Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

This action study investigated the experiences of current female students, recent female graduates, and female dropouts of a rural community college in Appalachian Ohio to determine what factors led to successful college completion. Although female enrollment exceeds male enrollment, females currently and consistently rank below their male counterparts in key performance indicators. Through the frameworks of the Funds of Knowledge, the Characteristics of Marianist Universities, and Brooks' Critical Theory of Love, this study used interviews in a phenomenological design to gather participant data on their lived experience within their unique context. Results of the study yielded rich qualitative data which helps to better understand the root causes contributing to lower retention and degree completion rates among female students at Appalachian River Community College. The focused data informed the creation of an action plan aimed at providing interventions for female students. This study and related research highlight instances in localized communities of gender inequity in community college completion, the crucial impact of support systems for female students, and programs employed to reduce the gender gap

Committee: Davin Carr-Chellman (Committee Chair); Jona Rinard (Committee Member); Corrine Brion (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Educational Theory; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

PHD, Kent State University, 2022, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

In 2009, President Barack Obama challenged U.S. citizens to complete more schooling and earn a college degree. His goal was to increase the proportion of the population with a college credential and the United States' associated rank in the world from 12th to first by 2020 (Field, 2015; Obama, 2009). In response to this challenge, several governors and nonprofit organizations undertook various initiatives to help increase the nation's college completion rate. However, many of these programs focused on administrative changes instead of students' readiness for or access to college (Humphreys, 2012). One approach aimed at increasing completion rates while expanding access, is dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college-level classes in tandem with their high school coursework. Of particular interest is Ohio's dual enrollment program, originally called Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO), which was expanded and renamed College Credit Plus (CCP) in 2015 (Ohio Department of Education, 2009; Ohio Department of Higher Education, 2015a). The goals of CCP are to increase college access and completion rates for students in Ohio (Farkas, 2014; Ohio Department of Higher Education, 2015a, 2018a). The purpose of this study was to evaluate CCP in relation to these goals. If these goals were met, the results would show an increase in the number of underserved students enrolling in higher education and persisting to graduation. Using existing data from the state of Ohio this study concluded that CCP has not consistently improved access or college completions for the underserved students in the state.

Committee: Christa Porter (Committee Chair); Jason Schenker (Committee Member); Mark Kretovics (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Sociology

The family structure in which a child resides had changed over the past several decades. Residing with married, biological parents, while still the norm, had declined and America had experienced growth in children residing in other family structures. Cohabiting relationships were typically short lived and married stepfamilies had a higher incidence of divorce than those in first marriages. These families created a new area of focus beyond biological parent divorce for family demographers yet there were still questions which needed to be addressed. This study examined if dissolution pathways, defined as the type of parental dissolution or divorce experienced, were linked to the short-term and long-term well-being of adolescents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, I observed changes to relationship quality and changes to grade point average and college aspirations among adolescents who experienced each dissolution pathway. I explored the long-term ramification of dissolution pathway for adolescents by examining college completion among young adults. Assessing if economic resources and changes to parenting resources following a divorce or dissolution had an impact on well-being was the focus for each outcome. I found mother-child relationship quality and academic well-being did not vary across the three dissolution pathways and economic and parenting resources were not closely tied to these outcomes. Results did show college completion varied by dissolution pathway. Adolescents who experienced a biological or stepparent divorce were twice as likely to complete a 4-year college degree compared to those who experienced the dissolution of their mother's cohabiting union. Changes to social support and mother's baseline socioeconomic status explained the differences in college completion for adolescents who experienced the divorce of biological parents and the dissolution of a cohabiting stepfamily, but economic resources and ch (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Brown PhD (Advisor); Philip Stinson JD, PhD (Other); Karen Guzzo PhD (Committee Member); I-fen Lin PhD (Committee Member); Laura Sanchez PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Higher Education (Education)

