The authors used the data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study survey (BPS:04/06) to (a) examine the characteristics of the national sample of college students with disabilities and (b) identify the factors that influenced their first-to-second-year persistence in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Students with disabilities in their study display many of the characteristics that are recognized as potential risk factors for attrition in higher education. The results from chisquare tests reveal that academic and social integration and disability-related accommodations are significantly associated with first-to-second-year persistence of students with disabilities; however, when controlling for other demographic, entry, and in-college characteristics, they do not hold significant in the final logistic regression model. Among in-college characteristics, on-campus living, full-time enrollment, degree expectations, first-year GPA, and net price of attendance emerge as significant predictors of persistence of students with disabilities. Recommendations for rehabilitation counselors and disability services staff in higher education are provided.

The study examined the differences between international and U.S. citizen faculty members' productivity in the areas of research, graduate and undergraduate teaching, and service at research universities in the United States. Utilizing the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04) data set, we used a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to address the primary research questions in the study. The results indicated that international faculty members were significantly more productive in research, but less productive in teaching and service than their U.S. citizen colleagues. The study can potentially aid policymakers and university administrators to not only better serve and support international faculty members but also to fully utilize them as a resource that benefits the institution and the students in all functions of their work and not just in research.

The study used the data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study data set to observe the characteristics of international students in their first-year in college and examine the factors that influenced their persistence in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Results from logistic regression analysis revealed that GPA, degree plans, and academic integration were positively related to persistence of international students, while remediation in English and social integration had the negative effects on their persistence outcome. The results of the study signal the importance of encouraging collaboration between offices of international student services and other academic departments or support services on campus. The retention of international students should not be viewed as the responsibility of only international student advisors. Instead, it should become a joint responsibility of faculty, academic advisors, English language program staff, and student affairs professionals on campus.

This study used data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study to examine the demographic and in-college characteristics of students with disabilities at 2-year institutions, identify the types of educational services available to them, and determine how students’ disability conditions and their selected demographic and in-college characteristics related to their persistence. Nearly 25% of the students with disabilities in the sample did not persist beyond their first year, and almost 51% left without return by the end of their third year. The results from chi-square tests revealed that nonpersistence was associated with depression, physical or orthopedic conditions, and other conditions not specified in the survey. Delayed enrollment decreased the likelihood of both first-to-second and 3-year persistence. Conversely, full-time enrollment, high grade point averages (GPAs), high degree aspirations, and meetings with academic advisors were positively related to persistence. Recommendations for faculty members, administrators, and disability services staff members at 2-year institutions are provided.

As a growing number of international students discover two-year institutions as the possible gateway to U.S. higher education, it is important to have a better understanding of who these students are, what attracts them to two-year colleges, and how they engage with the campus community. To address these questions, the study used the data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04=06) survey to examine the profile of international students attending two-year versus four-year institutions in the United States. More specifically, the study explored to what extent international students engaged academically and socially on two-year college campuses in their first-year of study in the U.S. It also examined how students' integration related to their likelihood of persistence through the second year. The results of this study revealed that location, cost, and coursework were among the primary considerations for international students enrolling at two-year institutions in the U.S. The study found that academic advising and faculty interactions played a significant role in the first-to-second-year persistence of international students. Considering these findings, developing relationships and interactions with faculty, academic advisors, and peers should be reinforced and supported.