Student attrition remains a persistent problem within the Australian higher education sector. Contributing factors include financial, reputational and quality issues, which can pose significant risks for a university's sustainability. Institutional culture is fundamental to decisions student make about withdrawing or remaining in higher education.…

As our schools, communities, and government seek to prepare students for post-secondary education and careers in STEM fields, many districts have created stand-alone project-based STEM-focused schools. While this type of school has been the focus of studies, research is lacking regarding inclusive project-based STEM programs within comprehensive…

The twin challenges of aging demographics in the United States and the need for higher levels of education to compete in the new technology-based economy is creating a socioeconomic paradox (Friedman, 2005). As the Baby Boomer generation retires, those replacing them are increasingly a non-White population. This demographic shift is inevitable and…

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…

Community colleges train 60% of healthcare workers nationwide. Human anatomy and physiology (A&P) courses are considered prerequisite courses for all students who aspire to enter health-related programs. The attrition rates for A&P students at community colleges nationally are close to 50%. Community colleges with open-door policies admit…

Educators, policymakers, and institutions have worked for decades to increase rates of college graduation, but about half of students who enter college drop out without completing a bachelor's degree. Although the rate of student attrition is higher in the United States than in any other industrialized nation, about 30% of U.S. students will drop…

Often considered the gateway to the middle class in the United States, community colleges are struggling to find ways to support all students in career planning and preparation. Unfortunately, increasing numbers of first generation students who enter community colleges through the door of open access, place into developmental education (remedial)…

Corequisite remediation, which mainstreams students deemed academically underprepared into college-level courses with additional learning support, is rapidly being adopted by colleges across the nation. This paper provides the first causal evidence on a system-wide corequisite reform, using data from all 13 community colleges affiliated with the…

This study discusses how a diverse group of Latina/o undergraduate students perceive the ideal graduate-undergraduate mentoring program. Based on Latina/o undergraduate student voices from diverse majors and experiences, the results offer concrete solutions on how graduate student mentoring can play a pivotal role in increasing and enhancing…

Background/Context: High school mathematics attainment has significant consequences for postsecondary and labor market outcomes (Altonji, 1995; Dougherty et al., 2017; Goodman, 2019; Kim, 2018; Long et al., 2012) yet enrollment in advanced courses (i.e., those requiring completion of Algebra II) is starkly stratified by race, class, and ethnicity…

This study examined the relationship between college readiness of student veterans and retention, graduation, or transfer. I analyzed transcript and administrative data for student veterans who used GI Bill benefits at a public two-year college in Wisconsin. Results from logistic regression show that successful course completion rate (earning a C…

Early colleges are a new model of schooling in which the high school and college experiences are merged, shortening the total amount of time a student spends in school. This study uses a lottery-based experimental design to examine the impact of the model on longer term outcomes, including attainment of a postsecondary credential and academic…

Early colleges are an innovative model of schooling that combines high school and college. A 14-year, rigorous experimental study has been examining whether this model works. The study compares early college students who were accepted through a lottery to students who applied to early colleges but were not accepted through the lottery (the control…

The Division of Academics, Researchers and Teachers in Psychology (DARTP) hosted a symposium at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference 2018, at which the concepts of transition and adaptability were explored within the context of higher and pre-tertiary education and in academic organisational contexts. The talks and discussions…

In the global phenomenon of widening participation policy in higher education, lower retention rates for students from less advantaged socio-economic circumstances have potential to undermine the social inclusion agenda of HE. This might be an issue in Europe but is not necessarily the case elsewhere. In this paper we consider statistical data on…