During the past several years, the federal and state governments have adopted a college completion agenda using graduation rates as evidence of student success. With the demand for increased accountability on colleges and universities to ensure student success, institutions of higher education are searching for more effective ways to help students…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the moderating effects of economic advantage and race/ethnicity on graduation rates during COVID-19. Data collected from the Tennessee Department of Education's Graduation Cohort Rates was examined for a numerical relationship between the variable of race/ethnicity with…

For the purposes of this study, criteria for non-traditional students were: adults ages 25 and older, race/ethnicity, gender, entry date or transfer to a community college in Middle Tennessee during fall 2015 through summer 2021, and Pell/Grant eligibility. The problem is that non-traditional students have lower completions than traditional…

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to explore the relationship between the implementation of the Tennessee Promise scholarship program and the two-year Tennessee community college retention rates and graduation rates of first-time, full-time Tennessee students from rural Appalachian counties. Results from this study may…

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to determine whether there were significant differences in fall-to-fall retention and graduation rates, between first-time, full-time students who engaged in at least one early post-secondary opportunity (EPSO) while in high school and those who did not. Archival data for…

This study assesses the impact of cognitive and noncognitive pre-characteristics on college graduation in Tennessee. The State of Tennessee has applied multiple campus-based interventions at the Tennessee Board of Regents and the University System of Tennessee to increase graduation rates. This study is driven by three concepts and investigated by…

Whole-school reforms have received widespread attention, but a critical limitation of the current literature is the lack of evidence around whether these extensive and costly interventions improve students' long-term outcomes after they leave reform schools. Leveraging Tennessee's statewide turnaround reforms, we use difference-in-differences…

This study was used to investigate the differences in asynchronous, bisynchronous, and hybrid learning environments in student achievement in online schools. Utilizing quantitative data analysis, the research examines student growth data, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and ACT scores across these modalities. The research holds significant…

This study examined the connection of faculty status and impacts on student success metrics and performance-based funding outcomes. While the topics of adjunct faculty and performance-based funding are well documented in the available literature, there does not seem to be a study that connects the two issues to determine if faculty status impacts…

While students have enrolled in college at increased rates since 1996, graduation rates have remained mostly stagnant (NCES, 2022). First-generation Appalachian students, specifically, had lower college completion rates but higher college enrollment rates than their peers (ARC, 2018). Since 2007, researchers have supported the use of non-cognitive…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of academically successful Foster Care Alumni (FCAs) in Tennessee who enrolled in postsecondary education, either a trade school, a two-year college, or a four-year university, and graduated from that postsecondary institution. Youth in foster care faced barriers to their education in K-12…

State higher education governing agencies in the United States are uniquely positioned between the state government and public postsecondary sector. However, few studies have considered how this organizational characteristic influences these agencies' role in the policy process. The current study seeks to contribute to this gap in the literature…

This study aimed to investigate the relationships, if any, between Ready to Graduate indicator, average ACT scores, chronic absenteeism rates, and school counselor to student ratios in Tennessee's four urban counties surrounding Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville, Tennessee. Only eight of Tennessee's 95 counties have a population that…

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to evaluate the relationships between completion of high school dual enrollment courses and subsequent success of first-time, full-time community college students as measured by completion of an associate degree and time to completion of the degree. In addition to comparing dual and…

Tennessee's future will be determined by the number of post-secondary credentials of its residents to support economic development. Additionally, Tennesseans must earn living wages to support their livelihoods. Finally, the psychological development of Tennesseans must be supported, which allows individuals to reach their fullest potential. While…