Retention of first-year students was a problem at a private 4-year university in the Southeastern United States. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the reasons entering first-year students who were part of the Promise Program withdrew from the university during their first year. Tinto's model of student attrition provided…

The effects of childhood adversity on health and socioemotional outcomes have received increasing examination in recent years. However, the impact of childhood adversity on academic outcomes has garnered little attention. This study aimed to explore the effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on college graduation rates and whether…

In the United States, education continues to be plagued by a racial achievement gap that disproportionately affects Black children. Although significant progress has been made in eliminating some of the country's long-standing racial discriminatory practices, the effort to eradicate racism remains unfinished as long as disparities exist between…

First-generation college students experience more negative emotional states and higher stress levels than their continuing generation peers, take approximately two years longer to complete undergraduate degree programs, and are less than one percent likely to re-enroll in college. Mindfulness skills have been reported to alleviate anxiety and…

Deficits and problematic or fractured support systems are causing parents of autistic children to return to the foundational education system in this country: the homeschool. Since the CDC identified in 2016 that about 1 in 54 children live with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is an ever-intensifying need to investigate and identify reasons…

Foster care alumni are a unique subset of college students who enter post-secondary education having faced significant socio-economic challenges and emotional trauma. These students often understand how attending post-secondary education can help create a more stable life. However, the graduation of this population is extremely low. The purpose of…

The relationship between quantity of instructor to student interactions in online, asynchronous, course-specific courses at the community college level is under-researched. This quantitative, correlational study examined the relationship between the weekly number of instructor-generated posts and two course outcomes within fully online history…

In selecting an area within education to focus on for my disquisition, I chose to focus on dual enrollment programs. Dual enrollment, a nationwide program allowing high school students to take college classes, prepares high school students for planning and organizing post-secondary goals such as obtaining a degree from a two or four-year higher…

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an internationally recognized learning assistance program used in higher education to support traditionally challenging classes by offering regularly scheduled, peer-led, group study sessions for the students enrolled in the targeted course. This study explored the administrative hours spent on specific SI program…

This study addresses the problem of low-income, first-generation college students who are academically successful, but choose to leave college before finishing due to financial constraints. This study investigates their lived experiences as well as the effects of a peer mentorship program where incoming, first-year, low-income, first-generation…

The problem that was addressed in this study was the digital divide in virtual learning following the outbreak of COVID-19. The outbreak of COVID-19 made the problem of digital divide worse, which gave some students an unfair advantage over others with relation to remote learning. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to…

This qualitative case study focused on how school leaders' understandings of (dis)ability were implicated in decision-making and affected student (dis)enrollment in Florida's Voluntary Prekindergarten Program (VPK). More specifically it explored how leaders in private VPK programs invoked conceptions of normality, and subsequently abnormality,…

American colleges play a substantial role in promoting learning-equity for all students who enter their institutions. However, most programs in higher education institutions are fashioned by cultural diversity, but very few institutional programs offer integrated services to help returning nontraditional students persist in program completion.…

As higher education continues to see a changing student population, there is clear evidence that food insecurity is a real concern on college campuses. The need to increase food availability and access on campuses is even more critical to the retention and educational experiences of students. This study sought to understand the scope of food…

The academic outcomes of retention, completion, persistence and final exam scores between courses taught with open educational resources (OER) and courses taught with publisher content (non-OER) were investigated in this mixed method sequential study. The perceptions and experiences of the instructors who taught the courses were also explored. The…