This dissertation investigates the factors influencing the matriculation trends of former College Credit Plus (CCP) participants to host institutions in Ohio, utilizing Perna's (2006) College Choice Model as a framework. The study examines variables such as course modality, geographical proximity to the host institution, course load, and grade…

Online learning continues be the largest growth sector in higher education (IPEDS, 2019), however, students enrolled in fully online programs are retained at a lower rate than students enrolled in traditional face to face programs. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study is to determine if online students who participate in an online…

For decades, college tuition costs have been skyrocketing, yet state financial aid has failed to meet the increasing economic needs of college students -- leaving many young people with the choice of bridging the financial gap by taking out student loans or not attending college at all. This pressing issue of rising college tuition is not just a…

Problem: Higher education serves many stakeholders including students, parents, faculty, staff, university administrators, and other contributors. Those stakeholders are all linked with one purpose: the success of the student. That success or failure is most commonly measured by achievement through grade point average (GPA). The academic demands…

This study used self-determination theory (SDT) to investigate the motivations for selecting a major among mass communication and media majors at 18 colleges and universities across the United States. Specifically, 669 mass communication majors were queried on their intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for choosing a major, their degree of major…

Due to rising costs and declining affordability, many students have to work while attending college. The federal government takes a major role in subsidizing the wages of college students and spent over $1 billion on the Work-Study program in 2010-11 (College Board, 2011), yet little is known about how working during the school year impacts…

This article exploits a natural experiment to estimate the effects of need-based aid policies on first-year college persistence rates. In fall 2006, Ohio abruptly adopted a new state financial aid policy that was significantly more generous than the previous plan. Using student-level data and very narrowly defined sets of students, I estimate a…

High failure rates in introductory college science courses, including anatomy and physiology, are common at institutions across the country, and determining the specific factors that contribute to this problem is challenging. To identify students at risk for failure in introductory physiology courses at our open-enrollment institution, an online…

Much of the research on the use of simulations in the political science classroom focuses on how simulations model different events in the real world, including political campaigns, international diplomacy, and legislative bargaining. In the case of American Politics, many simulations focus on the behavior of Congress and the legislative process,…

Writing reflections is recommended for enhancing retention and transfer of learned material. The benefits of student reflections have been well documented, but the methods for collecting and assessing reflections can be difficult. This study presents the development and analysis of a new, straightforward rubric for assessing depth of student…

This research examines the short term success of a postsecondary federal financial aid program, the SMART Grant, designed to increase this stock of scientific human capital. An exploration of the success of this program provides the opportunity to address two critically important research questions. Do financial incentives encourage students to…

Male and female African-American college students (n = 131) at a large urban predominately White publicly funded institution participated in a survey measuring the effect of a multitude of psychosocial constructs and factors on grade point average (GPA). Part One of the study's analysis focused on three of the six total constructs examined within…

This mixed-methods case study examined the effectiveness of a new first-year experience (FYE) curriculum for selected Choose Ohio First Scholars in the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) and compared it with the effectiveness of the traditional FYE curriculum in CAHS. The quantitative phase of the study involved the collection and analysis…

Many graduate TESOL programs grapple with whether to admit applicants who fall short of meeting established admission criteria yet who show promise as future TESOL professionals. This study examined key characteristics affecting the success of candidates admitted conditionally to graduate TESOL programs. Participants were 21 students who had been…

Low-income students are at particular risk of not persisting to earn a certificate or degree, often because of competing priorities, financial pressures, and inadequate preparation for college. One form of financial assistance designed explicitly to reward students' academic success is a performance-based scholarship, paid contingent on attaining…