Education Commons^™

Work Hard For The Money: Performance-Based Funding In The State Of Louisiana, Victoria C. Lloyd

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to examine in what ways, if any, the introduction of the equity incentive portion of Louisiana’s performance-based funding model impacted the underserved student groups it was designed to support. I employed a quantitative quasi-experimental design for this study by running three outcome variables (Adult Learner Enrollment, First-Time Enrollment for Racially Minoritized Students, and Low-Income Student Enrollment) by sector (two- and four-year public institutions) and employing a differences-in-differences regression with panel data. In my analysis I uncovered two main findings: 1) Louisiana’s equity incentive is showing early signs of success for all three underserved groups …

Affordability In College Access: Improving Equitable Value For Low-Income, First-Generation, And Students Of Color, Joy N. Emmanuel

The Vermont Connection

Pursuing post-secondary education is often thought of as a pathway to tremendous economic success, yet many students, such as low-income, first-generation students, and students of color, are still underrepresented in higher education. Despite receiving more attention than in the past, the socioeconomic gap in higher education has remained the same. The ever-rising cost of higher education, declining government financial aid, and widening income disparities have put college out of reach to underrepresented, underserved students. It is vital to identify strategies to close the equity gap and improve college access for underrepresented underserved students. In this article, I explored the issue …

Forest County’S Historically Underrepresented Rural Students And Barriers To College, Tracy Ash

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study used newly collected survey data from the Perceptions of Educational Barrier Scale – Revised (PEB-R; Gibbons, 2005) to examine the reported educational barriers of students who are currently enrolled at the University of Midwest and who graduated from one of the five designated rural high schools in Forest County, Illinois. The research sample consisted of 29 students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the PEB-R mean scores of reported educational barriers to post-secondary opportunities of historically underrepresented students who graduated from any of the five rural high schools in Forest County and …

Avoiding Shame: Filipino-American’S Motivations For Higher Education, Myra Dayrit

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Filipinos are often referred to as the “forgotten Asians” or “Latinos of Asia” due to the centuries of colonization in the Philippines. This deficit discourse often minimizes the experiences of Filipino Americans, especially in higher education settings. Filipinos typically are lumped into the greater myth of the Asian model minority, allowing for little research specific to Filipino Americans' experiences. The Filipino American experiences differ from those of other Asian Americans due to their complex history with the United States. Thus, the lack of research in this underrepresented population, especially in higher education, is significant because access to a college degree …

Rural Students On College Enrollment: Perceptions Of Influence Surrounding College Choice, Lucas M. Simmons

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose for conducting the study was to describe the community, personal experiences, and life events of individuals from rural Arkansas communities in developing their decisions to attend college and how the community impacted their successful enrollment at the University of Arkansas. Specifically, the study set out to explore how rural communities were perceived to influence college enrollment decisions and choices in degree selection. Although situated at one case study institution, the University of Arkansas, the findings have importance for all rural students and communities, and ultimately public policy and institutional behaviors. Therefore, the purpose for conducting the study was …

Climbing The Broken Ladder: A Narrative Exploration Of How Racially And Economically Minoritized Students Successfully Navigate The College Pathway, Sugeni A. Pérez-Sadler

Theses and Dissertations

Sixty six years after Brown v. Board of Education’s (1954), disparities in educational opportunity and outcomes continue to be a major civil rights issue that threatens the well-being of our society (Chetty et al,., 2018; Farmer-Hinton, 2008a). Despite the often-explored systemic barriers and oppressive forces, many do enroll in college and persist (Harper et al., 2018). This research applied the frameworks of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth Model (CCW) to explore the barriers low-income Black and Latinx students face in accessing higher education and examine what these students might have in the way of personal assets …

Finding The Yellow Brick Road: Bridging The Gap Between African American Foster Care Youth And Higher Education., Chyna Hart

West Chester University Master’s Theses

This critical action research thesis addresses the need for a university-based bridge program for African American foster care youth seeking to obtain a college degree. The reviewed literature explores a plethora of barriers experienced by African American foster care youth, which are brought on by social and systemic racism and inequity. In examining this literature, I have proposed and justified an intervention plan coined “The Yellow Brick Road Program”. This program will help to combat the barriers that hinder accessibility for African American foster care students by creating an on-campus hub that provides these students support services that address their …

Postsecondary Access For Rural Youth: Multiple Connections Strengthen Community Engagement, Travis West

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

Ohio State University Extension faculty provide multiple opportunities for rural Vinton County youth to be exposed to postsecondary options throughout their K-12 education. Extension’s commitment to community engagement is highlighted by developing relationships between the schools and the university to deliver a consolidated approach to postsecondary awareness and understanding.

