While computing programs in the U.S. are experiencing growth in enrollment trends, they are still grappling with matters related to retention and persistence of computing undergraduates. One construct identified by scholars as having an impact on persistence in computing is computing identity, which is shaped by constructs such as recognition,…

In the 2023 Legislative Session, the Legislature charged the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) with surveying Maryland's colleges and universities on practices related to academic advising and student services. A survey was created and prepared by MHEC staff. The survey was sent to 52 institutions of higher education across the state. Of…

Gateway courses are foundational, college-level courses that apply to a student's program of study or to a college's general education requirements. These courses are typically considered first-year or lower-division courses and serve as a basis for more advanced studies. Research has demonstrated that completing gateway courses in two key…

School attendance is a valuable key element in promoting academic achievement and determining student success inside and outside the classroom. However, due to the unforeseen circumstances of a deadly contagious, airborne disease, known as COVID-19, the pandemic has created the largest disruption within the education system in history, affecting…

The personal, social, and academic challenges during the transition from high school to college contribute to lower retention rates and lower GPAs. These challenges are even more pronounced for historically underserved populations. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, students face new challenges and a lack of access to the typical resources and…

As service-learning and community-based learning proliferate in higher education, increased attention has been directed toward gathering evidence of their impacts. While the bulk of the literature has focused on student outcomes, little work has been done to examine how the perspectives of stakeholder groups overlap and intersect. This study uses…

The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to investigate the success of students who use transfer articulation agreements to transfer from any of the 13 community colleges in Tennessee to one of the state's public, four-year, locally governed institutions to complete a bachelor's degree. Data were collected from five 4-year public…

This dissertation examined the relationship between student engagement in college and subsequent employment status and early career earnings in a public university. This study sought to understand whether or not student academic and social experiences in college are related to post-baccalaureate early career earnings. The literature review…

Current persistence and completion rates have moved to the forefront in higher education nationwide. A new generation of Americans is on the rise: highly entrepreneurial, pluralistic, and determined to take charge of their own futures. There is a demand for colleges to provide more creative ways of serving and retaining students. Generation Z…

The annual Performance Accountability Report (PAR) serves as an important mechanism by which public colleges and universities in Maryland are held accountable. Through a performance accountability plan, institutions are required to establish and maintain performance standards, and use metrics to assess their effectiveness in tackling institutional…

Researchers have attempted to understand how institutions could retain and graduate more students by proposing models to examine different relationships. A large body of research on college student persistence, retention and graduation has emerged and most of the research has been focused around the freshman experience, with little consideration…

For many first-generation college students (FGCS), college success has not kept pace with college access. Because many students' struggles can be traced to deficits in self-regulated learning (SRL) processes, the purpose of this study was to explore the SRL skills of FGCS. We analyzed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, 2nd Edition…

Many community colleges consider non-academic supports as a way to improve student retention and achievement. Past studies on the effects of coaching, mentoring, advising, and other non-academic supports yielded evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions to promote student outcomes. In addition, some suggested that the effects were…

In the online learning environment, it is seen that problems arise in the absence of interaction. In order to prevent these problems, this study, which was carried out by taking into consideration the principles that are formed using the community of inquiry framework, took place during the 2014-2015 Spring Semester using 30 students from a…

Understanding the relative impacts of part-time adjuncts in community colleges is highly policy-relevant, partly because community colleges rely on part-time faculty heavily and partly because community colleges assume a critical role in addressing the national equity agenda by disproportionately serving underrepresented groups. This study uses…