Change is an inevitable part of life, more so for gender non-conforming students who have to confront prejudice and hostile environments as they transition from school to university. An understanding of the issues faced by first year students with diverse sexual and gender identities is important to ameliorate many of the challenges presented…

The transition to college is a stressful time that can present many emotional challenges and demands. One way to help ease this transition is through the implementation of emotion regulation skills training in first-year experience courses. However, little is known about how students who receive such instruction implement emotion regulation, and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to look into the online learning experiences of first-year communication and media students. The study was conducted by gathering 45 written reflection papers from first-year undergraduate students covering their opinions, challenges, and feelings about online learning. NVivo 12 was used to analyse the…

The discipline of data science is gaining attention due to a significant increase in the amount of data generated on a real-time basis. Despite the efforts from the institutions and national agencies, it has been witnessed that there have been substantial challenges in retaining and attracting students in the discipline of data science. Learning…

Low African American male student graduation rates in the United States have been a concern for higher education administrators, and more strategies to address their challenges are needed. This basic qualitative study addressed the experiences of African American male students who persisted to graduation at a predominantly Black institution in the…

This qualitative study was created to gain a better understanding of the impact of a for-credit first-year seminar course. Related existing research and theory included past studies on the first-year seminar, the hidden curriculum, and student persistence and retention. This study was intended to make an original contribution to the knowledge base…

Academic integrity concerns related to students' use of technology have renewed calls for teaching, assessment, and learning best practices, including those that involve and empower students. Empowerment is a benefit of developing students' assessment literacies, or how students contextually understand, plan, and undertake assessment and use…

Teamwork skills are foundational for career success and student learning in group projects. One of the major challenges of teamwork involves managing conflict among team members. In the current research, we develop a conflict management styles (CMS) psychometric inventory that assesses students' levels of the five styles of managing conflict based…

International students are an important component of the host country and universities bringing economic, social, and community contributions. International students are the most vulnerable students with challenges related to academic expectations, language proficiency, and socio-cultural integration. This study explores the challenges of…

The United States has invested millions of dollars in STEM program initiatives; however, African Americans in STEM career fields are underrepresented. The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study aimed to explore the lived experiences of African-American first-year college students from rural communities in a STEM program and…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore how students experience the New Student Orientation Experience (NSOE) and how they perceived it prepared them for their 1st semester of college at a large public university in the United States, Arizona State University (ASU). Institutions of higher education are under pressure to operate more…

The present study explored the Academic Experiences of 1st year International Students in Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China. The trend of globalized education attracting thousands of international students towards China every year for their Higher Education & its flow is increasing so far. Hosting universities are trying to provide…

This article draws on data collected during case studies involving six undergraduate international students. It uses the academic literacies framework to examine how international students (re)negotiate their student identities. Based on the concept that Australian university classrooms are global educational contact zones, the study reinforces…

While enrollments in online writing courses (OWCs), especially online first-year writing courses (OFYWCs) continue to grow at public and private non-profit institutions in the U.S., online writing instruction (OWI) scholars argue this change signals a desperate need for additional research on teaching and writing in online learning environments…

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine a college composition class where students are introduced to reading and writing genres representing various types along the lines of race, sex/gender, sexual orientation, class, education, etc. This study was sensitive to the identities of the student participants and the hegemonic narratives that…