This article examines the visual environment on the campuses of two Historically Black Colleges or Universities and two Predominantly White Institutions. I use photos and observations to identify common physical campus variables that may give some insight into the Historically Black Colleges or Universities' campus culture and the unique traits…

This dissertation explores the use of place-based pedagogy as a tool for teaching for transfer in a college composition class in West Virginia. Although existing composition scholarship indicates that themed classes (such as a place-based class) are unlikely to facilitate transfer among the students, this is mostly due to instructors of themed…

The campus built environment is an omnipresent force at an institution of higher education. That force is influential during a student's transition into the post-secondary system. Literature on this subject suggests that understandings of the relationship between the campus built environment and the student experience are limited and demand…

This study addressed the need to understand the negative experiences of student affairs practitioners of color (SAPOCs) related to racial battle fatigue (RBF) and the accompanying need to explore how SAPOCs working at predominately white institutions (PWIs) experience RBF. The author conducted a multiple-case study with 10 SAPOCs, who served as…

As an institution that aims to create more access to higher education by removing barriers to entry, the California Community College (CCC) system supports what is often described as "nontraditional" students (i.e., first-generation and systems-impacted students), but also of most importance to this study, Students of Color (Knoell,…

With ongoing concerns in undergraduate computer science education like growing enrollment and broadening participation, there is a need for reform. While there are many stakeholder perspectives to consider in reforms, students deserve to be prioritized because they face a variety of environmental challenges that lead to negative outcomes like…

The landscape of higher education campus environments continues to change as student populations diversify (Parsons, 2023; Renn & Reason, 2013) and campus spaces extend into the digital realm. This critical phenomenological study examined organizational features that racialize digital campus ecology by examining the phenomena of interest,…

This dissertation explores the impact of physical campus spaces on the sense of belonging among commuter students. Drawing on qualitative data collected through photography, videos, interviews, observations, and campus materials, this study investigates how the physical campus environment shape students' perceptions of connection, inclusion, and…

In previous studies, Black gay males have shared their lived experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), but the voices of outwardly presently gay Black males remain void in the literature and how they navigate such institutions. Despite their community and relationship-based environment, the foundational tenets of HBCUs…

Institutions of higher education continue to grapple with how to most effectively meet their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) priorities. Colleges and universities have turned to Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) as the institutional leaders to champion to provide leadership for creating more diverse, equitable and inclusive experiences and…

This study examined the roles of academic stress, maternal support, and their interactive effect as predictors of both in-group and out-group prosocial behaviors as well as civic engagement in order better to understand young adults' adjustment to the college environment. The final sample consisted of 142 young adults (M age = 20.82 years; range =…

The growing number of U.S. engineering jobs signifies a need for more students to pursue engineering degrees. To increase access to engineering education, in 2015, Texas A&M University established Engineering Academies (EA) in cooperation with selected community colleges. The problem addressed in this study was a lack of knowledge about why…

Purpose: This research aims to understand university faculty, staff, and administrators' role in advancing institutional change in justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (JEDIB) at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI).Background. JEDIB initiatives have recently expanded across many U.S. higher education institutions, while HSIs are…

As central social and political institutions, U.S. universities have an important public service calling that extends beyond their teaching and research mandate. Over the past two decades, increasing numbers of U.S. universities have reoriented their institutional priorities towards becoming more sustainable across the board, which includes…

American society is on the precipice of an imminent shift in racial and ethnic representation of non-white citizens as the dominant culture. As microcosms of America's population, the burgeoning of this change is evident in diverse student demographics within Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). In spite of this approaching change, PWIs'…