Employee retention is an ongoing challenge for higher education student affairs professionals, who account for the largest employee group across the higher education workforce. Job satisfaction and organizational commitment have previously been identified as correlated with college and university employees' decision to stay or vacate their…

This study adopts an equity-driven lens to focus on how international education serves to reproduce long-standing racial and economic hierarchies through a critical exploration of which students participate in two international education experiences: at-home internationalized coursework and study abroad. Drawing from student demographic data…

The purpose of this content analysis study was to describe the way international student populations were conceptualized on the websites of 2-year public colleges in Texas. This inquiry replicated the Ford and Cate (2020) study, "The Discursive Construction of International Students in the USA: Prestige, Diversity, and Economic Gain."…

There is a steady decline in Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) graduation rates, especially from two-year institutions. These institutions have been an integral part of U.S. higher education system, and access for underrepresented groups has been a top priority in recent decades with the passing of specific legislation. Despite growing efforts to…

The purpose of this study was to examine student experiences from Mid-Atlantic community colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic and the related impact on their perceived stress levels and academic performance. Adopting a cross-sectional survey research approach, this study aimed to critically examine how students navigated their academic lives…

Despite much effort by engineering education scholarships to make engineering more inclusive, women are still underrepresented in engineering. Women earn less than 30% of the bachelor's degrees in engineering. However, when we examine the intersectionality between gender and race/ethnicity, the lack of representation in certain groups of women…

This quantitative study examined the comparative factors of academic success between ECHS students (ECHS) and non-ECHS traditional college students, and utilized secondary data from National Student Clearinghouse and an East Texas community college. The enrollment of students in ECHS and non-ECHS traditional college students guided the study. The…

The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry is to understand the experiences of formerly incarcerated Black male students who attend a Northeast urban community college and the unique barriers they encounter while navigating the institution. The United States imprisons more people than any country in the world, and Black men are…

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, the federal government responded by expanding the country's safety-net programs, including through stimulus payments. There were also significant federal policy changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest food assistance program in the United States. Benefit amounts were increased,…

Leveraging rich data on the universe of Texas high school graduates, we estimate how the relationship between geographic access to public two- and four-year postsecondary institutions and postsecondary outcomes varies across race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We find that students are sensitive to the distance they must travel to access…

With the need to increase Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) graduates, higher education institutions need to identify and improve ways to increase underrepresented STEM student retention rates. Cypress College in Southern California implemented a program called STEM[superscript 2] (Strengthen Transfer Education and…

Community colleges have historically faced significant challenges in retaining students, particularly from underserved populations. While extracurricular activities like athletics have been shown to enhance student engagement and persistence, the specific impact of athletic participation on retention and sense of belonging among diverse student…

The current study examined hindering factors of 2-year community college students' vertical transfer to 4-year colleges. Rational choice theory guided the study and provided the scope of the problem, which is community college students' apprehension about vertically transferring to 4-year colleges. A quantitative Likert-scale survey, which…

Longstanding disparities in four-year transfer rates for Black/African American and Latinx/Hispanic community college students, relative to their Asian and white peers, raise important equity questions about the vertical transfer function in the U.S. higher education system. Using data from one of the nation's largest and most racially and…

Nursing educators are challenged to find strategies that will develop critical thinking and clinical judgment abilities in students. As technology has advanced, the use of virtual simulation platforms has increased in use in nursing courses. This study examined the effect of a pilot virtual simulation intervention on critical thinking and clinical…