Given the importance of academic motivation for student retention and persistence and that most undergraduate students participate in paid employment, this study investigated first-year undergraduate student employment and its relationship with academic motivation. Specifically, this study used the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education…

The increasing numbers of Latinx students enrolling in post-secondary education has resulted in a compelling need for colleges and universities to understand the complexities of the Latinx migrant student experience, with the hopes that understanding the nuances of the Latinx migrant student experience can assist educators in developing and…

This dissertation reports on research conducted to better understand how college student writers learned to work against their own biases as they researched and wrote arguments. I conducted a review of former studies to design a curriculum that would help students avoid bias and increase their ability to write arguments tailored to specific…

Understanding what expectations first-year students have for their first semester of college can help university faculty, staff, and administrators have a better understanding of how to best provide support and resources that meet the needs of their students and lay the necessary foundations for their academic and social success early on.…

Understanding why students choose to major in biology provides important insight into the motivations of biology majors. It is similarly important to investigate how biology majors perceive the discipline, including associated activities, such as independent research, which can influence students' interests in the field and likelihood to persist…

Parental engagement and support have been shown to have a positive impact on the academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being of undergraduate students (Harper et al., 2012). While continuing-generation college students utilize knowledge and insight from their parents to navigate the collegiate experience, first-generation…

Among many perspectives in discussions of design, this study re-asserts the relation between "intuition" and "reasoning." The aim is to comprehend the role of intuition and reasoning in the design process. In order to do this, retrospective self-reports of the first year, rule-based architectural design studio students were…

This study investigated first-year undergraduate statistics students' statistical problem-solving skills on the probability of the union of two events, conditional probability, binomial probability distribution, probabilities for x-limits using the z-distribution, x-limit associated with a given probability for a normal distribution, estimating…

Short, preparatory 'foundation year' courses have exploded in popularity in recent years, but they have drawn criticism from policymakers. Like Access diplomas, they serve to support people from all backgrounds to enter higher education. This HEPI Report asks whether foundation years are effective tools for widening access -- or whether, when it…

The authors explored the influence of family background and students' perceived socioeconomic status with minoritized students' acculturation and transition experiences during their first-year, first-time enrollment at a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States. Narrative interviews and "a priori" codes from the…

Adjusting to academic life and managing to perform well at university is challenging for any first-year student. One of the keys to study success is motivation. In line with the social cognitive approach, two motivational constructs are considered: self-efficacy and attribution. Previous studies predominantly took a 'snapshot' of first year…

This paper discusses several linear algebra activities designed to help enhance students' skills in collaborating, exploring mathematics, and linking together abstract and visual ways of approaching mathematics. Most of these activities are short, accessible, engaging, and easy to incorporate into any classroom. In addition, we discuss some…

Nearly half of all students in the United States are placed into at least one developmental course in college. Many of these students fail to complete developmental course sequences and persist to degree completion. First-Year Seminars are one of several high-impact practices associated with increased persistence, retention, and graduation rates…

This study explores the implications of critical affective literacy through digital storytelling projects produced by first-year college writing students. The goal was to examine college students' affective and emotional responses to social justice issues, such as racial profiling, educational inequality, and animal protection, through the lens of…

Engaging with interdisciplinary learning during higher education (HE) study can provide students with skills and modes of thinking informed by multiple worldviews. Opportunities for interdisciplinary learning in the English HE system are limited; associated primarily with postgraduate study or later undergraduate stages. This paper reports on an…