College-going rates closely replicate the socioeconomics of a region, making a student's zip code a better predictor of college attendance than his or her SAT or ACT score. Students who are the first in their family to go to college often do not have the cultural capital to inform or family stories to inspire. In California, less than one half of…

High schools in the United States represent the stepping-off point to adulthood, the threshold for students to enter formal training in college, trade school, or the workforce. As our society faces increased demands for creative solutions, innovation, and a more technological workforce, the current high school model is simply antiquated. The Early…

With the implementation of the Hathaway scholarship in the state of Wyoming, questions arose regarding the effectiveness of a prescribed set of high school courses (the Success Curriculum) in preparing students for success in college. This research sought to determine the perceptions of academic preparation of students who earned the Hathaway…

This study examined the academic performance of Tech Prep students (referred to as participants) in comparison to non-Tech Prep students (referred to as non-participants) entering a two-year community college from sixteen different high schools in Stark County, Ohio. This study provided a quantitative analysis of students' academic experiences to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the academic preparation of students with disabilities who plan to attend a four year college or university upon graduating from high school in the Participating School System. The study employed a measure of high school academic course rigor developed by Horn and Kojaku (2001) to measure the academic…

This study examined factors that relate to the persistence of first-generation undergraduate students in a 4-year public university in the Southeastern United States. Results were analyzed from a 2011 two-part survey: CARES-I (College Assessment of Readiness for Entering Students-Intent) and CARES-A (College Assessment of Readiness for Entering…

This dissertation is an examination of the state of the liberal arts curriculum in community colleges in three geographic regions of the United States. From a constructivist paradigm and using globalization theory as a theoretical framework, this multiple case study examined faculty work life and administrative processes related to curriculum…

With over two thirds of high school graduates going on to pursue postsecondary options after high school and over one fourth at 4-year institutions and nearly half at 2-year schools never reaching their sophomore year, it is evident that the transition from high school to college is a broken one for many students. There has been a nationwide call…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how students' involvement in TRIO Upward Bound and Student Support Services has affected their decision to persist in obtaining a postsecondary degree. The overall aim in the study was to explore critical influences on the student's participation in these services, particularly those…