Over the past decades, community college attendance has continued to be the first stop and school of choice for over half of the college student population, particularly for first-generation students. However, despite their enrollment, degree attainment remains low for first-generation students. It is not enough to get them in the door--it is…

This phenomenological, qualitative research study examined the experiences that influence students' decisions to laterally transfer from one four-year institution to a public, regional, liberal arts university in the southeastern United States of America. The lack of prior research on the study of lateral transfer students and my professional…

International students face a variety of obstacles and challenges in order to study in the US. The researcher interviewed 11 participants and held a focus group to understand and uncover new findings about the international student experience at a medium-sized institution in the mid-west. This grounded theory action research study resulted in a…

This phenomenological study explored student perceptions regarding their preparation for transition into post-secondary programs of study. The researcher used interpretation to objectively step back from the study and develop a broader meaning of participants' experiences of the central phenomenon (Creswell, 2017). The researcher used individual…

The purpose of this qualitative investigation was to discover personal reasons Millennial college freshmen, between the ages of 18-20, stated as obstacles to college retention. Fourteen students from a private college in the Midwest were selected to participate in an interview process. These students were asked a series of open-ended questions…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the experience of "discontinued enrollment" for military veteran students at western Virginia community colleges. The theory guiding this study was Schlossberg's (1981) transition theory, as the military veteran students were in transition from the military to the community…

As international student attendance on college campuses in the US continues to increase in record numbers, International Student Services (ISS) offices across the country are tasked with providing services to aid the growing number and variety of sojourners in their transition to life on campus in the United States. This dissertation is a…

College persistence and completion rates for students from families earning low incomes are consistently lower than for students from wealthy families. Some of these inequitable gaps may be associated with students' perceptions of fit and belonging at higher education institutions dominated by upper-middle-class systems and norms. This…

Thanks to the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, veterans are entering American colleges and universities in numbers not seen since World War II. Very few of today's veterans, however, attend our nation's most selective institutions. Military-connected students constitute about 5% of the total college-going population, but make up only 2% or less of the student…

This qualitative, exploratory study described the experiences of Arab international students in a U.S. postsecondary institution. This research identified those factors that Arab international students reported as facilitating or obstructing their academic success, promoting or limiting their socialization within the context of their postsecondary…

This descriptive case study is a qualitative investigation into the perceptions of tenth grade students who experienced a ninth-grade transitional model high school academy within a large PreK-12 suburban school district. Specifically, this study provided the opportunity to examine the success of one Ninth Grade Academy, identify areas of concern…

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of international students in CACREP-accredited marriage, couple, and family counseling programs. Seven former international students from the program who have practiced counseling in their home country were interviewed to understand their learning experiences, adaptation process and counseling…

College completion has become a national priority in the United States. Before students can graduate from a college or university, however, they must survive their first year in higher education. The retention of out-of-state freshmen is a major piece of the larger college student retention puzzle due to recent national enrollment trends and the…

Post-secondary education has been correlated to an individual's self-esteem and quality of life. With this commodity being accessible in a variety of formats, there continue to be discrepancies in attainment for males and females. Current research has documented that the number of females who are earning a college degree has surpassed that of…

This qualitative study explored English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) Eastern European nursing graduates' socialization to the United States, their development and academic experience as nursing students, and their perspectives as practicing nurses. Through their revealing testimonials, the participants exposed their positive and negative…