Digital Access to Culturally Relevant Curricula

Native and Indigenous students in low SES urban, rural, and reservation areas have the lowest retention-to-graduation rate and college completion rate of any demographic in the United States. The primary contributing factor is lack of culturally relevant curricula in a culturally sustaining pedagogy to present their culture in a positive representation. The second contributing factor is a lack of access to computer and internet resources to foster and bolster online, remote, and distance learning.

Social and Economic Costs of Inequality in the State of Virginia

This study examined selected social and economic costs of inequality in the state of Virginia. We explored the extent of inequality of place across the state, finding significant inequalities between counties on measures such as household income, poverty, college completion, single parenthood, and racial segregation. These inequalities of place were strongly associated with inequalities in the adult outcomes of children raised in different areas of the state, including unequal household income and unequal rates of upward mobility, college completion, incarceration, and marriage in adulthood. When examining the association between homicides and concentrated disadvantage in the capital city of Richmond, our mapping techniques demonstrated a strong association. Finally, we estimated that child poverty results in billions of dollars of economic costs to the state each year.

Increasing Success in Higher Education: The Relationships of Online Course Taking With College Completion and Time-to-Degree

Online courses provide flexible learning opportunities, but research suggests that students may learn less and persist at lower rates compared to face-to-face settings. However, few studies have investigated more distal effects of online education. In this study, we analyzed 6 years of institutional data for three cohorts of students in 13 large majors (N = 10,572) at a public research university to examine distal effects of online course participation. Using online course offering as an instrumental variable for online course taking, we find that online course taking of major-required courses leads to higher likelihood of successful 4-year graduation and slightly accelerated time-to-degree. These results suggest that offering online courses may help students to more efficiently graduate college.

Exploring the Impact of School Factors on Expectations to Complete Post Secondary Education Among Black Girls

Obtaining a college degree can enhance many aspects of one’s life including health outcomes and lifetime earnings. Given the racial opportunity gap that remains prevalent in the education system, and the gendered racial biases held against Black girls and women, they face many obstacles on their path to higher education. Considering the relationship between higher education and financial status, when these obstacles hinder their academic success Black women face serious economic issues that adversely impacts their livelihood and the wellbeing of their families. Still, there remains limited investigation into the indicators of college completion among this population. Assessing indicators related to college completion during their high school years can support educators in recognizing and monitoring students who require extra support early in their academic careers. This study uses an intersectional lens to investigate whether various school factors predict intent to complete college among this sample of Black high school girls ( N = 1,811). Findings show that teacher bias, school discipline, and school resources are significant predictors of college expectations among this sample.

Institutional Barriers Contribute to Low College Completion Rates

Institutions contribute to low college graduation rates by creating barriers. These are six common ones: degree requirements poorly described, not offering needed courses, unnecessary registration holds, inappropriate placement of transfer credits, financial aid policies that do not benefit the most needy students and not recommending students complete 30 hours a year. All of these barriers can be removed at little or no cost to the institution.

College Completion in a No-Racial/Ethnic Majority Campus

Despite evidence for the academic and psychological benefits of racial/ethnic minority (REM) students enrolling in minority-serving institutions, REM college students’ graduation rates have been consistently lower for White students across institutions. The current study examined REM graduation rates and associated risk factors in a campus with no-racial/ethnic majority (NRM). The findings indicated that (1) the graduation rates of REM (Black and Latinx) students were higher at the NRM institution than national averages, with little disparity in NRM graduation rates among racial/ethnic groups, (2) REM female students graduated at higher rates than Asian and White male students, and (3) self-reported stress and registration status predicted college completion. Moreover, traditional predictors, such as household income, gender, and parental education, were not associated with college completion. A separate analysis of graduation rates at colleges high versus low in racial/ethnic diversity also revealed little graduation disparity among racial/ethnic groups when diversity is relatively high. The results support the hypothesis that REM students thrive academically in educational settings where no single racial majority exists.

Beyond the Tipping Point: Searching for a New Vision for Latino College Success in the United States

While Latinos have seen an increase in college enrollment and attainment over the last decade, completion rates relative to non-Hispanic whites are stagnant, resulting in a steady or widening gap in the attainment of college degrees. This article summarizes research related to Latinos’ college success, highlighting the promise of Latino-attentive approaches for boosting college completion. We elaborate on how parental and teacher contributions and behaviors, family-level considerations of costs and benefits, and the value of a college degree at a community level present opportunities to increase Latinos’ attainment of postsecondary degrees. We also present an original multivariate assessment that indicates how the presence of Hispanic-serving institutions and in-state resident tuition benefits for immigrant students may raise the odds of college enrollment and completion rates for Latinos. Our findings suggest that incorporating Latino-attentive policies are beneficial to college completion among Latinos.