Promoting at-promise student success in 4-year universities: Recommendations from the thompson scholars learning communities.

Abstract

In this practice brief, we offer recommendations for practitioners supporting low-income students, firstgeneration college students, students of color, and/or students who are academically underprepared. We focus specifically on practices related to students' psychosocial well-being. Our recommendations are based on a multiyear, mixed methods evaluation of a comprehensive college transition program, as well as promising practices emerging from similar programs. We highlight the importance of offering multiple forms of proactive support, utilizing academically validating practices in the classroom, and customizing programs based on a campus's unique student body.

Writing–psychology partnerships: The impact of learning community and major cohorts in a first-year college effectiveness trial.

“…It is important that LC instructors have the time and support to develop coordinated academic experiences across their courses. We concur with Swanson et al (2021) who suggest that faculty should have access to professional development related to LCs and how to best implement them. When faculty members are appropriately trained and have experience teaching the LC over time, student long-term outcomes improve (Virtue et al, 2019).…”

Do graduate courses in a HyFlex mode foster emotional, cognitive and behavioral engagement? A consideration.

“…International students may face linguistic and cultural barriers that make it difficult for them to be active learners , which suggests a need for initiatives that promote inclusivity, multilingualism, and multiculturalism (Xiao, 2021). All students, but perhaps especially low-income/disadvantaged students may need proactive support mechanisms, academically validating practices in the classroom, as well as customized programs (Swanson et al, 2021).…”

Diversifying the academy through a peer-to-peer mentorship model: Insights and recommendations from the NextGen Psych Scholars Program (NPSP).

“…Many successful applicants have a high undergraduate grade point average, a demonstrated knowledge of research methods and statistics, strong interviewing and networking skills, recommendation letters from faculty members of high esteem in their respective fields, conference posters, and even coauthored or first-authored publications. For students with intersecting marginalized identities, navigating this path is especially challenging and includes numerous barriers (Kitchen et al, 2021; Swanson et al, 2021). We note that historical and systemic forms of racism, classism, ableism, and sexism underlie such barriers (Barber et al, 2020; Brown & Leigh, 2018), but a thorough discussion of these is beyond the scope of this brief.…”