Illinois has enacted legislative policies to provide access to higher education and state funding opportunities for undocumented students. Public Act 093-0007, Illinois RISE Act, and Illinois House Bill 3438 all have implications for Illinois four-year public universities and community colleges. This dissertation focused on understanding the…

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to widen racial educational achievement and attainment gaps in the United States, reinforcing a need to understand how education policy can work to advance racial equity. Dual enrollment (DE) programs offer a potential policy solution that could increase college-going for these students as participation has…

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to examine the enrollment trends of racial minority and low socioeconomic enrollment, and the equity of higher education access at a four-year private institution in western Pennsylvania. The study concentrated on two student populations over a five-year period at a four-year private institution…

The purpose of this study was to use the iron triangle as a theoretical framework or lens through which to explore the use of long-term tuition freezes as a tuition strategy adopted by higher education institutions to control costs while maintaining or improving quality and increasing access for students from underrepresented populations. Through…

Latina/o's are among the largest ethnic groups in California and have one of the lowest educational outcomes. The problem addressed by this study is the low rates of obtaining a college degree among Latina/o's who reside in the Central Valley. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of Latina/o's…

Since its introduction in the early 1900s, the codification of vocational education has made explicit that one purpose of the American public education system should be preparation for the workforce. Over three-quarters of high school students participate in present-day career and technical education, nearly half of undergraduate degrees conferred…

This study explores whether there is a heterogeneous effect of high school college counselors on college application and enrollment. Most research on the impact of counselors has focused on the effect of traditional school counselors and not on high school college counselors, individuals whose primary responsibility is to assist students with…

Research has indicated that family social class, college readiness, and college affordability are factors for post-secondary barriers (Freeman, 2005). The term family social class refers to sociocultural aspects, behaviors, knowledge, and lifestyles into which one is socialized by one's family (Bourdieu, 1979). Bordes-Edgar et al. (2011) define…

This correlational quantitative study examined a five-year (2014-2019) trend to analyze whether there is a relationship between the level of state funding and the enrollment and graduation rates of students of color attending public institutions in Illinois. For the purposes of this study, the students of color include the following groups:…

Post-secondary education is essential to the development of our nation (Miller, 2006; The White House, n.d.). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States already faced a college attainment gap (Miller, 2006; Jenkins, 2011; Welton & Martinez, 2013). The fallout from the pandemic has caused additional issues related to higher education…

This dissertation is intended to add to what practitioners and researchers know about factors that affect a high school's postsecondary enrollment rates. It uses several regression models on a data set of all New Jersey High Schools from the 2012-2018 school years to answer three research questions. These questions were designed to gain an…

There are widespread concerns about disparities in educational attainment in the United States. Unfortunately African American, Hispanic, Native American, and low-income Broward County Public Schools high school students participate in College Bound Type Programs at lower rates than students of other races and ethnicities. Many of these students…

The dramatic decline of rural industries (such as coal mining, millwork, or farming) over the last several decades coupled with most jobs requiring some sort of postsecondary education in today's U. S. economy means postsecondary credential attainment has taken on increased importance for rural social mobility. College accessibility appears to be…

While Black students have experienced significant growth in college enrollment since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Higher Education Act of 1965, they are still less likely than their white counterparts to attend and graduate from a post-secondary institution (Ryan & Bauman, 2016). There have been previous studies on college…

While community colleges have traditionally been the leading providers of adult learner programs and the entry point for many minority students into higher education, very few English language learners (ELLs) transition to higher education. This qualitative gap analysis of the systems in place at a large urban public community college in the…