While there is an extensive and rich body of research on issues and factors associated with college enrollment decisions, as well as significant data regarding the declining position of the United States globally in bachelor's degree attainment, there is still much to learn regarding the factors that lead to, or inhibit, college access and eventual bachelor's degree completion. The most recent evidence from the latest student longitudinal study from the National Center for Education Statistics, the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) finds that only 6% of those graduates who began their postsecondary education 13 or more months following high school graduation had earned a bachelor's degree, compared to 42% who began college immediately after high school graduation. This study aims to expand upon the existing body of research on the factors that may influence a student to delay entry to college, and provides a foundational perspective of how delayed entry students perform in the labor market in terms of income and occupation. This study adds to the body of knowledge in the field in several important ways in that it expands Perna's (2000) econometric model framework by including a new, robust set of factors associated with St. John, Hu, and Fisher's (2011) academic capital construct; it broadens the financial aid factors and their possible effect on delayed entry; the study provides a baseline assessment of how delayed entry students perform in the labor market in terms of income and occupation; and this comprehensive study on delayed entry students utilizes the most recent national dataset available, ELS: 2002, to determine if the outcomes and trends from previous seminal research on non-traditional enrollment (Hearn, 1992; Perna, 2000; Rowan-Kenyon, 2007) are prevalent in this newest longitudinal dataset. This study uses two primary theoretical constructs: academic capital (St. John, Hu, & Fisher, 2011), and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1986) (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lijing Yang PhD (Committee Chair) Subjects: Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2003, Economics

The Effects of Financial Aid on College Completion I examine effects of grant aid and education loan amounts on the college completion decision of students attending four-year colleges. The goal is to determine whether a given amount of financial aid reduces the dropout probability, and whether it has differential effects when given as grants versus loans. Using data from the Second Follow-up Survey of the 1994 Beginning Post-secondary Students Longitudinal Study, I estimate a probit model of the college dropout decision, accounting for the endogeneity of grant and loan amounts. My estimates show that grants reduce the dropout probability although loans do not affect individuals' college completion decisions. The result suggests that current federal government policies of promoting loans as the main form of financial aid (in higher education) are not consistent with the stated objective of increasing access to college. Education loans are found to influence college quality choices of meritorious students from low to middle income families. The Effects of State Characteristic College Enrollment I examine how state policies on tuition, grant aid and appropriations influence high school graduates' two-year versus four-year college attendance decisions. Using data from 1994-99 October Supplements of the Current Population Survey, I estimate a multinomial logit model of college choice. My estimates show that higher four-year college tuition motivates prospective students to attend two-year colleges. I also find positive effects of two-year college appropriations on two-year college attendance. These results illustrate the on-going interaction of state policies and individual decisions. In recent years, increased earnings of college educated individuals have resulted in large increases in college enrollments. States have adjusted to the enrollment pressure by raising four-year college tuition. In response, students have switched to two-year colleges, requiring states to a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Audrey Light (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2007, Counselor Education (Education)

The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact of the Nelsonville Mayor's Court Diversion Program on participants' program completion, dismissal of criminal charges, and rate of recidivism over a three year period compared with three year statistics prior to the program. The program utilized intervention strategies including Brief Focused Therapy, Motivational Interviewing Techniques, Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training and Life Style Management Strategies for mandated alcohol or drug- related misdemeanor offenders in the college and host community. Students and community members who became involved with the Mayor's Court for alcohol or drug-related offenses were mandated to a 10-week diversion program consisting of 13 hours of educational and therapeutic intervention. Data was collected on participants' rates of program completion, dismissal of criminal charges, and rate of recidivism for three years and were compared with arrest and recidivism data from the court records for the three years prior to the initiation of the program. A chi square test for comparison was utilized with the collapsed years of 2000-2002 and 2003-2005 to test the program's effectiveness. Assessment instruments including the MAST, CAGE and AUDIT were evaluated to determine if the severity of alcohol abuse, as measured by these instruments, had any relationship to participant outcomes. Data for a three year period prior to the program's initiation was compared to data for a three year period while the program was operational. Results indicated a 5% reduction in the number of arrests during the three year period the program was in operation. There was an overall 60% participant completion rate and the number of criminal charges that were dismissed increased by 93% for program completers. The number of repeat offenders was reduced by 40% for the three year period of the program's operation.The Nelsonville Mayor's Court Diversion Program was proven to be statistically significance in redu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jerry Olsheski (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Guidance and Counseling

