critical mass of AA/Black males as they navigate the college environment in the…

Ten years ago when Ruffalo Noel Levitz (RNL) published its annual study of freshman motivations, those students were entering college in the shadow of the worst recession since the Great Depression. That report, which examined attitudes of students from 2009, provided insight into their motivations, attitudes, and needs in the midst of a very…

Higher education has seen significant changes in the student experience in the past 10 years. For the past decade, everything from student attitudes about college to the technology they use every day has impacted their satisfaction with, and perception of, the college experience. This report is a comparison of student satisfaction, separated by 10…

As entering students begin their college careers, they have been exposed to many mixed messages about whether college is "worth it"--from the media and public figures, to parents, to peers. There have also been significant changes in demographics, economics, college preparedness, and other key areas that may be influencing how freshmen…