Research on doctoral education has grown over the last 25 years, with interests in socialization, time to degree, attrition, and supervisor relations. This research aims to shift the focus on how cumulative advantage (i.e., the Matthew Effect) operates in doctoral education. This qualitative study of fifteen doctoral students revealed that earning…

A growing number of postsecondary institutions in the United States have removed standardized testing as a requirement for admission. Researchers, however, have suggested that these "test-optional" policies may not benefit underrepresented populations as intended, but instead serve as an additional revenue source for the institution. In…

Study of four-year broad access institutions (BAIs) is important given their influence on postsecondary educational opportunities and the continued importance of the bachelor's degree in earnings premiums and critical social and civic outcomes. Descriptive results add to current understanding regarding heterogeneity of four-year BAIs by…

Through analysis of student interviews and program staff interviews, this project explores how one program was crafted to help Students of Color develop competencies for educational success, gain exposure to undergraduate research, and maintain their cultural identities as part of their scholarly pursuits. Findings revealed that intentional…

This study examines the influence of collegiate environments and experiences on students' innovation capacity development. Drawing on a longitudinal sample of 528 first-year undergraduates from seven institutions in North America, we suggest that college can promote innovation capacities over and above students' personality traits, entering…

In this study, we explore characteristics of interpersonal interactions and contextual features that cultivate or neglect Latinx undergraduates' sense of "familismo" in Science and Engineering (S&E). Using a mixed methods approach, we found barriers such as a culture of hyper-competition through pedagogical and assessment practices,…

We examine the American landscape of higher education quantitative research concerning how gender and sex demographic information is collected. We use a directed content analysis to examine the prevalence and operationalization of gender and sex among widely used higher education survey instruments. Our findings illuminate a seemingly haphazard…

There is a little information about whether and if so how student aspirations for college change over time. We introduce a conceptual model to explain how student aspirations may change over time, utilize panel methods to examine the extent to which this happens during high school, and investigate which factors are associated with such changes. We…

Grounded in the conceptual framing of "educative value" of relationships by Ana Martínez Alemán (1997), this qualitative study examines the role of relationships in women scholars' intellectual trajectories. Based on in-depth interviews with 34 scholars across multiple identities, disciplines, institutions, ranks, and appointment types,…

Social Greek letter organizations, known as fraternities and sororities, are prevalent fixtures on college campuses in the United States, and have been shown to alter academic, health-related, and social behaviors. Research has often focused on within-college effects due to data availability. Here, we examine how membership corresponds to…

This study employed the career capital framework (DeFillippi & Arthur, 1994; Inkson & Arthur, 2001) and the associated three ways of knowing adapted for community colleges: "knowing why" (aspirations), "knowing how" (knowledge and skills), and "knowing whom" (sources of information). The authors constructed an…

Undocumented students are barred from accessing financial aid and face enormous obstacles in completing college (Gonzales, 2009). However, in 2011, California passed the California DREAM Act that granted undocumented students access to state financial aid (California Student Aid Commission, 2016). The purpose of this study was to examine the…

In 2010, Tennessee enacted the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), which increased the proportion of state performance-based funding from 5.45% to 85% and added a 40% funding premium for progression and degree completions by adult students and low-income students. We collect data from 2001-02 to 2014-15 and use difference-in-differences…

Although scholars have noted that disability is a multivalent construct that is experienced intersectionally, very little intersectional research exists about the growing population of diverse college students with disabilities. This grounded theory study elucidates how the intersections of social class and ability shaped purpose development for…

The campus climate literature obscures the complexity of individuals' perspectives in relation to multiple dimensions of the broader learning environment. Unexamined are the ways students from marginalized backgrounds may "respond" to oppressive dimensions of the campus climates in unique ways that moderate observed outcome differences.…