Low retention rates among 1st year students plague many community colleges in the United States, including the study site used for this research. Preparing 1st year community college students both academically and socially are key aspects of combating this issue and enhancing student success and persistence. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the influence of the First-Year Experience (FYE) course in improving student retention and promoting student success. Rodger’s student development theory and Tinto’s theory on retention guided this study. A causal-comparative design was used to examine the difference in retention rates and GPA between students enrolled in the FYE course and students who were not enrolled in FYE. A total sample of 19,511 1st year students were enrolled in 3 academic semesters in fall 2011, spring 2012 and fall 2012 of which 761 were FYE students and 18,750 were non-FYE students. A series of t tests and chi-square tests were conducted to compare the 2 student groups for the 2 dependent variables. Results showed no statistically significant difference between FYE participation and retention rates for the 2 semesters spring and fall 2012 (p = 0.69 and p = 0.32 respectively) but there was a statistically significant difference for the fall 2011 semester (p < 0.001). The GPA was significantly higher for the 1st year students who completed FYE compared to those who were not enrolled for all three semesters fall 2011, spring 2012, and fall 2012 (p < 0.001, p = 0.15, and p = 0.94 respectively). The results indicate that the FYE course can improve students’ GPA consistently but not their retention. A more detailed investigation into the influence on retention is needed. This study promotes social change by encouraging further research that will benefit the development and improvement of FYE courses.

This quantitative study utilized surveys to explore how science doctoral students receive support from their dissertation advisors and its relationship to graduate student success outcomes. The survey was distributed to active doctoral students majoring in the sciences at one large, public, Southeastern University. Within examining how the support science doctoral students receives relates to graduate student success outcomes, the study also examined additional factors that could influence graduate student success such as the participant size of the laboratory group, experience with undergraduate research, and time in program. Findings revealed that on average science doctoral students report receiving more psychosocial support than career support. Students who reported higher levels of satisfaction with their laboratory group and those who had female advisors, were more likely to report receiving higher levels of psychosocial support. Also, students who reported higher levels of satisfaction with their laboratory group and having a female advisor, were more likely to report receiving higher levels of career support. Those students who had been the program longer, reported receiving less career support. This was also true for identification. The longer students were in the program, the less likely they would report identifying or wanting to emulate their advisor. There was a statistically significant relationship between overall level of satisfaction with the advisor relationship and receiving career and psychosocial support. There was also a significant relationship between reporting high levels of satisfaction with the advisor relationship and reporting high levels of satisfaction with the laboratory group. Lastly, there was significance found between students reporting identifying with the advisor and expressing high levels of satisfaction with the advisor relationship. No statistically significant relationship was found between the levels of support received and number of academic benchmarks or scholarly works. There was also no statistically significant relationship found between levels of support or graduate student success outcomes with the number of participants in a laboratory group. The study results indicated science doctoral students who have been the most successful at meeting graduate student success outcomes receive more psychosocial support from their advisors than career support. However, the more science students felt that their advisor was assisting them with career support, the more satisfaction they experienced with the overall advisor relationship. Advisors from other disciplines can look to increase the amounts of career support they provide to their students. Time in program was the only significant predictor of number of academic benchmarks met for science doctoral students. This needs to be explored in other disciplines given that most students in the sciences are only in the program for five to six years. The variable, scholarly works, was found to have two significant predictors, which were experience with undergraduate research and having had started the dissertation project. Undergraduate advisors and program directors from all disciplines should look to encourage their students who are interested in pursuing doctoral education to engage in undergraduate research as it will help them to progress more successfully through a graduate program. Doctoral advisors and program directors from all disciplines should look to create a curriculum that encourages students to start their research project as early as possible. The level of satisfaction with the laboratory group was a significant predictor to the satisfaction with the advisor relationship, to receiving more career and psychosocial support, and to identifying the advisor more. Therefore, more research is needed regarding the influence of the laboratory group and graduate student success outcomes in the sciences. Overall, the results of the study provide insight as to how other disciplines and programs may improve their student success outcome rates by understanding some mechanisms that are contributing to the success of science doctoral students.

This study examined the value of the HESI Admission Assessment in predicting student success. Associate degree (N ≤ 68) and baccalaureate (N ≤ 69) nursing students took the HESI Admission Assessment after acceptance into the nursing programs for the purpose of identifying their academic weaknesses and focusing their remediation efforts. Findings indicated that the HESI Admission Assessment was a valid predictor of students' academic ability to succeed in the nursing programs. In the associate degree nursing program, HESI Admission Assessment scores were significantly positively correlated with 88.89% of all nursing course grades in the program and 100% of the beginning-level course grades. In the baccalaureate nursing program, HESI Admission Assessment scores were significantly positively correlated with 50.00% of all nursing course grades in the program and 80.00% of beginning-level course grades. Furthermore, associate degree nursing students who completed the program had significantly higher HESI Admission Assessment scores than those who did not complete the program.

