In this study, we identified factors influencing completion rates (graduation) of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). We used hierarchical, logistic, and linear regression models to analyze the data and found significant predictor variable interactions across various underrepresented versus…

Background: Prior studies suggest that Federal Work-Study (FWS) participation is positively associated with student learning, persistence, and academic achievement at four-year institutions. Limited research, however, has evaluated whether FWS participation improves academic success among students attending community colleges. Purpose and Research…

With a steady increase of virtual learning courses taught throughout K-12 education, limited empirical research exists to allow educational leaders and policy makers the ability to accurately identify student demographic characteristics that correlate to the acquisition of virtual course credit (Barbour, 2009). The purpose of this quantitative…

Elementary school teachers' math anxiety has been found to play a role in their students' math achievement. The current study addresses the role of teacher math anxiety on ninth-grade students' math achievement and the mediating factors underlying this relationship. Using data from the National Mindset Study, we find that higher teacher math…

Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) face a multifaceted set of challenges in determining how to maintain their effectiveness in building student competencies and encouraging their academic success. To understand the importance of noncognitive skills on fostering such success, this study reports on efforts at three HSIs to make meaningful use of…

Community colleges have started to support students' basic needs in multiple ways. Campus-based hubs offering services like public benefits access, emergency aid, food pantries and case management have become increasingly popular. However, limited evidence exists on whether connecting with these hubs improves academic success. The Advocacy and…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation and impacts of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model in its first year of implementation in 66 schools across the U.S. and to document scale-up progress during the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant period (2017-2021). The impact evaluation included 21,529 9th grade students…

The College of Science at Texas A&M University developed a transfer student learning community with one 2-year institution after receiving National Science Foundation funds for scholarships to support students majoring in engineering and science. To date, 89% of the students that matriculated to Texas A&M University under this grant have…

As the push towards lowering attrition of university students intensifies, particularly for first-time-in-college freshmen, administrators and campus leaders are increasingly designing and implementing co-curricular programs to support this population in order to positively impact student outcomes, namely, the grade point average, student…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine dual credit enrollment with respect to student demographic characteristics and to student success of Texas community college students. The first purpose was to describe the demographic characteristics with respect to gender and ethnicity/race of Texas community college students…

The Student Experience in the Research University is an online survey instrument that serves to assess institutional functions of research universities in the U.S. and understand students' behaviour, satisfaction, and achievement. The present study explored measurement models describing two primary domains (i.e., Academic Engagement and…

A Review of the Nation's Teacher Preparation Programs, which studies and analyzes the results of all the teacher education programs and teacher candidates' examination scores in the United States, reveals disturbing statistics about the performance of teacher candidates on their certification examinations and the adverse effects this poor…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the lasting impacts of students who attended outdoor orientation programs. This research sought to explore a critical gap in outdoor recreation research: longitudinal research about lasting impacts of outdoor orientation programming. We asked the following research questions to guide the…

The purpose of the studies reported here was to test the hypothesis that college students from cultures that emphasize strong family ties experience familial tethering or a pull to remain connected to home, which then has negative consequences on the student's ability to connect to and succeed at the university. In Study 1, it was found that…

Texas recently adopted a new performance-based funding (PBF) model for community colleges. Using institutional student unit record data, this study applied the metrics from this PBF model to examine enrollment outcomes among 5,900 students attending a large, racially/ethnically diverse community college system in the state. Our findings revealed…