This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universiti... more This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universities, North Carolina State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). Although these institutions integrated in the 1950s, most of the current desegregation scholarship focuses on other southern institutions in the 1960s. Using both primary and secondary sources, this study examines the integration process during the 1950s at two similar land-grant universities in two adjacent states. Importantly, this study offers a balanced comparison of institutional integration not previously examined. Desegregation at both North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech was a gradual process that was less physically violent compared to other southern institutions.
The President of prestigious Beacon University is dealing with a nationwide scandal involving its... more The President of prestigious Beacon University is dealing with a nationwide scandal involving its admissions and athletics operations. For years, a network of corrupt admissions consultants, standardized test proctors, and college coaches operated a lucrative underground pipeline into top universities, and it has recently infiltrated Beacon. Under the piercing scrutiny of global media attention, the President must develop a strategy to lead Beacon University through the turbulence caused by an FBI investigation and criminal prosecutions associated with the scandal.
The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between alternative definitions of first... more The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between alternative definitions of first-generation college students (FGCSs) and graduation from 2- and 4-year colleges. Using Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 data, we constructed eight definitions of FGCSs based on parents’ highest level of education and the number of parents at that level. We identified a series of regression models to explain whether the student earned a 2- or 4-year degree, and focused on the association between different definitions of FGCSs and student success. We estimated both unconditional models for all 10th graders in the sample as well as conditional models for only those who enrolled in college, to see if FGCS status mattered even for those who overcame the access hurdle. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between FGCSs and the pathways to college completion for students who have initially enrolled in a 2- versus 4-year colleges.
Abstract:This qualitative case study explores the career and educational aspirations, college cho... more Abstract:This qualitative case study explores the career and educational aspirations, college choice process, and college barriers and opportunities of 26 rural, African American high school students. Data included interviews with 26 students and 11 school staff members. Findings suggest that the students’ rural context shapes aspirations. In addition, students have emotional support and motivation to attend college from their family members and schools, but the students did not always have the “know how” to prepare for college. Finally, students described financial and academic preparedness barriers for college, but they also mentioned grades and teenage pregnancy as potential barriers for college.
For years, football and basketball players at Prestige University were earning college credit for... more For years, football and basketball players at Prestige University were earning college credit for classes that never existed. The students were enrolled in fake courses, known as “ghost classes,” with no formal instruction or required meeting times and requiring only a single term paper. Faculty, staff, and administrators were complicit in quietly providing student athletes in revenue-generating sports academic credit for coursework they did not complete. However, the scandal became nationwide news, forcing Prestige to reconsider its key values and mission and placing the integrity of the university’s academic and athletics programs in jeopardy.
This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universiti... more This article focuses on the first African American students at two southern land-grant universities, North Carolina State University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech). Although these institutions integrated in the 1950s, most of the current desegregation scholarship focuses on other southern institutions in the 1960s. Using both primary and secondary sources, this study examines the integration process during the 1950s at two similar land-grant universities in two adjacent states. Importantly, this study offers a balanced comparison of institutional integration not previously examined. Desegregation at both North Carolina State University and Virginia Tech was a gradual process that was less physically violent compared to other southern institutions.
The President of prestigious Beacon University is dealing with a nationwide scandal involving its... more The President of prestigious Beacon University is dealing with a nationwide scandal involving its admissions and athletics operations. For years, a network of corrupt admissions consultants, standardized test proctors, and college coaches operated a lucrative underground pipeline into top universities, and it has recently infiltrated Beacon. Under the piercing scrutiny of global media attention, the President must develop a strategy to lead Beacon University through the turbulence caused by an FBI investigation and criminal prosecutions associated with the scandal.
The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between alternative definitions of first... more The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between alternative definitions of first-generation college students (FGCSs) and graduation from 2- and 4-year colleges. Using Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 data, we constructed eight definitions of FGCSs based on parents’ highest level of education and the number of parents at that level. We identified a series of regression models to explain whether the student earned a 2- or 4-year degree, and focused on the association between different definitions of FGCSs and student success. We estimated both unconditional models for all 10th graders in the sample as well as conditional models for only those who enrolled in college, to see if FGCS status mattered even for those who overcame the access hurdle. Furthermore, we examined the relationship between FGCSs and the pathways to college completion for students who have initially enrolled in a 2- versus 4-year colleges.
Abstract:This qualitative case study explores the career and educational aspirations, college cho... more Abstract:This qualitative case study explores the career and educational aspirations, college choice process, and college barriers and opportunities of 26 rural, African American high school students. Data included interviews with 26 students and 11 school staff members. Findings suggest that the students’ rural context shapes aspirations. In addition, students have emotional support and motivation to attend college from their family members and schools, but the students did not always have the “know how” to prepare for college. Finally, students described financial and academic preparedness barriers for college, but they also mentioned grades and teenage pregnancy as potential barriers for college.
For years, football and basketball players at Prestige University were earning college credit for... more For years, football and basketball players at Prestige University were earning college credit for classes that never existed. The students were enrolled in fake courses, known as “ghost classes,” with no formal instruction or required meeting times and requiring only a single term paper. Faculty, staff, and administrators were complicit in quietly providing student athletes in revenue-generating sports academic credit for coursework they did not complete. However, the scandal became nationwide news, forcing Prestige to reconsider its key values and mission and placing the integrity of the university’s academic and athletics programs in jeopardy.
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