As colleges and universities face pressure to expand enrollments and provide access to diverse students, they find it difficult to recruit and retain first-generation college students (FGS). First-generation college students are significantly less likely to graduate due to lack of family support, financial strains, poor academic preparation, and…

In this paper I reflect on perspectives presented by John Settlage as he examines the truth of the proposition that "many teacher educators harbour deficit perspectives about their pre-service teachers, presuming that their lack of exposure to economically, ethnically and linguistically diverse settings renders them deficient as future educators."…

Factors that influenced the college choice and persistence of twenty-eight undergraduate, second-year students at religiously-affiliated institutions associated with the churches of Christ were examined using a cross-case comparative qualitative analysis. Student pre-college characteristics and campus environment factors were also investigated…

Academic dismissal resulting from poor scholastic achievement is an unfortunate reality at American universities, and one that involves students, faculty, and academic advisers. This chapter analyzes learning outcomes of the academic dismissal process for first-generation college students (FGS) resulting from a year-long study conducted at a…

College seniors participated in an ethnographic interview study about their academic motivations. It was found that grades and graduation are 2 primary distal target goals that motivate their academic efforts during the senior year. A variety of proximal factors were also reported to affect the seniors' motivation. These factors can be divided…

This study focuses on the differences in college student dropout behavior among racial/ethnic groups. We employ event history methods and data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) and National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) surveys to investigate how financial aid may differentially influence dropout risks among these student…

The academic and social integration of first-generation college students into institutions of higher education continues to be a topic of concern for university administrators, faculty, and staff. Students enter college with different background traits and experiences as well as have different college experiences that can either permit or prohibit…

This dissertation explored the four-year college experience of first-generation and continuing-generation students at a small private institution. Using Astin's I-E-O model (1970), the following variables in the student experience were considered: precollege student characteristics (input); engagement in academic experiences, cocurricular…

During college, many students switch from their planned major to another, particularly so when that planned major was in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field. A worrying statistic shows that persistence in one of these majors is much lower for women and minorities, suggesting that this may be a leaky joint in the STEM…

In 2004, Lumina Foundation for Education launched "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," a national initiative aimed at improving success among community college students, particularly low-income students and students of color. Now encompassing more than 130 institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, Achieving the…

College completion remains one of the most compelling and vexing policy issues in higher education today. Although access to higher education has increased substantially over the past three decades, student success in college as measured by degree completion has not improved significantly. There is a great disparity in the percentage of low-income…

Drawing on interviews with first-generation college students (FGS), the author argues that the students' culture affects college attendance and success. Although FGS often have a vocational perspective to college, the author found that they seek meaningful work with good pay. The author also suggests that good decision making, academic…

By adding student perceptions of the curriculum, we enhance the current history of American higher education over 5 decades. We draw from memoirs, short stories, notebooks, and legends to animate the story of students and the curriculum. The episodes depict historical events and cases that have shaped colleges, curricula, and students. The study…

Background/Context: Although theories of human development often play a central role in K-12 pedagogical practices, evidence suggests that developmental theories have not been used extensively to understand the college transition process or to develop programs to support students during these transitions. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus…

Transfer students are a growing population for four-year institutions and on many campuses, a majority. While much research on transition practices exists, the focus has been on the two- to four-year transition or vertical transfers, which account for less than half of the transfer students at many four-year institutions, rather than on four- to…