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2012, Higher Education

Ohio's business, political, and education leaders believe increasing the number of Ohio citizens who have attained a post-secondary degree will help Ohio improve its competitiveness in the national and global economy. One cost effective way to improve the college degree attainment rate for recent high school graduates is early college programs, which enable high school students to experience college-level courses and earn college credit prior to high school graduation. Students who earned college credit during high school graduated at a 17.9% higher rate than students who did not earn early college credit, and also graduated in a shorter time. Students who earned early college credit also achieved the important degree momentum point of earning at least 20 credits the first year of college at a higher rate than students who did not earn early college credit. Just over 300,000 Ohio public college student enrollment records were studied for this retrospective analysis of fall term student enrollments from 2004-2010.

Committee: David Meabon PhD (Committee Chair); Cynthia Beekley PhD (Committee Member); Larry McDougle PhD (Committee Member); Dennis Lettman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Higher Education

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Sociology/Population Studies

This study investigates how the association between family affective ties during adolescence and the transition to adulthood differs for immigrant versus non-immigrant adult children. Children of immigrants build their lives with two frames of reference: the contexts of emigration and settlement. However, immigrant family members filter the influence of the country of origin's social norms on immigrant youth. Closeness with parents may thus carry a different meaning for the children of immigrants by decelerating their integration or encouraging their entry into mainstream social institutions, including college completion and cohabitation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I examine young adults' likelihood of completing college and entering a union through direct marriage or cohabitation by estimating discrete-time event history models. Findings for college completion suggest that the children of immigrants experienced decreasing chances of completing college as family affective ties increased. For the children of native-born parents, the opposite was found; stronger parent-child relationships boosted the probability of acquiring a college degree. Parental conflict increased the likelihood of college completion for children of immigrants only. Regarding first union type, the risk of entering cohabitation as a first union was lessened with stronger affective ties, to a larger extent for the children of immigrants compared to the children of native-born parents. Findings underscore the importance of foreign-born parents as agents of socialization in their children's journey into adulthood and integration into the host country.

Committee: Jenjira Yahirun Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Kelly Balistreri Ph.D. (Committee Member); Susan Brown Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Demography; Families and Family Life; Sociology

Doctor of Professional Studies (D.P.S.) in Instructional Design Leadership, Franklin University, 2022, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

Online course persistence at community colleges is a serious issue, with students being between 3 and 15 percentage points more likely to withdraw than those taking the on-campus equivalent (Xu et al., 2019). Despite the continued growth in distance education, quality online course design is a concern throughout the literature. This quantitative, causal-comparative study aimed to investigate the existence of a statistically significant relationship between online course templates, using Quality Matters Specific Review Standards, and online course completion rates at one Midwestern Community College. An ex post facto causal-comparative method was chosen for this study because the Midwestern Community College progressively implemented Quality Matters Specific Review Standards over three Fall academic terms providing an opportunity to investigate increasing quality standards through online templates, retrospectively, in a naturally occurring environment. Descriptive Statistics, Linear Regression, and a One-Way ANOVA were employed in the data analysis. The study results revealed a statistically significant relationship between online course completion rates and online course templates using QM Specific Review Standards.

