This study explored the challenges to persistence among active-duty women in online undergraduate degree programs. There is a gap in existing literature surrounding the specific challenges that active-duty women face in persisting. The frameworks that guided this research were Bean and Metzner's nontraditional student retention model and Angelino…

This qualitative research is a narrative research study of the experiences of eight post traditional students enrolled in the case study community college. The student participants were invited to be part of this research based on their demographic. Male students over the age of 24, matriculated in a program of study with a minimum of 12 credits…

Nationally, men of color are graduating college at the lowest rates of all race-gender subgroups. Prior research suggests this population faces unique obstacles as it relates to race and gender and these challenges are often invisible and difficult to resolve. Academic supports can help students overcome these obstacles; however, it is not clear…

Few student success programs nationally have been as effective as CUNY's Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) initiative, which has grown to serve 25,000 community college students. CUNY has a promising program modeled on ASAP that is helping students at senior colleges complete their bachelor's degrees on time: the Accelerate, Complete,…

Osteopathic medical students experience academic challenges during their preclinical years of medical school due to the rigorous medical school curriculum. Prior research identified several challenges experienced by these students and the need to explore resilience strategies which can be employed to address those challenges. The purpose of this…

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the face of higher education institutions in profound ways. After the restrictions of movement under lockdowns imposed in response to the pandemic from 2020, higher education institutions were forced to think creatively and quickly about how to respond to arising challenges of completing the academic year and…

Centralised student support such as academic advising, career guidance, and wellbeing services are important elements of the first-year student experience. While some studies have investigated how use of these services relates to student outcomes, there has been little focus on how they might influence student engagement. The current study…

Colleges and universities recruit student veterans and spend $10.2 billion a year on GI Bill benefits; however, student veterans rarely receive degrees. This descriptive research study explored the experiences of student veterans during their transition from the military to higher education institutions. A qualitative descriptive approach was…

Non-traditional students who are in their first year of college in online open-enrollment institutions have high drop-out rates. These students tend to benefit the most from student engagement. This qualitative study examined the success of a student-engagement based retention initiative known as the lab instructor model from the student…

Peer educators, central to the work we do in academic support and more broadly in higher education, have deep impacts on student learning, development, and success. The ways that academic support professionals in the field make sense of their relationships with peer educators can impact the structure, function, and efficacy of support programs and…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the bachelor's degree graduation rates of three groups of undergraduate students at a regional, public university in Kentucky. The three groups consisted of those registered with disability services, those registered with disability services…

This study used an ethnographic lens to examine the historic organizational development of a distance education support department within a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education. The Borderlands University (BU; pseudonym) Online Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (OTLT) is representative of the structure and culture of a…

The problem addressed in this study was the current low retention and graduation rates of Black males at community colleges nationwide. The purpose of this causal-comparative quantitative study was to determine the effect of the Black Male Initiative (BMI) on Black males' academic self-efficacy and academic achievement scores. Academic…

Student affairs professionals tend to face unrealistic workplace demands. Finding time for personal responsibilities while juggling the demands of a job that often requires a 24/7 commitment is more of a goal than an achievement. Compared with their married, cohabitating, or childless counterparts, single mothers struggle more significantly with…

This study uplifted the stories of formerly incarcerated and/or system-impacted students attending a California community college (i.e., "Rising Scholars") to provide qualitative context to a growing literature following the state's promotion of support programs at the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and…