Interventions such as the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Scholars Program) are among the national strategies for promoting doctoral degree attainment amongst first-generation college students from low socioeconomic backgrounds or groups underrepresented in graduate education. This study aimed to understand how…

Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was used to identify distinct groups of Community college students based on their self-ratings of satisfaction with student service programs. The programs were counseling, financial aid, health center, student programs and student government. The best fitting model to describe the data was a two Discrete-Factor model…

In many parts of the world, the state education system is accompanied by a shadow system that mirrors the school curriculum. In England, most provision in the shadow system is through private, one-to-one tutoring, offered by those working independently and through local, regional and national agencies. International surveys indicate that shadow…

This study describes a well-defined data-driven diagnostic identification and selection procedure for choosing students at-risk of academic failure for appropriate academic support services. This algorithmic procedure has been validated both by historical quantitative studies of student precedents and outcomes as well as by current qualitative…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of older adult dislocated workers who participated in community college non-credit workforce training programs. The research questions guiding the study were: (a) what are the experiences of older adult dislocated workers who attend community college non-credit workforce…

Evidence suggests that college preparation programs successfully support students through college preparation and application process. However, most research into college preparation programs does not attend to students' collegiate experiences once they leave college preparation programs. This dissertation explored the long-term influence of Small…

Despite the fact that many students with disabilities graduate from postsecondary institutions, most of the research focuses on their academic experiences while completing their degrees, rather than on their transition to employment. To gain a greater understanding of students' transition experiences we included three groups in our study: current…

High-achieving kids from low-income families too often fall into the achievement trap; as they progress up the grades, their academic performance falls, and they are far less likely to remain star students than are middle-class or wealthy high-achievers. So says the first U.S.-wide analysis of high-achieving students from poor families (published…

Word reading accommodations are commonly applied in the general education setting in an attempt to improve student comprehension and learning of curriculum content. This study examined the effects of listening-while-reading (LWR) and silent reading (SR) using text-to-speech assistive technology on the comprehension of 25 middle-school remedial…

Similar to other institutions, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has determined that a relationship may exist between student performance as defined by grades, and activity in the campus' online course management system (CMS). Specifically, since Fall 2007, UMBC's "Most Active Blackboard Courses" reports show students…

The Middle College High School (MCHS) is an optional high-school format, typically co-sponsored by community colleges and local school districts. Students complete core high-school graduation requirements while concurrently completing college courses. This dissertation presents an analysis of the academic achievement and educational plans of the…

Assessment has garnered increased interest in recent years. It is seen as critical to enhancing student learning and understanding. Formative assessment tools such as concept inventories could be valuable in moving toward such goals. Concept inventories, a recent addition to biology education, hold much promise for helping faculty to understand…

Undocumented Hispanic students in higher education have many challenges and barriers to overcome. This qualitative study investigated the emerging themes identified in the lived experiences of five undocumented Hispanic (UH) students who successfully completed their education in a two-year college in southeast Texas. This phenomenological…

Colleges and Universities have a myriad of choices in how to organize enrollment services delivery. Formalizing collaborative services to create stronger more comprehensive linkages and cross-functional service delivery in a student-centric, relationship-oriented manner is important for meeting the expectations of today's students. In support…

Almost 11% of college students have a disability (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, Knokey, & Shaver, 2010). Existing research indicates that students with disabilities have difficulty with retention and graduation (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a type of disability that has increased among students in…