As the latest edition of SEMQ releases, our SEM Quarterly editors would like to recognize the journal’s outgoing editorial board members. These volunteers have provided thoughtful feedback on the strategic direction of the journal over the last several years.
In this edition of SEMQ, we look at how enrollment leaders can learn from first-generation students who have successfully navigated the path to postsecondary education, as discussed by Chrissy Holliday and Sharon Anderson in their recent SEMQ article. The authors discuss their recent research, which focuses on the experiences of first-generation students at a four-year, state-supported Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in a western state. Some of their findings include:
First-generation students received at least some college guidance from an adult (teacher, coach guidance counselor) at their high schools
First-generation students were the primary decision-makers, or “the deciders,” in their college plans
Finances, both real and perceived, impacted students’ college-going process
First-generation students experienced a sense of otherness between themselves and their families after college enrollment
The authors offered recommendations for enrollment practitioners to increase first-generation student access to higher education institutions, such as:
Partnering with secondary schools
Consideration of dual enrollment and concurrent courses in high school
One-on-one counseling and support for college-going students
Connecting first-generation staff and mentors with first-generation students
First-generation programming on campus
This study recognizes first-generation students in the role of decision-maker and centers attention on that role as part of their college-going process, Holliday and Anderson wrote. The findings demonstrate that efforts to prepare students for this role and address their access concerns have significant potential to impact institutional enrollment and diversity efforts.
Other articles in this issue of SEMQ include:
Does Completing College-Level Work in High School Result in Baccalaureate Success for Students? by Wil Perkins
Digital Swag and College Students: Exploring 21st Century Digital Admissions, Recruitment, and Yield Collateral by Zachary W. Taylor and Joshua Childs
The Impact of Interventions for Students Readmitted after Academic Suspension by Kristin Woods, Deirdre Heistad, and Megan Vogt-Kostner
SEMQ Editorial Board Updates
The well-known proverb, “It takes a village,” with its focus on the entire community providing for and interacting positively with its members, aptly tells our story. SEMQ Editor and Chief Clayton Smith said, “It is through the support,
encouragement, and empathetic leadership exhibited by the SEMQ Editorial Board members that we are able to advance SEM’s conceptual, empirical, and qualitative research so that our colleagues can continue to adapt to and transform our higher
education landscape.”
Outgoing board members include:
Matthew Andrews, University of Gloucestershire, who served from 2016-2022;
Alison Buckley, SUNY Ulster, who served from 2019-2022; and
Robert Hensley, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, who served from 2018-2022.
These board members have contributed a valuable service to higher education and SEM research, in particular, said Managing Editor Heather Zimar. We are grateful for the knowledge and insight they have shared with our editors and authors.
SEMQ’s continuing board members are:
Irlanda Gonzalez-Price, Vancouver Island University
Chuck Knepfle, Portland State University
Jairo McMican, Achieving the Dream
Diane Rusk, University of Wisconsin
Kimberly Taylor-Benns, LaSalle University
Tara Winters, SUNY Cobleskill
SEMQ editors also welcome six new board members, who will begin their term this November:
Ariana Balayan, University of Mass Chan Medical School
Marcella Elliott-Ferguson, University of the Bahamas
Rebecca Hapes, Texas A&M University
Stephanie Krusemark, Iliff School of Theology
Joseph Mews, Lake-Sumter State College
Alicia Moore, Central Oregon Community College
We are thrilled to welcome this new group of SEM leaders who will bring a diverse range of experience and expertise to the journal and continue the board’s work to provide guidance on research and best practice articles in SEM - Heather Zimar, SEM Quarterly Managing Editor