"Stop Giving Up On Us": The Experiences Of First-Generation Latinx Students In Their College Choice Process, Lillianna Shantey Franco Carrera

Dissertations

To improve college access for racially minoritized populations, such as first-generation Latinx students, current practices must be assessed to ensure equitability. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to learn about the experiences of first-generation Latinx students who chose to attend one of two institutions, a private 4-year institution and a private 2-year institution. I collected their reflections on their high school college choice process via interviews to understand their personal experiences and why they led them to the institution they chose. I also considered the support their high school counselors offered them in their college choice process. This study …

College Access For Prospective First-Generation High School Students: Parent Perceptions, Christopher W. Brown Ed.D, Alison Reeves Associate Professor, Laurel Puchner Professor

Journal of College Access

This qualitative interview study examined how parents of potential college-going first-generation students in one high school perceive and experience their access to resources and knowledge that would allow them to support their adolescents’ successful entrance into postsecondary institutions. The study found that the parents believe that high schools will help their children with college but that they underutilize the resources available and lack important social capital needed to help their students succeed.

Racist Nativism In The College Access Experiences Of Undocumented Latinx Students, Brianna R. Ramirez

Journal of College Access

This study explores undocumented Latinx students' college access experiences through a racist nativist framework to understand how the ideologies of racism and xenophobia underlie the possibilities of pursuing college aspirations. This article describes five particular ways in which racist nativism underlies undocumented Latinx college access experiences. These included 1) systematic lack of institutional college knowledge, 2) restricted college outreach, 3) instilling fear in pursuing college aspirations, 4) discriminatory financial aid policies and practices, and 5) contradictory rhetoric of "deservingness" of educational and life opportunities. This paper supports an understanding of undocumented Latinx student educational processes at the intersection of systems …

The School Counselor’S Role In Anti-Racist College Counseling And Advising, Ian Levy, Caroline Lopez-Perry

Journal of College Access

No abstract provided.

A Dual Enrollment Partnership Between Community Colleges And High Schools: A Case Study, Susan Terranova

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative, instrumental, multiple case study is to answer the question – how does the dual enrollment partnership between the county public school system and the community college prepare students to be college and career ready? The twenty participants in this study are administrators, professors, academic counselors, business partners, and dual-enrollment alumni from two community colleges in Maryland. The data collection methods include one-on-one interviews with the participants, focus groups, and document analysis. Open coding of verbatim transcriptions was used to develop themes. The results of the study illustrate that the dual enrollment partnership helps students to …

Becari@S Population By Cuny Campus-2012-2018, Jose Higuera Lopez

CUNY Mexican Studies Institute

The CUNY Mexican Studies Institute (CUNY MSI) has been working to equalize the educational achievement disparities among Mexican and Mexican-American students, striving to ensure they have equal access and support for thriving in our institution and beyond.

Consistent with the mission of the CUNY MSI, the Mexican Studies Scholarship Fund seeks highly motivated students, with a record of commitment to service in the immigrant and Mexican community in New York, without considering immigration status. Thus far, the Mexican Studies Scholarship Fund has awarded over 200 scholarships to students from 13 countries.

On this occasion, we are presenting a visual database …

Two Roads Diverged: Understanding The Decision-Making Process And Experiences Of First-Generation And Low-Income Students Who Chose Different Paths In Pursuit Of A Baccalaureate Degree, John A. Drew

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Despite gains in expanding the student pipeline to postsecondary education, first-generation and low-income (FGLI) students complete college at disproportionately lower rates and have limited access to the resources necessary to make informed decisions about higher education. Research has shown that FGLI students are less likely to apply to college after completing high school, and when they do, they often enroll in institutions that are less selective than they were academically qualified to attend. Moreover, although access to higher education has expanded, the increased concentration of students at community colleges has not led to increases in earned credentials.

