The Center for First Generation College Student Success (2020) defined first generation college students (FGCS) as, "an undergraduate student whose parents do not have a bachelor's or higher degree." FGCS have to navigate many aspects of college without parent(s) who have experienced college themselves. After applying and being accepted…

Systemic racism in higher education has become a topic that has received a great deal of attention in the midst of social injustice in this country, it is because of the unjust experiences that African American people have faced throughout history that a boiling point was reached. The result of this is displayed by the different ways people have…

College access among underserved youth in the United States has expanded dramatically in recent decades, due in part to "achievement ideology," or institutional and cultural messages that equate hard work plus educational attainment with upward mobility. But, college completion rates for this group have remained low, and student loan…

Think College REPORTS present descriptive data in narrative and tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This report provides program- and student-level data reported by TPSIDs (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities) during the…

For years past higher education institutions were male dominant in enrollment over females. Current enrollment trends show there is a decline of male completion and females are now showing higher graduation rate completion. Research shows prevailing reasons for students sustaining enrollment and reasons for attrition. An analysis was conducted of…

This qualitative study explores the educational experiences of African American students from the rural region of Alabama commonly known at the Black Belt and how the resources they received helped them prepare and gain access to higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine how factors such as rurality, race and class impact rural…

Stanley Henderson writes in this article that he has always embraced the view that strategic enrollment management (SEM) exists in the "academic context," and yet still touches "every aspect of institutional function and culture." SEM is rooted in the academic ethos of any institution, but if every other institutional…

This guidebook is designed for institutional leaders and student success teams who are ready to talk openly about the students they serve and who are eager to learn practical strategies from national experts and peer institutions. We cannot design an experience that meets our students where they are unless we holistically understand who they are.…

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is becoming the basis for business. Most businesses use it to improve the customer experience. The education community is just beginning to find ways to successfully implement AI for staff and students. Artificial Intelligence should be leveraged to create a better student experience. For example, Elon…

This thesis examines two uncommon topics in the economic literature regarding college access and completion: the role of college proximity in recent high school graduates' enrollment decisions, and how structural changes to the student experience at a postsecondary institution can affect college completion. The first chapter is a review of the…

This Summary highlights the findings from the First Look full report. The findings in this report provide the first national estimates of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on postsecondary students. Researchers have previously collected and reported data at institution, state, and international levels (Aristovnik et al. 2020; Aucejo et al. 2020;…

This First Look report presents basic findings about undergraduate student experiences during COVID-19 in spring 2020. These findings are based on preliminary data from the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20), a national survey of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled any time between July 1, 2019, and June 30, 2020,…

"The Expanded Success Initiative: Challenges and Progress in the Pursuit of College and Career Readiness for Black and Latino Young Men" synthesizes findings from the Research Alliance's four-year evaluation of Expanded Success Initiative (ESI). This report, draws on hundreds of interviews and focus groups with ESI school leaders,…

Twelve years ago, Sanford Shugart took the helm at Valencia College. This school of 70,000-plus students in Orlando, FL, seemed like any other community college, but Shugart's reason for being there, and the change this college was about to undergo, was anything but ordinary. Before his arrival, the school had begun a process called Campus…

Analyses of society during the Soviet period need to include an understanding of the construction of everyday life by ordinary people, as well as of the policies and behavior of political leaders and of the formal structure of Soviet institutions. The usefulness of this approach can be seen by looking at data on how students in the 1970s…