This study is concerned with the fact that commuter students persist at a lower rate than their residential peers. As colleges and universities seek to increase educational attainment rates, understanding why commuter students struggle with retention is important. Research shows sense of belonging can positively affect intention to persist. As…

This case study research intends to understand students' experience with accessing a campus food pantry through interviews, observations, and document collection. Findings highlight positive and negative experiences of undergraduate students, including interactions with pantry employees, perceptions of expired food labels, and commuter challenges…

Prior literature on transborder ("transfronterizos," "transfronteriz@s," or "transfronterizx") students in the Mexico-United States border region focuses predominantly on United States citizens and the San Diego-Tijuana region. This phenomenological study focuses on Mexican citizen international students, who live in…

When attending predominately residential universities, commuter students are the minority and typically have poorer outcomes than residential peers. Research demonstrates commuter students identify factors impacting on their persistence and success, include time taken to commute, lack of social integration and a poor sense of belonging. In…

Commuter students face a number of challenges, yet how they influence the experience of those who join sororities and fraternities is unknown. The purpose of this study is to explore those challenges, the strategies participants used to overcome them, and how policies and practices influenced their experience through interviews with eight alumni…

This study explored the lived experiences of 10 historically marginalized racial minority college commuter students. Data revealed an overarching experience of "in-betweenness," consisting of constant transition and yearning for achievement and connections. Major themes include: (1) identity negotiations and developmental change; (2) the…

Undocumented college students, who often live off campus for financial reasons as well as family obligations, cannot take advantage of what is considered to be a primary factor in facilitating student success: the sense of community and of mattering that are provided by residence halls, residential staff, and thoughtful programming. In order to…

In the United States, campus sexual violence research has mostly focused on 4-year residential campuses. The experiences of students on nonresidential campuses are less well understood. Using data from a Web-based campus climate survey, this study explores sexual assault and sexual harassment victimization rates, victimization characteristics, and…

Studies show that adolescents have a heightened sensitivity to the urban context, such as violence. This study explores factors influencing and determine the areas of influence of students' perceived stress when commuting from home to school in the city of Medellin, Colombia. To achieve these aims, a cross-sectional survey research design was…

This paper reports on a large qualitative study with commuter students in England. Research on student success identifies the importance of engagement in academic and non-academic aspects of the student experience; in this paper student engagement is segmented into academic, enhancement and social spheres. Commuter students, who often incorporate…

Objective: To understand how students are coping one year after campuses were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Students at a large state university in Midwestern USA. Method: Sequential mixed method study. A photo-survey of students' experiences was conducted as part of an ethnographic study of "college life." Student…

To increase our students' access to study abroad opportunities, a full semester course was designed that embedded a study abroad trip to Belize during spring break. The course fulfills both an upper level science course for both biology and biotechnology majors and an elective course for the Global Studies minor. Ten students enrolled in the…

Urban universities with a predominantly commuting student population face distinct challenges in fostering social connections. Commuting students spend less time on campus and have fewer opportunities for organized and spontaneous social interactions with other students. The campus experience for commuter students tends to center around the…

The vast majority of students in the UK experience higher education on a residential basis: they move away from home to study. But, for a significant minority of students, higher education is experienced differently. Around one-quarter of students live at home and commute to study, and in some parts of the country and at some institutions the…

Many students who begin their education at a community college intend to earn a four-year degree. Yet Engle and Tinto (2008) conclude that "only 5 percent of low-income, first-generation students who started their education at community colleges had acquired bachelor's degrees within six years." For too long, universities have seen…