Committee: Niccole Hyatt (Committee Chair); Joel Gardner (Committee Member); Matthew Barclay (Committee Member) Subjects: Community College Education; Community Colleges; Education; Higher Education; Instructional Design

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, Educational Studies

In recent years, higher education researchers and practitioners have increasingly recognized that socioeconomic gaps in degree attainment are of utmost concern. Yet, despite the rise in attention relating to these socioeconomic gaps, the field of higher education continues to face challenges in assessing college access and success for students from less-privileged socioeconomic backgrounds, often relying on narrow socioeconomic metrics such as the Pell grant status, first- generation status, and school lunch status. Additionally, scholars must contend with the challenge of generating more accurate socioeconomic metrics while using data which is already available. In other disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, and public health, numerous studies have examined the use of neighborhood-based variables as proxies for socioeconomic status, demonstrating that they may serve as reliable indicators for individuals' backgrounds. However, in the field of higher education, neighborhood-based variables are rarely utilized, and considerations of place and space are only recently being given their due acknowledgement. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the use of neighborhood-based socioeconomic variables as predictors of individuals' retention, success, and status changes in higher education. This study draws on theories that seek to explain factors that impact college student retention/attrition for understanding any possible differences between individuals from different type of neighborhoods. Additionally, sociological theories pertaining to segregation and capital accumulation underlie key assumptions of this study. The site for this study included a large, public, four-year state flagship institution, referred to as Midwest University. This study utilizes the incoming Autumn 2012, in-state undergraduate cohort -- a sample of nearly 6,000 individuals -- and a series of analyses -- including binomial regression and survival analyses -- in order to exam (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anne-Marie Núñez (Committee Chair); Matthew Mayhew (Committee Member); Vincent Roscigno (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2017, Leadership and Change

Given the scope and paucity of knowledge about the lived experiences of the female adult student entering or re-entering college later in life to degree completion, this research study identified significant themes in their lived experiences. With an appreciative eye, this study captured the female adult students' lived experiences conveyed in a rich, inter-connected, and inspiring picture of who they are embedded into the larger context of society; such as role identity theory, social identity theory and the applicability and interpretations of these two theories on their journey to degree completion. This study also portrayed selected aspects of the feminist movement in the context of women's access to higher education with reference to contemporary feminist views relevant to the female adult student entering or reentering college later in life to degree completion. The central question in this study: What was it like to be on a journey as a female adult student who enters, or re-enters, college later in life to degree completion? In order to inquire into the journey, or phenomenon, a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological design was used that allowed the participants to describe their lived experiences and how they made meaning of the journey to degree completion. Through a three-phased approach nine emergent themes and multiple sub-themes emerged that identified the journey and lived experiences of this group of female adult students to degree completion. This research study makes a unique contribution to the study of the marginalized group of females by not just identifying obstacles and challenges, but imparting in the participant's own words how they overcame both internal and external influences that may have dissuaded other adult females from continuing to degree completion. By identifying the significant themes, it brought to the forefront the importance of raising awareness of the lived experiences of this marginalized group of fem (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lize A.E. Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Philomena Essed PhD (Committee Member); Linda Ellington EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Higher Education (Education)

The purpose of this study was to examine what impact the community college Completion Agenda has had on co-curricular education, which was defined as any learning that takes place outside of the classroom. The Completion Agenda followed in the wake of the Great Recession and became a national agenda around 2010-2011. The Completion Agenda's primary goal has been to get more students to complete a degree or certificate with workforce value. Considering the Completion Agenda's widespread reach, this study began with the assumption that community college student affairs has been altered by the Completion Agenda in some way. Student affairs and co-curricular education, in particular, already occupied a tenuous place within community college due to the population it serves. This study used a neoliberal framework to better understand howthe politics of higher education impact practice. By using a phenomenological methodology, this study described common experiences of community college student affairs educators at the onset of the Completion Agenda and what circumstances brought those experience about. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and document analysis, I was able to analyze how external forces have impacted co-curricular education, as well as how co-curriculareducators' professional values aligned with institutional and cultural expectations. Major themes included: (1) participants being on message for their institution and the Completion Agenda as a whole, (2) acute attention paid to the work of academic affairs as it relates to student affairs, (3) the growing lack of distinction between student affairs and student success, and (4) the fact that co-curricular education and student development occupies a minor place in each Campus Completion Plan. Conclusions from this research were: student affairs educators have accepted the Completion Agenda as a reality and have conformed to it; the Completion Agenda has affected the work of student affairs (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Laura Harrison (Advisor); Peter Mather (Committee Member); David Horton (Committee Member); Gordon Brooks (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2014, Higher Education Administration

