Chicana/Latina undergraduate students represent a significant and growing proportion of student enrollment in higher education institutions in the United States, particularly in states like California that have critical masses of Chicanx/Latinx communities. Despite their increasing enrollment rates, Chicana/Latina college students continue to…

Objective: To examine how veterans resource centers (VRCs) and corresponding services influence student veteran transitions by applying the Schlossberg Transition Model. Participants: 12 student support staff and 6 junior/senior undergraduate student veterans at a four-year public university in California. Methods: In-depth semi-structured,…

This study employs descriptive qualitative analysis to explore the experiences of eight Mexican American veterans utilizing Veterans Affairs education benefits to pursue baccalaureate degrees. Participants were recruited in Southern California at two California Community Colleges and three California State Universities. The findings suggest that…

Relying on semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 13 Latino male undergraduates in engineering, this study explored students experiences and sense of belonging within a Minority Retention Program at a 4-year public university in California. Findings support extent research on the importance of structural interventions in science, technology,…

This qualitative, phenomenological study explored how transition challenges affect Chinese international undergraduate students' persistence in U.S. higher education institutions and identified the types of support schools should provide to improve students' persistence. This study conducted semistructured, open-ended interviews via telephone with…

U.S. college institutions enroll international students from all over the world, and the difficulties and challenges international students face while studying abroad are issues that no one can escape. This study explored the experiences of international students at a faith-based university in Southern California with a qualitative…

Less than half of adolescent mothers graduate from high school and fewer obtain a post-secondary degree. The purpose of this study is to understand how Latina mothers who experienced childbirth during adolescence transition to parenthood and higher education. We conducted 13 in-depth interviews with Latina mothers enrolled in higher education. We…

Using an emerging model of family engagement in higher education and the concept of parental role construction as a framework, this study presents the "Ley de la Vida" (Law of Life) process to explore how Latina/o immigrant parents experience their children's transition to higher education. Centered on the experiences of 15 parents of…

This study examined the experience of relocating to the United States for a select group of students, third culture kids (TCKs), so the factors that may assist higher education professionals as they seek to support these students in their personal development through their college years would be understood. The research question used to drive the…

One of most significant challenges for international students studying in the U.S. is their ability to adjust to a new social setting. The maladjustment of international students in a host country has been associated with negative impacts to their psychosocial development, educational experience, and perception of the host culture. The increasing…

The authors examined 83 Latino undergraduates to determine whether perceived social support of friends mediates the role of intragroup marginalization on acculturative stress and college adjustment. A mediation effect was found for college adjustment but not for acculturative stress. Results highlight the importance of friends for college…

Campuses across the United States continue to welcome a record number of Chinese students coming in pursuit of both academic and cultural goals. Yet, high levels of acculturative stress coupled with difficulties integrating into life abroad jeopardize accomplishing these goals. In this study, we examine Chinese students' Internet use both prior to…

The role of autonomy in the student experience in a large-enrollment undergraduate introductory physics course was studied from a self-determination theory perspective. A correlational study investigated whether certain aspects of the student experience correlated with how autonomy supportive (versus controlling) students perceived their…

This study explored how Mexican immigrant and first-generation Mexican youth resist, conform to, and persist in schooling. Using Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) as a framework, evidence of the "sticky mess" of racial inequalities (Espinoza & Harris, 1997) was shown to impact the lives of all participants. However, the strength…

As a result of the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering programs, the culture is male-dominated and perpetuates an unsupportive and biased climate that discourages undergraduate women from connecting to their gender. Using a social identity framework, this study addresses how gender influences undergraduate women's perception of…