This case study examines how students navigate transfer from a community college to a four-year institution through the context of a transfer seminar course. Research has shown that these courses can be relevant support for students in their first semester post-transfer. Yet, no research has qualitatively examined student adjustment through a…

A dearth of literature exists on first-year transfer student interventions, which makes it difficult to determine whether there are transfer student subgroups that struggle more than others. This study used a latent class analysis to examine whether meaningful subgroups of transfer students emerged based on their response patterns to measures of…

The community college (CCcc) setting has become increasingly important in education; yet, graduation rates are low (20%) compared 4-year colleges (69%). Researchers have focused on factors that predict college students' retention and graduation. Measures of students' academic, social, and personal-emotional adjustment to colleges have been found…

When examined more thoroughly, the complexities created by the discrepancies between admission and graduation of African American students point to the impact of their psychological orientation to community college. It simultaneously highlights the degree of their mainstream orientation experience and its impact on their perceptions of…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify demographic variables and community college experiences that influence the academic and social adjustment process of adult vertical transfer students at the university. Data collected on adult vertical transfer student demographic information and community college experiences were examined in…

The United States is experiencing a dire need for individuals who possess training and expertise in areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). With over half of the nation's students entering university environments via community colleges coupled with a large portion of this population majoring in STEM areas, the successful…

Social capital, the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation (Stanton-Salazar, 2001), is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of low-income adolescents who are the first in their families to attend college. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can help students…

Nursing is facing a critical shortage and retention of nursing students is of paramount importance. Much research has been completed related to retention in nursing education and student success, but there is very little in current literature related to issues associated with the transition from high school to associate degree nursing (ADN)…

The first year of college constitutes a time of substantial transition for incoming students. Clearly, students vary greatly in their ability to cope with and adjust to these new challenges, and some students face far more challenges than others. A potentially important resource for successfully accomplishing this life transition is positive…

This sequential mixed method study (Creswell, 2003) compared the adjustment process of community college transfer students who began in the fall to those who began mid-year, beginning with a quantitative phase and extending to a qualitative phase of data collection in the fall semester and repeating this same sequence of data gathering with…

The end of high school marks the time when the most number of individuals will end their participation playing sports at a competitive level. For those pursuing higher education, it has been viewed as a stressful experience for many freshmen. Former high school athletes that enter college as "students" and not…

This study investigated the effects of locus of control and other predictors on personal-emotional and social adjustment to community college in English-language-learner students. Results indicated that locus of control was significantly associated with both social adjustment and personal-emotional adjustment. Students with more external locus of…