In the last decade, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 has provided students with intellectual disabilities access to attend colleges across the United States. The researchers have collaborated with the Tennessee Inclusive Higher Education Alliance to investigate parents' perceptions of college programs in the state. The researchers…

In the last decade, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 has provided students with intellectual disabilities access to attend colleges across the United States. The researchers have collaborated with the Tennessee Inclusive Higher Education Alliance to investigate parents' perceptions of college programs in the state. The researchers…

There is an education gap that exists in our nation. Black students are more likely to encounter obstacles and barriers that are associated with college attainment when compared to their White peers. This study sought to understand factors that hinder college readiness and success among Black students who graduated from The Neighborhood Academy…

College-going culture represents the development of college aspiration within individuals, and also the provision of guidance and support to prepare students for college application, enrollment, and success (Achinstein, Curry, & Ogawa, 2015; Corwin & Tierney, 2007). First- generation students are of particular research interest because…

Over the past several decades, an increasing number of nontraditional students have been enrolling in college, however they face a variety of challenges in completing their educational goals and have lower completion rates than traditional students. Thus, the more institutions can understand about this student population, the better they can serve…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine how African American men at three community colleges in Georgia perceive the academic advising process and how the academic advisor influences their retention. A declining number of African American men are attending and completing college. This trend is troubling not only because of its…

This research study investigated the educational experiences of seven Latina undergraduate students. Although Latinx/a/o students are the fastest growing group in U.S. public schools and comprise more than one in four in K-12 public schools today (Krogstad & Lopez, 2015), their dropout rates among Latino students remain unacceptably high and…

Establishing a sense of belonging on campus is needed for the success of all students, but research indicates that belonging can serve as a key protective factor for students with working-class social identities (Ardoin, 2018a; Espinoza, 2011; Ostrove & Long, 2007; Strayhorn, 2019). Through a mixed-methods approach, this study looked at…

This constructionist phenomenological dissertation study explored stories from nine working-class, first-generation college students, specifically how middle-class socialization on a four-year university campus located in the Mountain West region of the United States impacts the relationships with their parent(s)/guardian(s). My primary research…

Fewer than 50% of all foster youth in the United States graduate from high school by the age of 18 and only 20% of those high school graduates attend college. There are many barriers that impact the college-going rates of foster youth. Past studies on college attendance among foster youth rarely look at college readiness experiences from the…

Undocumented students face challenges when they make the decision to pursue higher education because their immigration status disqualifies them from receiving certain types of financial aid. As a result, undocumented students often struggle with the cost of higher education tuition. Most of research on the experiences of undocumented students…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine persistence factors of Minority and White female students at "three rural community colleges in Ohio. The study also examined the demographic characteristics of female Ohio rural community college students." The independent variables in this study were race (White, Minority), gender,…

Even though school systems throughout the United States have developed a variety of programs to decrease the achievement gap between underrepresented groups and students classified as members of the majority group, data regarding their effectiveness are either scarce or inconclusive. Some research suggests an increasing number of public-school…

This dissertation includes three chapters focusing on policies directly related to improving college access and success. The first chapter focuses on lifetime eligibility of federal and state financial aid policies. The Pell Grant plays a critical role in helping students across the US to afford undergraduate education. In spite of its importance…

Each year, 25,000 youth age out of the foster care system (Kirk, Lewis, Nilsen, & Colvin, 2011). This system has historically and primarily focused on child safety and stability, not on assisting youth in meeting higher education and career goals, or becoming contributing, functioning members of society (Leve et al., 2012). Even if they are…