Using data from the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), longitudinal trends in graduate degree completion rates for Hispanic and White students were analyzed over a period of 17 years (2002-2019). The results indicated that there was a significant positive…

Despite rising enrollment for first generation college students (FGCS) and Hispanic FGCS, there is a disparity in college graduation rates across the United State compared to other groups. FGCS and Hispanic FGCS have historically been faced with more factors that disrupt higher education success. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the…

Mentoring is important for career success and has been suggested to promote the advancement of faculty of color (FOC). However, some mentoring experiences may be negative and impede faculty's success. Building upon social cognitive career theory (SCCT), the current study examines whether FOC perceive challenges around receiving mentoring and…

Using structural equation modeling, this study identifies the direct and indirect relationships among campus diversity climate, faculty attitudes, student--faculty interaction, and cognitive skills development, examining how the relationships differ by students' race/ethnicity. With data from the University of California Undergraduate Experience…

With 1.8 million students, California Community Colleges (CCC) are often the primary point of access to higher education for low-income, Black, and Latino students. Given the role of community colleges in creating a strong pipeline of college graduates, improving transfer rates to four-year colleges has become an increasingly important policy…

Why are some fields and occupations more diverse than others? In this review, we describe a conceptual framework--the field-specific ability beliefs (FAB) model--that provides a promising answer to this question. This model proposes that gender and racial/ethnic imbalances in a field or occupation result in part from the confluence of two beliefs:…

This brief highlights the urgent need to address chronic absenteeism among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. It explores the challenges that AI/AN students and their families face in terms of regular school attendance. Systemic barriers, unwelcoming?school environments, biased disciplinary practices, and a…

Despite much effort by engineering education scholarships to make engineering more inclusive, women are still underrepresented in engineering. Women earn less than 30% of the bachelor's degrees in engineering. However, when we examine the intersectionality between gender and race/ethnicity, the lack of representation in certain groups of women…

Latinx is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. As a result, the demographic landscape of colleges across the nation is also changing to reflect this new reality. However, many Latinx students are still not finishing college at the same rate as other ethnic groups. One area of research that is lacking regarding Latinx students is…

African American male enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions saw a small increase between 2010 and 2019, rising nine percent over that period. However, their representation only reached eight percent of total undergraduate students by fall 2019, down slightly from nine percent in 2010. Only 37% of African American men who started…

There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had a large and negative impact on student learning. This dissertation explores the effect of the pandemic on one of the most vulnerable student subgroups: English Learners (ELs). In this work I examine existing disparities among subgroups of ELs, and the different ways the pandemic has impacted…

Objective: Prevalence of food insecurity in NCAA DIII student-athletes was assessed via an anonymous, online survey (n = 787) in February of 2020. Participants: Participants were mainly female, 18-21 years old, self-identified as white, lived on campus and had a campus meal plan. Methods: Food security was assessed using an anonymous, online…

Many studies on higher education access have focused on challenges faced by the civilian population. Indeed, there are many obstacles that people face when seeking to enter certificate- and degree-granting programs, including affordability, inequitable admission standards, and family and work demands on their time. Veterans, however, have access…

Black and non-White Latinx children have historically been diagnosed with autism at a later age and with more significant impairments than White peers. This study aimed to gather insights from members of the autism service provider workforce on current barriers and facilitators to achieving equity in early childhood autism evaluation, referrals,…

Objective: To examine the relationships between loneliness and psychosocial supports, emerging adult service utilization, and barriers to utilization. Participants: 18 to 29-year-old students enrolled in a large Midwestern University (n = 292). Methods: Online surveys were administered to all participants involving information on loneliness,…