Competency-based education (CBE) is a learner-centric framework that emphasizes what students "know and can show" more than how much time they spend in the classroom. CBE advocates claim that by allowing students to take as little or as much time as they need to demonstrate their mastery of course competencies, students develop higher…

The purpose of this study was to determine how resilience factors impact doctoral degree completion after a significant delay of one year or more. The non-completion of doctoral degrees has been a concern due to its economic, social, and personal consequences. The research questions being examined were: (1) What were the various reasons shared by…

Research on college outcomes is often disaggregated by ethnicity or race of students. Common classifications of race and ethnicity include Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, and other (Shapiro et al., 2017). One group absent from this list is Multiracial (a person having parents of two or more races) students. While Multiracial students are mentioned…

Latinx working adults without bachelor's degrees face significant barriers to economic stability and upward mobility, thereby reducing generational wealth. There are significant benefits of degree completion to individuals, such as increased earnings and employment, and benefits to society through greater economic contribution, increased…

The present study sought to answer the research question, to what extent is the staff racial demographic profile, as a numeric representation of staff diversity, related to the diversity of graduating cohorts from public community colleges in Illinois? The exploratory quantitative study used five years of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data…

Using descriptive statistics and logistic regressions, this study compared U.S. Census data from 22-24-year-old women in 1980 and 2020 to determine the individual and contextual variables most predictive of bachelor's degree attainment. The regressions were conducted for women overall, women who have ever enrolled in college, mothers, and mothers…

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 the time it took to complete the degree. In addition to comparing dual…

Previous research demonstrated the variety of learning environments in which experiential learning is used, as well as how constructivism plays a role in education and learning. This study was designed to fill the gap in literature by examining the extent to which participants viewed an experiential learning opportunity as beneficial in relation…

The process of persisting successfully in completing an online Ph.D. program for adult learners was the focus of this qualitative research study. There is a significant gap in the literature about the process involved for adult learners pursuing their Ph.D. online. Charmaz's constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach was used to explore the…

The focus of this research is adult students enrolled in seven online allied health programs offered by a postsecondary healthcare career institution. The problem under investigation is the retention and timely graduation of adult students in an online learning environment. The question is the extent to which student support services influence…

The dissertation examined the significance of disaggregated data in relation to college students' sense of belonging among Latinx ethnic subgroups. Sense of belonging has been positively associated with student persistence, retention, and completion of degree (Korpershoek et al., 2020). Latinx consist of numerous ethnic subgroups, and…

Although African Americans report the lowest graduation rates in the United States--approximately 35% at undergraduate level--the rate is lower for African American males (30%) than African American females (37%). The performance of African American males in higher education is influenced by faculty role models and faculty expectations of their…

Competency-based education (CBE) saw a significant rise in adoption in the last decade, mainly in response to the many deficiencies of the traditional credit hour system in measuring higher education students' learning. Nevertheless, despite the many advantages CBE can offer, educators noted several design-related gaps in how the model addresses…

Technological advances and changes to America's workforce have created a need for adult workers to upskill their abilities. Many of these adults address this need by pursuing a college degree. While adult learners tend to excel in their coursework their graduation rates lag behind those of traditional undergraduates. Credit for prior learning or…

The federally funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is designed to "increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education" (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). Despite this stated purpose, the majority of research on GEAR UP program…