This study used …

Using Random Forests To Describe Equity In Higher Education: A Critical Quantitative Analysis Of Utah’S Postsecondary Pipelines, Tyler Mcdaniel

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

The following work examines the Random Forest (RF) algorithm as a tool for predicting student outcomes and interrogating the equity of postsecondary education pipelines. The RF model, created using longitudinal data of 41,303 students from Utah's 2008 high school graduation cohort, is compared to logistic and linear models, which are commonly used to predict college access and success. Substantially, this work finds High School GPA to be the best predictor of postsecondary GPA, whereas commonly used ACT and AP test scores are not nearly as important. Each model identified several demographic disparities in higher education access, most significantly the effects …

How Cultural Capital, Habitus, And Social Capital Impacts Pell-Eligible Vermont Students In Navigating The Financial Systems Of Higher Education, Xavier De Freitas

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

With the US recovering from a recession, a college diploma has become more valuable to avoid unemployment. Despite a college degree's importance, the access to higher education is a challenge for lower income Pell-Eligible Vermont students. For the past three decades, higher education continues to rise in cost faster than family income. Cost is not only an inhibitor for Pell-Eligible Vermont students. The complexities of navigating the financial systems of higher education to acquire aid in order to make college obtainable is also an issue for Pell-Eligible students. In order to successfully navigate these systems, a Pell-Eligible student's habitus, cultural …

Educational Effects Of State Actions Banning Access To In-State Resident Tuition Rates For Unauthorized Immigrant Students, Luis Alexander Villarraga Orjuela

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research studies the effects of state laws banning access to in-state resident tuition (ISRT) rates and other educational benefits for unauthorized immigrant students (UIS) in five states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, and Ohio. It measures the overall effect of policies denying ISRT that were implemented between 2005-2012 in the United States.

Three potential effects are evaluated. First, the study estimates the policy effects on the college enrollment of UIS. Because the policy does not deny access to higher education institutions, the possibility exists for this population to attend public or private colleges. However, facing higher costs (i.e., out-of-state tuition) …

Capturing Awareness: The Perception Of Higher Education At An At-Risk, Urban Middle School, Kristen M. Upp

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study is to understand at-risk, urban middle school students’ perceptions of higher education through the minds of young students from a diverse, inner city schooling background. This study sought to understand barriers preventing students from attending college and the positive contributing factors encouraging them to do so. Written interviews were conducted in an 8^th grade urban middle school in the southern United States.

One hundred five (105) students voluntarily participated in the research study, writing their thoughts pertaining to higher education and their feelings on the topic. The following themes were found: Family Involvement, Financial …

A Qualitative Study Of School Staff Perceptions Of Lasting Effects After Implementation Of Gear Up In Five Rural East Tennessee Counties, Flora R. Craig Mrs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed the perceptions of 13 school staff and their experiences with the implementation of GEAR UP TN. The primary purpose of this study was to examine how program activities and services are being sustained after funding for GEAR UP TN ceased.

Qualitative methodology guided this study. This approach allowed for the perspectives and lived experiences of the school staff to be voiced and heard. Data collected included their stories based on semistructured interviews and observations.

Findings are presented in 4 themes that pertain directly to the research questions regarding key elements that contributed to program continuation, procedures that …

College Knowledge: An Assessment Of Urban Students’ Awareness Of College Processes., Douglas Burelson, Ronald Hallett, Daniel Park

Ronald Hallett

The contemporary college or university campus is a complex and dynamic environment that requires students to navigate myriad institutional processes. College preparedness is not simply a matter of being academically ready for postsecondary-level work, but also requires that students have a procedural knowledge of other university processes - what we define herein as "college knowledge." This article presents that results of an evaluation of a college preparation program that focuses on college knowledge and provides a road map for designing an effective college knowledge program.

When A Group Presentation Isn’T Enough: Financial Aid Advising For Low-Income Urban College Bound Students, Kristan Venegas, Ronald Hallett

Ronald Hallett

Group presentations are the common ways to communicate information about financial aid to high school students. This article discusses the value of group presentation and suggests that additional techniques should supplement this approach, especially in the case of low-income urban college-bound students.

It’S About Time: Temporal Dimensions Of College Preparation Programs, William Tierney, Ronald Hallett, Kristan Venegas

Ronald Hallett

After-school education programs for at-risk students are often implemented to increase academic performance and college readiness. This article explores the terms "out-of-school" and "after-school" related to college preparation programs and suggests that these programs should consider attendance, participation and intensity to impact a student's success in college. This article concludes with four practical steps to improve the structural design of after-school programs concerned about college preparation.