Black males complete college at a lower rate than do all ethnic minority groups in the United States. Many universities have developed programs to improve educational outcomes for Black males, yet graduation rates remain low. The purpose of this study was to explore the engagement experiences of Black male college graduates who participated in the African American Male Initiative, a successful program developed by the University Systems of Georgia. The organizational learning theory was used to address how an academic institution can work collectively to adapt to changes that occur within the learning environment. Also, the anti-deficit achievement framework was used to discover the interventions that helped participants' complete college. The research questions in this study examined engagement experiences, preferred activities, motives for selecting certain activities, and the interventions that helped participants succeed. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth phone interviews with 6 participants. Creswell's version of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen phenomenological method was used to move inductively from significant statements to 8 themes that emerged from interview answers. Results showed all participants attended an AAMI class twice a week and 5 out of 6 participants engaged in other campus activities (student government, fraternities, Black Student Alliance). Four interventions that helped participants graduate included: (a) learning study and leadership skills, (b) mentorship, (c) networking, and (d) building relationships with peers in the program. This study is expected to contribute to social change by informing high schools, colleges, and universities of successful methods that may help improve academic outcomes for Black male college students.

No description available.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare high school graduation rates between Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. School systems in the state of Tennessee that offered CTE courses for the 2007-2008 (120 systems) or 2008-2009 (118 systems) school years were used in this study. Fifteen northeast Tennessee systems were also examined to compare the graduation rates of CTE concentrators and non-CTE concentrators. The graduation rates of male and female CTE concentrators was also compared. Research supported the notion that CTE concentrators could improve overall graduation rates for school systems, and female CTE concentrators on average graduate at a higher rate than male CTE concentrators. Five research questions guided this study, and data were analyzed using independent-samples t tests and one-samples t tests. Results indicated that 12th-grade CTE concentrators had a higher graduation rate than non-CTE concentrators. The study further revealed that female CTE concentrators graduated at a significantly higher rate than male CTE concentrators. Findings suggested that CTE concentrators generally improved a school system's overall graduation rate.

Each year millions of young people graduate from high school and enroll in colleges and universities across the country, and many of these students are underprepared for the demands and academic rigor of college-level courses. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were significant differences in graduation rates between students who entered college academically underprepared and those who entered academically prepared to enroll in college-level courses. The subjects of the study were a selected group of students enrolled at a public, 2-year comprehensive community college located in Northeast Tennessee. The criteria used for selecting the subjects included: (1) Individuals who graduated from high school in the months of December through July in each of the years 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006 and enrolled as first-time, full-time students during the fall semester immediately following high school graduation; (2) individuals who were classified as full-time students at the community college because they enrolled for a course load of 12 or more semester credit hours; and (3) individuals who had completed the ACT assessment test and were placed in developmental-level courses or college-level courses based on ACT subscores. Students scoring lower than 19 on the ACT in the areas of English, reading, and mathematics were required to take developmental-level courses, whereas students scoring 19 or above were placed in college-level courses. The subjects of the study were tracked for a 3-year period to determine the relationship between the number of developmental courses into which a student was placed and the 3-year graduation rate. This study also examined the relationship between the number of academic subject content areas in which a student was required to take developmental courses and the 3-year graduation rate. The analysis indicated that students who entered college prepared for college-level work, based on earned ACT scores, were much more likely to graduate within 3 years as compared to students who entered college underprepared and required to take developmental courses. Further, the study revealed that the number of developmental courses and the number of developmental academic subject content areas students were required to take was inversely related to the 3-year persistence-to-graduation rate.

The transition to high school has been identified by researchers as a pivotal point in students' lives. The addition of a Freshman Academy in some schools has targeted the 9th grade year to ease students' transition to high school and increase the likelihood of academic success. One purpose of this study is to compare student outcomes of schools that have implemented a Freshman Academy with schools that have not. Student outcomes are defined for this study to include graduation rates, attendance rates, instances of out-of-school suspensions, and instances of expulsions. The second purpose of this study is to compare student outcomes before and after implementation of a Freshman Academy. Two research questions were analyzed to determine the impact of the implementation of the Freshman Academy on student outcomes. A 2-way chi square analysis of variance was used for each research question. There was a significant difference in the instances of out-of-school suspensions for schools that have a Freshman Academy and schools that do not. Instances of out-of-school suspensions were higher in schools with a Freshman Academy. No significant difference was found between graduation rates, attendance rates, or instances of expulsions for schools that have a Freshman Academy and schools that do not. There was a significant difference in instances of out-of-school suspensions before and after implementation of Freshman Academy. The instances of out-of-school suspensions decreased after the implementation of Freshman Academy. No significant difference was found in graduation rates, attendance rates, or instances of expulsions before and after implementation of Freshman Academy.