The primary propose of this study was to identify community college faculty's perceptions regarding the effectiveness of the self-contained campus academic advising center, the importance of the eight established NACADA advising goals, and the role of faculty in the advising process. In addition, the current advising behaviors of faculty at a community college with a self-contained advising system were examined. The study also investigated if perceptions and behaviors regarding advising vary among full-time and part-time faculty. The results of this study provide an overview of community college faculty perceptions and behaviors with regard to academic advising and the established NACADA advising goals. Specifically, over 75% faculty participants indicated that all eight of the NACADA advising goals were "important" or "very important". In addition, over 70% of faculty participants indicated that all eight of the NACADA goals for effective advising should be part of the faculty role. Even though the institution examined in this study employs a self-contained advising structure, over 96% of faculty participants indicated that they had personally advised one or more students in the past year. While full-time and part-time faculty were generally in agreement, data did reveal several significant differences in perceptions. The findings also show a significant positive relationship between faculty perception of their role in the advising process and the number of students they personally advise on all eight of the NACADA goals for effective advising.

Statistics on college students working have shown an increase as students cope with rising costs of education, decreasing financial aid, greater personal financial commitments, and the expectation that students should contribute to the cost of their own education. These facts combined with the students' need to secure employment upon graduation contribute to why they must work while attending college. Whereas working may provide a means to address students' financial and employment concerns, it also limits the amount of time students have to interact with faculty outside of class. This form of student engagement enables students to become more comfortable with their academic environment and enhances their sense of belonging which contributes to their persistence. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the number of hours students worked off-campus and the frequency of their experiences with faculty as measured by the College Student Experiences Questionnaire 4th edition. Examples of students' interactions with faculty included actions such as talking with your instructor about your course grades and assignments; discussing career plans; socializing outside of class; asking for comments on academic performance; and working with a faculty member on a research project. The study also examined the relationship between work and gender and between work and class standing. In examining the relationship between hours worked and the ten experiences with faculty, those who worked 1-20 hours weekly participated in significantly more discussions outside of class with other students and faculty than students who did not work. The researcher suspects this may be true because students may be more inclined to gather together with peers outside of class for study groups, lab projects, and group assignments that may involve the participation of faculty outside of class. These types of activities are usually associated with class requirements and students, regardless of their work schedules, must make time for them as they influence their grades in the course. In examining the relationship between gender and hours worked, the research revealed no significant relationship existed for any of the work groups which included: no work, 1-20 hours per week, and over 20 hours per week. Further examination of the relationship between class standing and hours worked showed a greater proportion of seniors worked compared to juniors. These findings resulted in several recommendations for future research which include studying the relationship between student engagement and other variables such as: the nature of the students’ work; time constraints i.e.; intercollegiate athletics or performing arts; and the students’ academic major. Examining these may yield insights into the relationship work may have with other aspects of student engagement.

Employability skill development is being increasingly investigated among higher education scholars, corporate hiring managers, and governments around the world. Understanding employability skill development is important because it has implications on educational policy, teaching techniques, curriculum designs, and recruitment practices. This study was conducted at a public research university in a southwestern state of the United States. It was designed to understand the difference in employability skill development among students who participated in a leadership development program compared to those who did not. Additionally, the study investigated what skills were seeing the most change among student participated in the leadership development program, and if a student's major of study played any role in their overall employability development over the course of a year. Eight employability skills were tested in a pre- and post-test model. Results indicated that students in leadership development programs are more likely to see an increase in employability skill development. From the skills tested among participates, those in the leadership program found the most change over time in the area of problem solving skills. Finally, the results also indicate that a student's major does have an impact on their overall employability skill development. Students who major in business had significantly higher employability scores than those in other majors at the university.

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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.

College student persistence has been the focus of much research for over 40 years, but there has been little progress in increasing the rate of student persistence. Many scholars have focused on specific student populations in particular institutional types. While the fastest growing institutional type has been the 2-year for-profit college serving primarily underserved communities, the experience of persistence among students of this population has not been studied. Accordingly, this study was conducted to explore, through a social cognitive lens, the persistence experiences of students from minority urban communities attending 2-year for-profit colleges. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to analyze the data from interviews with 4 students from various schools around the country. Four common themes were found: social support, independence, growth, and conflict. All the students cited family as relevant but also as a source of conflict. All the students also expressed the importance of faculty for academic success, engagement, and fun. Participants did not mention any engagement or concern around financial policies, and social integration outside the classroom was valued more than the in-classroom experience. The results of this study will be shared to enhance understanding of persistence in 2-year schools. Insights from this study can help administrators, advisors, and instructors design and implement programs to be more closely aligned with the needs of this important student population.

This work explored the academic success of 10 Latino/a students in Southern View School District, a school district in the state of Utah. The students and their parents, when available, were interviewed and the students' academic records were reviewed. The students were asked to identify a school person, teacher, administrator, or staff person, who could help explain their success. The school person was then interviewed. The data were collated and analyzed using resilience theory and the critical race-based constructs of resistance and resilience resistance. The construct of colorblindness was also used to discuss the participants' attitudes towards less successful Latino/a students and their families. The work revealed that the successful Latino/a students accessed the protective factors of personal strengths and environmental resources to remain resilient and achieve in school. It was also discovered that the students' success was also a form of resistance that was explained using the constructs of conformist resistance and resilient resistance. The student success was revealed as a way to resist oppression and remain in the educational pipeline. It was also discovered that student, parent, and school participants had adopted a colorblind ideology that assumed equal opportunity was available to all without regard to race. These observations led to the conclusion that the school system and the students of color it served would benefit from direct discussion of White privilege and what it means to be of a non-White racial group. The recommendation was that the school should adopt a systematic model of social justice education that could help more student access protective factors and facilitate critical conversations about race