Leigh Shebanie McCallen

Immigrant students in the United States may experience the campus environment in ways that have a deleterious impact on their higher education outcomes as compared to non-immigrant students. In this chapter, Hachey and McCallen explore variations in perceptions of campus climate and sense of belonging among non-immigrant, first-generation, and second-generation students. The results suggest large significant differences between non-immigrant students and their peers from immigrant backgrounds in perceptions of respect for their immigration background and feelings of belonging on campus. Contrasts between White students and students of color within the non-immigrant and first-generation groups also suggest strong differential effects in perceptions of respect for immigration background. The authors conclude by discussing implications for future research and institutional practices to increase belonging among immigrant students.

Ensuring success in higher education among historically underserved students is integral to social equity and mobility in the United States today. Scholars have called for research examining the complexity of factors determining educational pathways of students encountering circumstances that hinder progress toward a college degree in the context of broad-access public four-year universities and two-year community colleges, institutions most affected by declining federal and state support for higher education. The current research proposed a multidisciplinary applied model of underserved college student success to examine factors constraining and promoting the educational outcomes and social opportunities of undergraduate low-income, first in family to attend college, and students of color at the City University of New York (CUNY). This model guided the design and implementation of a transformative mixed methods study focused on centering student perspectives and elevating issues of...

Approximately 30% of students who enter the postsecondary education system do so through 2-year colleges. The majority of these students intend to earn a bachelor's degree, but most leave college before earning a diploma from a 4-year institution. The discrepancy between bachelor's degree aspirations and degree attainment rates of students who enter through 2-year colleges suggests that vertical transfer students—those who transfer from 2- to 4-year colleges—face unique obstacles to academic performance and retention that affect their likelihood of earning a bachelor's degree. Similar barriers exist for economically disadvantaged students, who may be more likely to enter the postsecondary education system through 2-year colleges. This scoping review synthesizes the literature on factors influencing economically disadvantaged vertical transfer students' academic performance in the first year posttransfer and retention between the first and second year posttransfer. Im...

The Critical Social Ecology of Student Success in Higher Education: A Transformative Mixed Methods Study of Undergraduates’ Experiences and Outcomes at the City University of New York (CUNY) by Leigh McCallen Advisor: Helen L. Johnson Ensuring success in higher education among historically underserved students is integral to social equity and mobility in the United States today. Scholars have called for research examining the complexity of factors determining educational pathways of students encountering circumstances that hinder progress toward a college degree in the context of broad-access public four-year universities and two-year community colleges, institutions most affected by declining federal and state support for higher education. The current research proposed a multidisciplinary applied model of underserved college student success to examine factors constraining and promoting the educational outcomes and social opportunities of undergraduate low-income, first in family to...

Immigrant students in the United States may experience the campus environment in ways that have a deleterious impact on their higher education outcomes as compared to non-immigrant students. In this chapter, Hachey and McCallen explore variations in perceptions of campus climate and sense of belonging among non-immigrant, first-generation, and second-generation students. The results suggest large significant differences between non-immigrant students and their peers from immigrant backgrounds in perceptions of respect for their immigration background and feelings of belonging on campus. Contrasts between White students and students of color within the non-immigrant and first-generation groups also suggest strong differential effects in perceptions of respect for immigration background. The authors conclude by discussing implications for future research and institutional practices to increase belonging among immigrant students.

In the USA, Organic Chemistry I is a gateway course for undergraduate students seeking careers in medical- and health-related fields. Estimates of failure and withdrawal rates are approximately 40% at some large, public institutions and higher for specific segments of the student population, such as ethnic minorities, those of low socio-economic status, and non-traditional students. We applied a multi-layered contextual model of student success to investigate various factors contributing to the academic success of undergraduate students in Organic Chemistry I. Participants were 20 undergraduate students formerly enrolled in Organic Chemistry I at an urban, 4-year public institution located in the northeastern USA. Using semi-structured interviews, we examined students’ divergent academic outcomes, as well as internal, proximal, and distal variables relating to positive academic outcomes. Results suggest that at-risk students’ success in Organic Chemistry I is facilitated by support from qualified mentors, availability and utilization of academic resources, and proficiency in science. We discuss these results within a contextual framework and offer practical suggestions for educators.

The current study builds on previous work in education and psychology to examine links between school-level factors that support school readiness and academic growth at the end of kindergarten in a population of students displaying demographic and academic risks at school-entry. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study- Kindergarten (ECLS-K) contains demographic, academic, and school-level information necessary to examine the protective strength school level support factors may exert among a nationally representative sample of at-risk kindergarten students. Three sub-samples were drawn from the population data set to compare achievement growth outcomes in reading and math of students meeting at-risk criteria and their non at-risk counterparts, based on socioeconomic status (SES), school-entry functional behavior characteristics, and dimensions of child physical health. School-level support factors of interest were family support programs, positive school climate, kindergarten transiti...

Approximately 30% of students who enter the postsecondary education system do so through 2-year colleges. The majority of these students intend to earn a bachelor's degree, but most leave college before earning a diploma from a 4-year institution. The discrepancy between bachelor's degree aspirations and degree attainment rates of students who enter through 2-year colleges suggests that vertical transfer students-those who transfer from 2-to 4-year colleges-face unique obstacles to academic performance and retention that affect their likelihood of earning a bachelor's degree. Similar barriers exist for economically disadvantaged students, who may be more likely to enter the postsecondary education system through 2-year colleges. This scoping review synthesizes the literature on factors influencing economically disadvantaged vertical transfer students' academic performance in the first year posttransfer and retention between the first and second year posttransfer. Implications for 2-and 4-year institutions and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Ensuring success in public higher education among underrepresented students is integral to social equity in the United States today. The current research contextualizes proximal and structural characteristics
shaping the opportunities of underrepresented students by drawing on multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to consider the influence of social capital on the success of first-generation college students
in the context of a large, public urban university. We collected survey and interview data with first-generation college students enrolled at three 4-year campuses of the City University of New York to analyze the association between student outcomes and perceived social support from institutional and protective agents. Convergent qualitative and quantitative findings indicate institutional agents, specifically
college faculty, play a significant role in first-generation students’ college success by imparting intellectual capital and institutional resources critical to navigating the higher education environment. We discuss implications for practitioners working with first-generation college students and for institutional change to better support these students at broad-access public colleges.

In the USA, Organic Chemistry I is a gateway course for undergraduate students seeking careers in medical-and health-related fields. Estimates of failure and withdrawal rates are approximately 40% at some large, public institutions and higher for specific segments of the student population, such as ethnic minorities, those of low socioeconomic status, and non-traditional students. We applied a multi-layered contextual model of student success to investigate various factors contributing to the academic success of undergraduate students in Organic Chemistry I. Participants were 20 undergraduate students formerly enrolled in Organic Chemistry I at an urban, 4-year public institution located in the northeastern USA. Using semi-structured interviews, we examined students' divergent academic outcomes, as well as internal , proximal, and distal variables relating to positive academic outcomes. Results suggest that at-risk students' success in Organic Chemistry I is facilitated by support from qualified mentors, availability and utilization of academic resources, and proficiency in science. We discuss these results within a contextual framework and offer practical suggestions for educators. Organic chemistry's complexity (Grove et al. 2012), daunting reputation (Horowitz 2010), and abstract nature (Rein and Brookes 2015) contribute to the perception that it is one of the most challenging undergraduate science courses (Zeineddin and Abd-El-Khalick 2010), even for students with strong academic backgrounds (Lafarge et al. 2014). Not surprisingly, Organic Chemistry I attrition rates exceed those of other undergraduate science courses (Cook et al.