No description available.

No description available.

Advances in medication and support services in high schools have influenced the growing number of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) enrolling in colleges and universities. Unfortunately, their lower graduation rates and extended time to graduation creates multiple challenges to themselves, their institution’s, and their communities. Limited information is available regarding how disability services impact graduation rates for students with ADHD in higher education. More information is needed about how the practices instituted by disability support center leaders in post-secondary institution’s impact the graduation rates of students with ADHD. Retention, a financial and ethical concern for universities, is pushed to the forefront by lawmakers who demand an increased return on their state’s educational investment. Disability resource directors, school registrar officials, and disability resource center websites were data sources. Information was gathered about the number of students with ADHD that have graduated from each institution over the past three years. A non-experimental quantitative design (correlation) was used that provided a process for gathering information about use of disability services, which was then correlated and compared to the overall graduation rate of college students with ADHD over a three-year period. Qualitative information regarding types of services highlighted commonly used services and responses from directors were discussed regarding collaborative partnerships and training for faculty and staff. A positive correlation between use of services and graduation rate was found from examining one school that submitted complete data. Overall, the response rate was low, particularly for the colleges, which impacted the ability to respond to some of the research questions. Some directors noted a preference for the social theory of retention in support of why they don’t collect data on specific groups of students with disabilities, while others chose to not participate at all due to a lack of data tracking. Because funding for programming and targeted services depend on knowledge gained from data tracking, these findings may have implications for policy and practice. Educational leaders may be able to utilize the results of this study to shape future institutional policies and practices that impact the success of their students.

High dropout rates for minority students require additional educational research to understand and implement changes that will increase graduation rates. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine factors that may be associated with graduation for Latino male students. Guided by Tinto's work, which holds that students remain in school when they feel academically or socially connected to an institution, this study addressed the impact of social factors, academic factors, and small learning communities (SLCs) on graduation rates. The research study used archival data and bivariate logistic regression to analyze the data for Latino male participants (n = 208) at an urban southern California high school. Results indicated that grade-point average (GPA), the number of suspensions, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) may be significant factors associated with graduation rates of the Latino male students. Implications for social change include an increase in support for programs such as AVID, a greater number of tutoring and mentoring programs to help students increase their GPA, and school policies that address discipline without increasing the number of suspensions. Students benefit most from obtaining a high school diploma. Graduation can assist students to have more opportunities in their own lives. Increasing student-graduation rates increases self-reliance and the ability for students to contribute to their own communities.

Increased enrollments of nontraditional students in U.S. higher education institutions have prompted many college and university administrators to consider student service programs. These programs ensure that support services are available to nontraditional students to cultivate healthy graduation rates among that student population. The purpose of this study was to discover factors that influence nontraditional students to become disengaged or be retained. The study was a qualitative case study with data collected from individual interviews with 10 nontraditional students participating in online and traditional onsite delivery systems at a private, nontraditional higher education institution in the western United States. The theoretical framework that guided this study was Knowles's andragogy theory. The research questions addressed students' perceptions of the role of persistence, barriers, self-direction, intrinsic motivation, delivery systems, learning modality, and academic and support services in their academic success. Data analysis was conducted to identify themes by coding the narrative responses and using member checks to validate data interpretations. Findings derived from the interviews indicated that students believed that they benefitted from a community of support within the university system. A professional development workshop was designed as a project to train university employees on how to create a professional learning community (PLC) to support students. This PLC was designed to promote positive social change by enhancing retention of adult students in academic programs until graduation and create an environment where people work together in a collaborative way within the university to ensure student success.