Institutions of higher education continue to try and find new ways to help students persist in college (Kinzie & Kuh, 2017). One compelling tool to help students succeed comes from Dweck’s (1999) Mindset model. The model depicts intelligence as either fixed or growth; meaning intelligence can be viewed as unchangeable or malleable. Students with a growth mindset recover from failure quicker, overcome challenges faster, and see difficulty as a positive challenge instead of questioning their intelligence. With the many challenges domestic students face persisting in college, international students studying abroad face additional factors inhibiting their motivation and ability to succeed. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether Dweck’s (1999) 8-item Mindset sub-scale could be valid with international students studying within the United States. A multiple-sample confirmatory factor analysis using maximum likelihood estimation was used to assess measurement invariance with domestic (n = 1809) and international (n = 275) students at a large-midwestern university. The secondary purpose was to determine whether GPA, gender, year-in-school, English language proficiency, and first-generation status impacted international student mindset scores. A seemingly unrelated regression was used to determine if there were any differences in the sub-group population of international students (n = 268). Results indicated Dweck’s (1999) Mindset Scale is valid for use with international students studying within the U.S. and significant differences were found in the mindset scores within gender, academic rank, age, and first-generation status. The results of this study inform the literature and institutions of higher education on how Dweck’s (1999) mindset model can be used as another tool to help international students succeed in college. Future research implications were shared and discussed.

Developmental mathematics is a problem for many college students due to high failure rate. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the redesigned course, Math 24. The evaluation examined success, retention, and persistence outcomes of the redesigned course compared to the previous developmental math course. The course's academic and environmental strengths and weaknesses were assessed from the students' and instructors' perspectives. The study utilized the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of Tinto's retention model, Astin's I-E-O model, and Wlodkowski's culturally responsive teaching. A mixed methods program evaluation was employed for the case study using an ex post facto analysis of quantitative data from the college's student database and interviews from 16 students, 4 faculty members, and 1 program director administrator. Quantitative data on persistence, retention and student success rates were analyzed using descriptive statistics to evaluate the outcomes of the redesigned course. Qualitative data from student focus groups and faculty interviews were analyzed using constant comparison analysis to evaluate redesign effect on students. The findings suggested that the redesigned math course's curriculum, resources, assignments, assessments, and the physical classroom setting had many advantages, and assignments and assessments posed major challenges. Online resources, peer collaboration, indirect instruction were strengths; word problems, and the final exam posed the biggest challenges for most students. Retention, persistence and success rates fluctuated over the years and the expected outcomes were not achieved. The social change implication of the redesigned developmental math project study is that faculty should seek students' feedback to help faculty with effective decision making.