The college years represent a prime opportunity for students to develop prosocial skills through friendships that cross social boundaries (i.e., in which the two friends differ on at least one aspect of sociocultural identity such as race, political affiliation, or religion). By cultivating empathy and reducing social stratification, these…

Student enrollment continues to increase in online programs, but there is concern surrounding the reportedly high rates of attrition in online classes compared to face-to-face classes. Undergraduate students are poorly prepared and lack the human agency necessary for success in the online learning environment. To address the lack of persistence of…

Higher education institutions continue to place a strong emphasis on helping students successfully complete college. Currently, a limited amount of research supports teaching academic resilience as a skill in the higher education setting. In addition, little is known about using first-year experience (FYE) courses as a platform for teaching…

This study investigates students' intercultural competence at a community college in the United States. In particular, it explores the experiences of first-semester, community college students in a first-year seminar course at a large, urban community college. This mixed-methods study uses data from administration of the Intercultural Development…

This study examines the effectiveness of a custom-designed chatbot in a blended learning environment, focusing on its adherence to instructional guidelines and its impact on student engagement. The chatbot was designed to prompt students with questions about concepts related to various academic majors, encourage elaboration on their responses, and…

Texas legislation mandated that colleges offer developmental education using a corequisite model, where students concurrently enroll in introductory college-level courses with supplemental developmental support. Using data from the population of Texas students in developmental education, we estimated regression models to investigate differential…

The first year of college or university is a crucial phase which significantly influences students' persistence, academic achievement, and degree completion. The challenges associated with transitioning to college are often amplified for students who are the first in their families to attend college and may be less familiar with the norms and…

It is commonly stated in both literature and news outlets that undergraduate college students, who are undeclared (i.e., have not declared a major), are at a higher risk of dropping out or underperforming compared to students with declared majors. However, research supporting this belief or literature citing possible supportive interventions is…

The transition from high school to university is often a challenge for many students, as they face numerous academic and social adjustments during this time. For the 2020 cohort, these challenges were compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic which further exacerbated the existing concerns and uncertainties. This study reports on the perceptions of a…

This research presents a model for implementing and assessing a service-learning first-year seminar course and living community. The study investigated students' attitudes and perceived benefits of the three aspects of their first-year program experience - community service participation, servant-leadership development, and living community…

There is extensive research that speaks to first-year seminars as an effective high impact practice. However, this inquiry utilized qualitative research to understand the steps needed to make first-year seminars more effective and inclusive with the integration of a social justice curriculum. Specifically, this inquiry consisted of 12 semi…

The purpose of this study was to assess differences in four-year persistence and graduation rates between students who participated in a research-based academic first-year seminar (n = 385) and a matched quasi-control group who did not (n = 385). Although research has consistently identified positive outcomes for students who participate in these…

Persistence, along with retention and completion initiatives, are the focus of institutions of higher education, especially community colleges. There are initiatives that focus on student success that start at orientation and revolve around connecting the student to the college. Students often arrive on campus with a minimal understanding of the…

Students who begin in honors do not always complete program requirements. As an investigation into student retention, the author introduces a degree-planning workshop into a freshman seminar. The study involves two groups of students from different incoming classes: one (2018) participating in their degree-planning through the workshop and the…

University First Year Seminar (FYS) programs are diverse in their content and pedagogy. Yet all seek to assist first-year students in the difficult college transition. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate if grouping similar academic majors into the existing First Year Seminar (FYS) courses would improve social connectedness, use of…