The purpose of this case study was to understand the organizational, psychological, sociological, and financial experiences of high-achieving students who departed within their first year of study from Bowling Green State University. Although the literature suggests high-achieving students have special educational needs that must be recognized, supported, and nurtured in primary and secondary education, little is known about the experiences of high-achieving students in college. The goal of this qualitative research study was to gain a deeper understanding and explanation of student behavior within this student-institution context. Participants in this study were selected from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 cohorts, based upon the following criterion: the student intended to graduate from BGSU, departed with the dean's list designation, was enrolled in at least 12 credits, lived on campus at least one semester, and was 18 years or older. Ten participants were interviewed at their new college or university or via Skype, and represented a variety of experiences personally and academically. Four broad themes emerged from the data: (1) High-achieving students did not establish a sense of belonging psychosocially in the residence halls, which negatively affected social integration; (2) participants, almost unanimously, felt "underchallenged" or "bored" by the curriculum in the general education courses; (3) participants needed more guidance to navigate course of study and career ambiguity; (4) participants demonstrated a deeper desire for intellectually stimulating conversations and meaningful engagement in the classroom and in campus life experiences. A number of implications for student and academic affairs are presented as a result of the findings. First, campus administrators must work with student and academic affairs to create a campus culture that nurtures a sense of belonging for high-achieving students. Second, an emphasis on faculty developm (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maureen Wilson (Advisor); Earley Mark (Other); Coomes Michael (Committee Member); Lunceford Christina (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Education; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Bachelor of Science (BS), Ohio University, 2014, Economics

An individual who views higher education as an investment will likely take future earnings into account when he or she makes the decision to complete a college degree. Students do not necessarily know exactly what they will earn after college, but they will use their own best estimates to make education related decisions. This study seeks to test if students use regional specific information about post-graduation earnings to make the decision to complete a college degree. The study examines college completion of students from Appalachia where an additional year of education is not compensated as well as it is in the rest of the United States. Post-graduation earnings are compared and students from Appalachia earn less than students from another part of the U.S. on average after correcting for observable differences, but the lower earnings do not cause Appalachian students to have less incentive to graduate. Appalachian students have a higher chance of graduating from college than students elsewhere, which raises questions about differing individual preferences and individual expectations forming.

Committee: Patricia Toledo Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Economics

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2014, College of Social Justice and Human Service

Community colleges now serve more than 13 million students annually, nearly half of all American undergraduates. Because of their open access mission, community colleges are a primary point of entry for many students, particularly underserved populations. Timely degree completion for associate-degree seeking students is important for promoting social equality and economic development. This dissertation examined what influence if any input and environmental variables, specifically the amount and type of federal financial aid received have on a community college student's time to associate degree attainment. Data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) 2004-2009 dataset were used to conduct a multiple regression analysis using a weighted total of 288,436 graduates. The final model identified 124 variables that were significantly related to months enrolled prior to associate degree attainment, and explained 42.3% of variance. Initial and ongoing goals and commitments emerged as the strongest predictors of time to associate degree attainment, followed by financial aid variables. This study supports Vincent Tinto's student departure model; it provides a foundation for future research, and can inform theory, policy and practice.

