Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The study has addressed the following research question: "What are the perceptions, attitudes, and values of the various stakeholders, both Arabs and Jews, regarding what they consider to be the root causes of the Bagrut test score gap between Arab students in Israel and their Jewish counterparts?" The Bagrut is the matriculation examination used in Israel at the end of secondary school that determines entry into university and ultimately governs opportunities for employment throughout life. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-02

No description available.

This study investigates factors influencing matriculation decisions for freshman applicants in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Arizona. Two different modeling approaches are used on a five-year cross-sectional sample of applicants. Consistent with previous literature, a parametric logistic regression is specified to estimate the probability that a freshman applicant will matriculate in CALS. Additionally, this study also uses non-parametric gradient boosting methods to predict whether an applicant will matriculate. As a byproduct of using two different techniques to model matriculation decisions, an additional academic interest is to see how these two distinct approaches compare in terms of explanation and predictive capabilities. The results show that students who apply early and applicants with high standardized test scores are significantly less likely to matriculate. Moreover, applicants who attend campus tours, honor students, and students from high schools with many applicants are more likely to matriculate.

This research explores the effect that earning professional certificates has on student confidence, motivation, and persistence. For this study, the focus is the student motivation and persistence of nontraditional students who seek to earn a bachelor's degree despite considerable obstacles and challenges. Specifically, this study evaluates the matriculation rates between two cohorts of students who participated in the online PathwayConnect program. The first cohort was encouraged to complete the program and apply for an online bachelor's degree program at BYU-Idaho. The second cohort was also encouraged to apply to an online program, but only after earning a professional certificate in their desired focus of study. The study found that matriculation rates for students who earned a certificate increased over those who followed a traditional path. The research suggests that earning a certificate provided a lift in student confidence and motivation as the significant contributing factors to the positive change.

Researchers have consistently found that students and their parents have a distorted view of the costs of college attendance (Grodsky & Jones, 2004; Horn, Chen, & Chapman, 2003; Ikenberry & Hartle, 1998; Mumper, 1996). Those who are able to give an estimate of the tuition for various higher education alternatives often overestimate the actual price. When asked to estimate the tuition that in-state undergraduates would pay at four-year colleges in a given year, most students and their parents thought that the price was twice the actual amount (Horn et al., 2003b). Seventy-one percent of all individuals, and 83% of African-Americans believed that college was unaffordable for most families. The majority of individuals over-estimated the price by several thousands of dollars (Hartle, 1998). This study examined the literature on perceived price and used the theoretical construct based on the work of Nobel Prize winner Gary Becker to develop a methodology for studying whether students' perceived price of has a statistically significant impact on their plan to attend college and their actual matriculation. Applying Becker's theory, having faulty information on the price of attendance would result in people incorrectly weighting the cost-benefit equation and making what could be considered irrational decisions in the presence of complete information. Highlighting the problem of misperceived price is the contribution this study makes to the literature. Further study is warranted to determine the extent to which individuals use misperceived prices to make decisions on whether to plan to attend higher education. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Also available in print.

Autism spectrum disorder rates are climbing in the United States. Because this population is growing, research is needed to understand how to assist these individuals in pursuit of postsecondary educational and employment opportunities. The purpose of this qualitative study, as reflected in the central research question, was to investigate how a career and technical education program impacted the preparedness of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder for educational and employment opportunities beyond high school. The conceptual framework was based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological perspective of human development, Zhao and Frank's ecological perspective of technology, and Song's research about distributed cognition. This study used a single case study design, and the case was a career and technical education program at a high school located in Southwestern state. Participants included one program administrator, three career and technical education teachers, and two special education teachers. Data were collected from multiple sources, including individual interviews with participants and program documents. Data analysis included line-by-line coding and category construction to determine themes and discrepancies. Key findings indicated that the CTE program prepared ASD students for postsecondary educational and employment opportunities, differentiated instruction to meet the individual needs of ASD students, technologies such as computers helped ASD students prepare for postsecondary educational and employment opportunities, helped ASD students learn technical skills, life skills, and job skills. As a society we need to recognize ASD students are impacting the paradigm associated with special needs students as they attend universities, work study programs, technical schools, and other opportunities which have evaded this population.

The purpose of this descriptive, quantitative study is to explore the matriculation rates for first-time, full-time freshmen who were previously enrolled in dual enrollment courses while in high school at one of the 13 public community colleges in Tennessee. Percentages, means, standard deviations, ranges, percentages, and proportions were used to describe the data from the 13 public community colleges in Tennessee. The total number of dual enrollment students from 2016 to 2021 across the 13 community colleges over the five-year period was 80,051. Of the 80,051 students, 16,727 students matriculated to their home institution and 63,324 did not. Findings from the study revealed that the total matriculation of the 13 community colleges over the period totaled a mean percentage of 20.90% or a ratio equating to nearly 1:4. Other variables such as matriculations by gender, race, earned credits, GPA, and ACT scores were studied to better understand matriculation rates by demographic variables. Findings will allow for community colleges within the Tennessee Board of Regents system to be compared based on matriculation rates and various demographics. Data from each of the 13 Tennessee community colleges data were analyzed independently for a five-year period (2016 – 2021).

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate selected variables among community college transfer students with or without associate’s degrees and native students at a 4-year university to determine the impact of the articulation and transfer process on baccalaureate attainment. More specifically, the study examined the differences in demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and graduation rates among 15 community colleges and a rural land-grant university in the state of Mississippi. There were three groups reviewed: (a) community college transfer students with associate’s degrees and their graduation rate at a 4-year university, (b) community college transfer students without associate’s degrees (non-degrees) and their graduation rate at the 4-year university, and (c) native university students and their rate of graduation at the 4-year university. A comparison was made among the three groups to determine if significant differences exist in the demographic characteristics and academic preparation for baccalaureate attainment.This study utilized the causal-comparative research design. There were 5 research questions examined in this study utilizing descriptive statistics, chi-square statistical tests, and a logistic regression analysis for each of the 3 groups of students. The findings were for the demographics and academic preparation across the 3 groups that there was not a significant difference in gender or race. There was a slight tendency for all 3 groups’ programs of study to be in the College of Education, College of Arts & Sciences, or College of Business. The 2 groups of transfer students seemed to be older in age. Articulation among the Mississippi Public Community College System and the rural land-grant university is functioning because the transfer students are graduating at a higher rate. From this study, analysis shows that having an associate’s degree makes no difference in attaining a baccalaureate degree. As expected, the cumulative grade point average (GPA) and cumulative credit hours earned are higher for those who graduate than those who did not graduate among the three groups. The logistic regressions were statistically significant for all three groups with the strongest predictor being the cumulative overall GPA.