Many institutions were forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to change admissions policies as a response to logistical challenges around testing. However, even as logistical challenges have resolved, pandemic-era changes to higher education testing policies which reduced or eliminated testing requirements have remained in place in many schools. Now,…

It is not known if Registration Time (early or late) or if Student Term (first-time or continuing) have a main or interaction effect on Student Belonging. The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study is to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in Student Belonging between Registration Time, Student Term and the…

Students in developmental math classes have been documented to struggle with arithmetic. This dissertation research was a response to the calls in the literature to qualitatively understand what students are learning in a classroom. Number sequences have been well researched to document the connection of student understanding of math in elementary…

Low-income students are underrepresented at selective colleges. Most evaluative criteria used by admissions officers are correlated with income, including test scores and performance in high school. Inspired in part by the current state of the use of testing in college admissions, this study examines how the quality of colleges attended by…

In higher education institutions (HEIs), online course delivery has been steadily increasing over the past couple of decades. However, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly accelerated this trend with some HEIs being better prepared than others. This case study explores how an open admission, regional university in the United States developed a robust…

The role of intrusive advising in the persistence of community college students has not been well-studied even though intrusive advising has been touted as a practice to improve retention in U.S. community colleges. Student retention is important for sustaining community colleges that serve as open admissions institutions because they are…

Graduate admissions processes have undergone historic and unprecedented shifts in the COVID-19 era with the rapid expansion of test-optional admissions policies and holistic review practices. Given the early testing center closures and general uncertainties, the COVID-19 crisis led many schools to adopt test-optional graduate admissions policies,…

Federal and state policies affecting higher education, like the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1832, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Higher Education Act of 1965 have posited change regarding the proliferation of diversity and expansion of access (Thelin, 2011). I analyzed BOT policies for enrollment and conducted a socio-diagnostic CDA on the…

The connections we establish in college are transformative and redirect our lives to make lasting impacts on others around us and in the world. Student affairs and academic support services can make the difference in whether students drop out, fail academically or succeed in their college and career aspirations and realize a personal vision for…

This study addresses the persistent challenge of student retention in higher education by investigating the often-neglected role of staff in shaping student belonging and success, with a specific focus on open-enrollment, dual-mission institutions in Utah. Recognizing the complexities introduced by shifting student demographics and the growth of…

For many open-enrolled higher education institutions, including community colleges, enrollment is dropping each semester creating significant financial challenges. While much research literature focuses on four-year colleges, little is known about the students who seek to enroll at community colleges. What is known is often evaluated using college…

This action research study aimed to explore the reasons for low course completion and retention rates for students who take developmental English courses at an open-enrollment private university in New England and develop support methods that address the reasons for these low rates. The problem of low course completion rates and retention rates…

Non-traditional students who are in their first year of college in online open-enrollment institutions have high drop-out rates. These students tend to benefit the most from student engagement. This qualitative study examined the success of a student-engagement based retention initiative known as the lab instructor model from the student…

Two-year state and community colleges provide convenient and affordable educational opportunities with open admissions policies, which make them "value-added institutions that are uniquely different than traditional colleges and universities" (Grubbs, 2020, p. 205). Students across the nation enroll in 2-year colleges to pursue their…

One frequently cited yet understudied channel through which funding levels impact college students is course availability--colleges are often forced to respond to budgetary pressure by reducing course offerings. We provide the first causal evidence on this mechanism at a community college, using administrative course registration data and a novel…