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The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which completion of Temple University's Core-to-Core articulation agreement requirements improves transfer students' likelihood to persist and to obtain a baccalaureate degree . Additionally, demographic variables (age, gender, ethnicity, financial aid eligibility), pre-enrollment variables (transfer GPA, transferable credits, Core-to-Core participation, educational intent, class standing, and community college attended), and enrollment variables (enrollment status, GPA trend, credits per semester, number of semester enrollments, and final GPA) were examined in order to determine whether they had any validity in predicting baccalaureate degree attainment. The study used an institutional case study design with historical data as the foundation for a multivariate analysis. The study population included 5419 students who transferred to Temple University between the Fall 1998 and Spring 2002 semesters. from one of eleven local community colleges that participated in Temple's Core-to-Core transfer program. A causal-comparative methodology was used to study the two groups - persisters and non-persisters. Descriptive statistics provided a picture of each group of students, while Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to determine the demographic, pre-enrollment, and enrollment variables that had the strongest ability to predict academic persistence. The Chi-square analyses presented a very detailed picture of the persisters and non-persisters. As a group, enrollment variables were the strongest predictors of baccalaureate degree attainment. However, the independent variables that were most significant and also the most meaningful were the number of semesters for which a student registered, final GPA, enrollment status (full-time/part-time), average number of credits per semester, GPA trend, and financial aid eligibility. A logistic regression analyses was then used to examine the predictive factors for baccalaureate degree attainment after eliminating several variables due to multicollinearity concerns and due to the complexity introduced with variables containing multiple nominal responses. The results were highly significant with 22.6% of the variance accounted for, indicating that the students who have a higher probability of graduating demonstrate a pattern of increasing GPA from initial transfer to graduation, have a higher transfer GPA, attend Temple University on a full-time basis, have taken advantage of Temple's Core-to-Core transfer program are eligible for financial aid, and are female. / Educational Administration

Over the years, dramatic changes in retention and attrition rates have given rise to extensive studies on the academically at-risk college student (Nisbet, Ruble, and Schurr 1982; Levin and Levin, 1991, White & Salacek, 1986). Yet, most of these studies have focused on statistical measures identifying predictors of success using traditional quantitative methodology, with only sparse attention given to the amorphous phenomenon of the "student's experience." Against the odds, some at-risk students continue to succeed in college, despite academic difficulty. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of academically at-risk students who graduated from four year institutions and to discover how they successfully navigated higher education life's path, despite academic challenges. Specifically, this study sought to understand the process by which these students persisted from college entry to graduation; the tasks of accomplishing requirements for course work and earning sufficient grades; the management of social issues of home and campus life, and the strategies they employed that yielded success. This research used a case study and grounded theory methodology to analyze the interviews of four students. A comparative iterative analysis of the data revealed that these students experienced a supportive, enjoyable, yet highly stressful college experience that was shaped by interactions within their academic and social communities. Findings also revealed that theses students perceived their college experience as hard work and presented with the defining feature of a unique will to continue in college during high levels of stress that was central to research on student resiliency. In addition, this study provided an example of how students experience a developmental shift from late adolescence to adulthood, where the transition to adultness often involves an overwhelming amount of responsibility that some students might not be equipped to fully handle. Successful strategies that these students employed consisted of: a) self-appraisal, b) mirroring of parental values, c) long range goal-setting, d) positive use of time, e) monitoring of extracurricular activities, f) practice, visual, hands-on learning, g) resourcefulness, and h) extra effort. / Ph. D.

This qualitative study was designed to explore the role of family in the life of African American college students at two predominately White institutions. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 38 African American college students and members of their families. The results revealed eight factors that influenced students' success and their ability to persist in college: (1) Family Support and Influence, (2) Sense of Community, (3) Family Investment and Expectations, (4) Negotiating Environments, (5) Role Models and Mentors, (6) Faith in God/Spiritual Support, (7) Factors of Motivation, and (8) Macro Cultural Perspectives on Race. / Ph. D.

Academic persistence among African American college students has become an important issue due to the consistent lack of increase in the retention rates of these students. Despite the importance of this issue in the field of education, little has been done to study how family factors may influence college student's academic success from a family science perspective. Further, students attending HBCUs are rarely utilized in empirical research even though HBCUs have proven to be effective in graduating African American students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the ways in which African American college students' perceive family relationships and support as impacting their academic persistence. Fourteen African American college students attending an HBCU were interviewed about their perceptions of the impact of family relationships and support on their academic persistence. Participants included nine females and five males all identifying as juniors or seniors. Findings for the study included four major themes: (a) family structure and family relationships, (b) challenges/overcoming obstacles, (c) coping strategies, and (d) success and perseverance. Family structure and relationships were defined in a variety of ways by participants, which included immediate family, non-kin, and extended family. Participants faced several challenges and obstacles including transitioning to college, family issues at home, and being a burden, particularly financially, on other family members. Several coping strategies were utilized by participants. Family support, religiosity, peer relationships, and music were cited most often by participants in this study. The study concluded that family relationships and support are indeed important in academic persistence of African American college students. / Ph. D.

