Low degree completion rates are a critical problem at rural community colleges. In 2023, only 36% of students who enrolled at a community college in 2017 had earned a credential in the past six years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2023a). Academic advising is critical to help students navigate the confusing pathways of higher…

The year 2020 will forever be known as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic which has affected the entire population in one way or another. What began in January 2020 still has the world population firmly in its grip a year later. The students' responses, in their own words, to changes in living, daily `routines, and health fears can be seen in the…

In January 2017, Trellis launched the Financial Security Study (FSS) to shed light on a broad set of questions related to students' basic needs and academic experiences. Working with 11 institutions in Texas and Florida from late January to October of 2017, researchers interviewed 72 students every 30 days or so to discuss their recent experiences…

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced many changes in the lives of our students and families. In this article, the responses of students in criminal justice classes at a Hispanic serving institution in south Texas were collected and synthesized. The 252 responses were divided into seven frequently observed and repeated themes: jobs and job related,…

The purpose of this study was to understand the demographic and cultural factors that define the student population of the South Texas masters'-level counseling program and to understand students' perceptions of online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses, based on their experiences with these types of classes. This study was s survey research…

Research on the academic ethic of Latino college students has not yet been conducted. In order to begin filling this gap in the literature, we surveyed Latino students at a state university to determine whether those who had an academic ethic in high school performed better in college. We also assessed the perceived helpfulness of a variety of…

Hidalgo County, Texas, is one of the poorest in the country. The population in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is 85% Mexican-American. Underprepared for college and juggling full time jobs, their own children, and sometimes dysfunctional extended families, students often do not expect to succeed. I recently taught a Creative Writing course which…

This study attempts to answer the following research question: What are the factors that prevent students from completing high school? The participants in this study included 228 current and recent students from General Educational Development (GED) programs across the state of Texas. In an effort to gain a clearer picture of circumstances faced…

Discussion of student assistants in academic libraries focuses on a study of 40 academic libraries in Texas with church affiliations that investigated ways to motivate student assistants to shelve more productively. Student attitudes are discussed, and it is concluded that a small across-the-board pay incentive is an effective motivator. (17…