This study explores upper-division students' research competencies, dispositions, challenges, and developments through focus group interviews complemented by surveys, including local responses to the Experiences with Information Literacy topical module from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). These undergraduates, apprenticing as…

Students who feel accepted, valued, and connected to their institution have a more developed sense of belonging. Sense of belonging can be strengthened by building relationships on campus through a variety of ways such as friendships, mentorships, and campus activities. This allows students to feel a connection with faculty and peers. A strong…

As the U.S. and student populations continue to diversify, examining the relationships between college coursework and the students' perceptions of institutional support of diversity in conjunction with learning outcomes is crucial. Higher education's goal is to prepare students for life post-graduation, including being active participants in our…

Purpose: Faculty-in-Residence (FIR) programs are implemented based on research that shows positive effects on student success when students interact with faculty outside of the classroom. However, most research is limited by cross-sectional studies of only students and does not look at the Faculty-in-Residence programs from a holistic perspective…

Schools are an essential setting for mental health supports and services for students. To support student well-being, schools engage in universal mental health screening to identify students in need of support and to provide surveillance data for district-wide or state-wide policy changes. Mental health data have been collected via anonymous and…

Student participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate research experiences has received national emphasis. The undergraduate research model used at a comprehensive public university supported faculty-mentored student projects across STEM and all disciplines. Between 2016 and 2019, 356 undergraduate…

Prior work has shown that students' self-reported levels on social-emotional measures predict achievement levels and gains, but we have little evidence on whether within-student changes in self-reports on social-emotional surveys are predictive of changes in theoretically related academic and behavioral outcomes. We use large-scale data from the…

The adult learner is often defined by age (25 years or older) as an easy way to distinguish this group from students who head to college straight out of high school. But age is insufficient as a defining factor. The growing popularity of other terms like nontraditional student--and more recently, terms like post-traditional student or today's…

Inherent challenges affect first-generation students' persistence from as early as the first college year. Using cultural capital as a guide, this study is unique in that it investigates the contribution of first-year policies and programs to the success of first-generation students in 57 bachelor's degree-granting institutions across five states…

While family engagement has always been an important component for supporting student learning in school, the abrupt switch to distance learning in March has dramatically changed the role of parents and other at-home care-providers to that of teacher, tutor, counselor, and technology coach. The transition to distance learning has been particularly…

Research on retention in the 4-H youth development program has consistently shown that one of the primary indicators for youths' dropping out of 4-H is being a first-year member. Extension 4-H professionals from California, Idaho, Wyoming, and New Jersey formed a team to study this issue. Our team surveyed first-year members and their…

College students who are parents or caregivers of dependent children make up more than one in five U.S. undergraduates. Colleges need basic information about the experiences and outcomes of the student parents they serve, since these students face distinct challenges, including high rates of economic insecurity and significant time and caregiving…

The purpose of this research study was to explore with what impact evening media use interfered with either schoolwork and/or sufficient healthy sleep. In addition, the study examined with what impact there may be a compromise in students' ability or aptitude for positive academic success, related to either lack of sleep or electronic media use.…

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined correlations between physical activity and anthropometrics as well as sleep quality and anthropometrics. Participants College students (n = 85) with average age 25.6 ± 5.4 years. Methods Participants received full-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scans and completed validated surveys: Habitual…

All students should feel safe and included in educational contexts. Mission and values statements typically reflect this sentiment, but national, state, and local surveys indicate that some student groups continue to experience marginalization. Through these surveys, LGBTQIA+ students report that they perceive the school environment to be hostile.…