Both cultural and social capital have been used in the existing literature to understand the differences in student persistence. Bourdieu's theories (1986, 1993, 1973), through their various applications, have provided evidence that the influence of social and cultural capital on student achievement varies based on the context of the study (Sternberg et al. 2011; Farruggia et al. 2018; Grodsky 2007). This research will build on the existing research and expand the focus of the research to a broader application of both cultural and social capital together. Through this method, this dissertation examines differences in college readiness students possess when they enter Urban Center University. This research also examines differences in the type and level of social capital students report activating in their first semester of college, primarily measured through students' sense of belonging. Finally, it will examine differences in support for students' cultural communities as measured by academic/social support for their cultural community and strain with family and friends from home. A binary logistic regression operationalizes all three components of cultural and social capital to investigate the likelihood of the following: persistence to year two and year three, on-time graduation, and attainment of satisfactory academic performance (SAP) toward degree completion. Finally, high degrees of belonging for Latino/a students, men, and first-generation students are compared to overall persistence rates for these populations to examine how belonging impacts persistence for students who identify as members of these groups. / Doctor of Philosophy / Many students choose to attend a college or university and never graduate. This dissertation examines the ways that their high school experience, family and friends, and relationships forged at Urban Center impact their persistence and likelihood of graduating in four years. The research will combine several forms of relationships and academic measures in one model to understand the ways they interact to impact persistence. The research will help colleges and universities understand the way that both pre-college behaviors and academic effort, relationships forged in college, and maintaining home relationships impact the likelihood of persistence. The context for Urban Center was selected because it offers insight into a campus with a very diverse student body based on race, gender, sexual orientation, Pell Grant utilization, and status as the first in their immediate family to attend college.

Persistence of perennial grass crops is essential to their profitable management. Recently, orchardgrass producers in the Mid-Atlantic have reported a reduction in the persistence and regrowth vigor of their swards. The overall objective was to evaluate which factors play a major role in controlling the persistence of orchardgrass harvested for hay in the Mid-Atlantic. A survey of orchardgrass fields, growth chamber experiment, and field experiment were conducted to that end. The objectives were to: (1) assess soil fertility, management practices, disease status, and climate in relation to producer perceived stand persistence rating, orchardgrass biomass, and soil test thresholds in orchardgrass hayfields in 4 states, (2) examine the interactions of high temperature and low cutting height on the physiology and regrowth of orchardgrass in controlled environments, and (3) evaluate yield, composition, and size/density compensation-corrected productivity of orchardgrass and orchardgrass/alfalfa mixtures harvested to four cutting heights over three years. The survey of hayfields indicated that the sward age, soil organic matter, grazing, manure application, and historical average high temperature were main determinants of stand persistence score. In the growth chamber experiment, regrowth was significantly reduced by the 35°C treatment as compared to 20°C. Low cutting height significantly reduced regrowth in the cool temperature treatment, but no effect of cutting height was detected under heat stress. In the field experiment, yields were highest from plots cut to 5 cm, but orchardgrass cover in these plots thinned through the experiment. Tiller size and density measurements indicated that cutting heights of 10 cm or greater were able to achieve and maintain optimal leaf area while productivity was reduced for the 5 cm treatment. Overall, it is apparent that excessively low cutting heights are a major cause of reduced persistence in orchardgrass swards and that high temperature stress will limit regrowth. These factors likely interact with fertility and disease status, and together cause the premature loss of orchardgrass stands. Efforts should be made to communicate the importance of increased cutting height to producers. Breeding of orchardgrass resistant to fungal pathogens and heat stress may be required to sustain an orchardgrass hay industry in the Mid-Atlantic. / Ph. D. / Persistence of perennial grass crops is essential to their profitable management. Recently, orchardgrass producers in the Mid-Atlantic have reported a reduction in the persistence and regrowth vigor of their swards. The overall objective was to evaluate which factors play a major role in controlling the persistence of orchardgrass harvested for hay in the Mid-Atlantic. A survey of orchardgrass fields, growth chamber experiment, and field experiment were conducted to that end. The objectives were to: (1) assess soil fertility, management practices, disease status, and climate in relation to producer perceived stand persistence rating, orchardgrass biomass, and soil test thresholds in orchardgrass hayfields in 4 states, (2) examine the interactions of high temperature and low cutting height on the physiology and regrowth of orchardgrass in controlled environments, and (3) evaluate yield, composition, and size/density compensation-corrected productivity of orchardgrass and orchardgrass/alfalfa mixtures harvested to four cutting heights over three years. The survey of hayfields indicated that the sward age, soil organic matter, grazing, manure application, and historical average high temperature were main determinants of stand persistence score. In the growth chamber experiment, regrowth was significantly reduced by the 35°C treatment as compared to 20°C. Low cutting height significantly reduced regrowth in the cool temperature treatment, but no effect of cutting height was detected under heat stress. In the field experiment, yields were highest from plots cut to 5 cm, but orchardgrass cover in these plots thinned through the experiment. Tiller size and density measurements indicated that cutting heights of 10 cm or greater were able to achieve and maintain optimal leaf area while productivity was reduced for the 5 cm treatment. Overall, it is apparent that excessively low cutting heights are a major cause of reduced persistence in orchardgrass swards and that high temperature stress will limit regrowth. These factors likely interact with fertility and disease status, and together cause the premature loss of orchardgrass stands. Efforts should be made to communicate the importance of increased cutting height to producers. Breeding of orchardgrass resistant to fungal pathogens and heat stress may be required to sustain an orchardgrass hay industry in the Mid-Atlantic.