Laanan, Frankie Santos

The purpose of this study was to analyze factors that predict marijuana use and
grade point average among undergraduate college students using the Core Institute
national database. The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey was used to collect data on
students’ attitudes, beliefs, and experiences related to substance use in college. The
sample used in this study was delimited to include only full-time undergraduate students
(N =111,664) and data were collected from 2011 to 2015. Six research questions
provided the foundation of the study, which was operationalized by Astin’s (1993) input
environment outcome model (IEO).
Descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the sample in terms of individual
and institutional characteristics, campus experiences, and substance use. Comparative
analyses including one-way analysis of variance and two-way analysis of variance were
conducted to determine statistical significance of differences between groups for gender, ethnic origin, marijuana use, and grade point average. Effect sizes were calculated for
each ANOVA to determine the magnitude of the effect and practical significance for the
population. Finally, inferential analyses using hierarchical, multiple regression were
conducted to predict marijuana use. The regression model was also used to explore
factors predicting medical marijuana and recreational marijuana use among students in
the 2015 cohort. Statistically significant results were reported for each regression model.
Statistically significant at p < .001, the factors that explained 42.2% of the variance in the
final model included: gender, ethnic origin, age, institutional control, campus locale,
intercollegiate athletics, social fraternities and sororities, music and performing arts,
alcohol use, illegal drug use change, perceived risk of harm from trying marijuana once
or twice, and perceived risk of harm from smoking marijuana regularly. Implications for
policy, practice, and future research regarding marijuana use and academic performance
are included.

Community colleges and for-profit institutions are considered open-access
institutions and serve a large proportion of the United States student population.
Furthermore, research confirms that students who are minorities, disadvantaged, and
nontraditional attend these institutions in greater numbers than highly selective
institutions. However, little is known about how these students choose between these
two types of open-access institutions. The purpose of this study was to acquire a deeper
understanding of the discriminating factors that influence these pathways and determine a
predictive model of choice that is generalizable to undergraduate students choosing to
attend open-access institutions. The study used the undergraduate portion of the 2011-
2012 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12) as its data source.
NPSAS:12 contains a sample of about 95,000 undergraduate and about 16,900 graduate students enrolled between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012 in approximately 1,690 Title
IV-eligible institutions of higher education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The results of the study indicate that the odds are higher for students attending for-profit
colleges and universities than public two-year colleges to: be female; have independent
status (24 years of age or older); have dependents; be Black or African American,
Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian/other
Pacific Islander; use higher amounts of financial aid; either not have a job or work
fulltime; be less likely to attend college part-time; have higher college GPAs; and attend
larger institutions. When restricting the sample for at-risk and non-traditional students,
the odds for Hispanic and Latino and American Indian or Alaska Native students
attending FPCUs increased, whereas the odds of Black or African American students
attending FPCUs decreased. The results, implications for policy and practice, and
recommendations for future research are discussed.

The growing Haitian population in the United States is directly affecting all
institutions of higher education As institutions continue to diversify across the
country, HBCUs are also responding to this trend According to Ricard and
Brown (2008), HBCUs are changing in order to keep up with the growing demand
of institutional diversity, and they recognize that having a diversified student body
will make the institutions more competitive
Although their historic mission focuses on educating Black students, there
remains a gap in the literature on HBCUs on one of the largest Black groups in
the United States: the Haitian immigrant In the literature, the Haitian population
constitutes approximately 15% of the total US foreign-born population, and
15% of the total Black immigrant population in the US, behind Jamaicans at
18%, respectively Moreover, Haitians make up the fourth largest immigrant population from the Caribbean behind Cubans, Dominicans, and Jamaicans
(Anderson, 2015) However, these numbers do not include the hundreds of
thousands of Haitians who fled the Country after the devastating earthquake of
2010 nor the thousands of undocumented Haitian immigrants currently living in
the US
This qualitative phenomenological study sought to explore the college
choice process of ten Haitian students who chose to attend a highly selective
HBCU located in the Northeast region of the United States Moreover, this study
sought to explore how these ten Haitian students developed a sense of
belonging to the HBCU campus The primary methods for data collection
included semi-structured one-on-one interviews, a demographic questionnaire,
and artifact analysis Using the theoretical frameworks of Chapman’s (1981)
Model of College Choice and Sense of Belonging, this study discovered the
factors that influence Haitian students’ decision to attend a highly selective
HBCU centers around family Moreover, this study discovered that Haitian
students at a highly selective HBCU described their sense of belonging through
various forms of relationships

According to higher education preparation standards, students who
complete master’s preparation programs in student affairs should not only be
acquiring skills and knowledge, they should be socialized into the field of student
affairs Master’s level preparation programs in college student personnel or
higher education leadership are often coupled with a graduate assistantship so
that students are able to obtain valuable theory-to-practice experience This
additional experience becomes complementary to the work the graduate student
is doing in the classroom and thus becomes a practical learning opportunity
After completing a preparation program, a former master’s student will
most likely move into an entry-level position in student affairs, such as residence
hall director, student activities coordinator, judicial affairs coordinator, or a
fraternity/sorority coordinator However, despite this common career pathway, there has been limited research regarding the role a student affairs graduate
assistantship plays in assisting students in their socialization and transition into
the field and how this prepares these new student affairs professionals for their
first position post-master’s degree
Thirteen new professionals in student affairs who graduated from two
preparation programs in the southeastern region of the United States participated
in this basic interpretive qualitative study The purpose of this basic interpretive
qualitative study was to examine and describe the experience of new student
affairs professionals who held a graduate assistantship in student affairs during
their graduate preparation program and the role, if any, the graduate
assistantship played in their perceptions of preparedness Based on the findings
of this study, the graduate assistantship in student affairs indeed plays a role in
the perceptions of preparedness of these new professionals The overarching
themes that emerged using Schlossberg’s (1984) transition theory as the
analytical lens were mentorship, hands-on experience, peer interactions, and
financial enticement The findings from this study align with and expand upon
the existing student affairs literature, and provide awareness to student affairs
practitioners and higher education leadership faculty on how to best support new
professionals as they transition into the field of student affairs

The purpose of this study was to develop a prediction model for graduation rate at
non-residential research universities. As well, this study investigated, described, and
compared the student characteristics of non-residential and residential institutions.
Making distinctions between significant predictor variables at non-residential research
universities and significant predictor variables at residential institutions was also an aim.
The researcher obtained data from the Integrated Postsecondary Data System. Student
and institutional variables were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples
t-tests, analysis of variance, and regression analyses. Results indicated that student and
institutional characteristics can be used to significantly predict graduation rate at nonresidential
institutions with student variables yielding greater predictive power than
institutional variables. As well, residential status was found to moderate the relationship
between undergraduate enrollment and graduation rate.