Committee: Ronald Opp Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Debra Gentry Ph.D. (Committee Member); Sunday Griffith Ph.D. (Committee Member); Edward St. John Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2013, Judith Herb College of Education

Two-year colleges are grappling with need to focus on student success outcomes driven by increasingly strict accountability standards implemented by state and federal government, while at the same time facing declining resources and increasing enrollments of diverse, underprepared students. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (2010), more than 40% of all African American students enrolled in postsecondary education are enrolled in two-year colleges. A review of the literature indicated that improving persistence and completion rates for African American students is a challenge that two-year colleges face. This study examined whether institutional support services, policies, and programs influenced the completion and graduation of African American students at select Ohio's two-year colleges. The study examined (a) general institutional interventions, such as advising, mentoring, orientation programs and courses, tutoring, and departments or programs that specifically target African American or other underrepresented students, as well as (b) special programs or staffing configurations dedicated to supporting the needs of African American students. Two major gaps in the literature were addressed in this study: 1) the impact of interventions on African American completion and graduation enrolled at two-year colleges; and 2) the impact of interventions which specifically focus on the completion and graduation of African American students, e.g. Culture centers, Office of Minority Affairs, or Multicultural Centers. The researcher's interest in this study is due to his work in the field of college student retention and student success as well as the desire to gain and share knowledge about the impact of specific interventions in promoting the success of African American college students enrolled at two-year colleges. The researcher's working knowledge of the subject matter and familiarity with many of the two-year colleges in the population (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Meabon Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Mary Ellen Edwards Ph.D. (Committee Member); Donald White Ph.D. (Committee Member); Bettina Shuford Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: African Americans; Black Studies; Community College Education; Community Colleges; Higher Education Administration; Minority and Ethnic Groups; Multicultural Education

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2005, Educational Administration and Supervision

Holland's (1997) theory of vocational personalities and work environments, extended to educational environments, was used as the theoretical framework that guided this study, which investigated the relationship between the degree of vocational interest-educational environment congruence and academic achievement. The population of 20,187 first-time, full-time students who entered four-year state-supported institutions of higher education in Ohio in 1998, and who completed the ACT Assessment, the Revised Unisex Edition of the American College Testing Interest Inventory (UNIACT; Swaney, 1995), and the student profile section of the ACT Assessment were used as the subjects. Descriptive statistics were computed for the predictor variables, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were determined for all variables under consideration, and a stepwise multiple regression model was utilized to determine the proportion of variance in the attainment of a four-year degree that can be explained by the extent of person-environment fit. A total of 19 independent variables correlated with the dependent variable. The stepwise logistic regression analysis produced a model that consisted of 10 predictor variables that accounted for 17.8% of the variance in the outcome variable of graduation from college (BACHDEGREE). The experimental variable, CONGRUENCE correlated positively (r = .018, p < .01) with the outcome variable BACHDEGREE, but was not included in the regression model. Therefore, the experimental variable, CONGRUENCE was found not to be predictive of graduating from college.

Committee: Dave Meabon (Advisor) Subjects:

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toledo, 2012, Higher Education

Today, Latinos are enrolling in higher education at higher rates than ever before. Access to higher education for Latinos is no longer the greatest issue facing this population. Instead, degree completion is of increasing concern not to only Latinos, but also to higher education researchers and administrators. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence, if any, of institutional resources and practices at four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institutions on baccalaureate completion rates for Latino students. In addition, the study examined what influence, if any, Latino student involvement with constituents (faculty, staff, alumni and community members) had on the institution's baccalaureate completion rates for Latino students. A national survey of chief student affairs officers at four-year baccalaureate-degree granting institutions was conducted about the institutional resources and practices for Latino undergraduate students. This study applied Astin's Student Involvement theory to understand how to improve the college environment for Latino students. In addition, Astin's I-E-O model served as the conceptual framework for the study. The findings of this study revealed six significant, positive indicators of baccalaureate completion for Latino undergraduate students at four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institutions. This doctoral dissertation offers educators and administrators information on resources and practices to improve Latino baccalaureate completion rates. ¿¿¿

Committee: Ron Opp (Committee Chair); Mary Ellen Edwards (Committee Member); William McMillen (Committee Member); Penny Poplin Gosetti (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education