Which College Success Programs Lead to Psychosocial Outcomes for Lower-Income Students?

Nicholas Bowman; N Tennessen; Shinji Katsumoto; Lauren Irwin

doi:10.1353/csd.2026.a986508

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Which College Success Programs Lead to Psychosocial Outcomes for Lower-Income Students?

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Which College Success Programs Lead to Psychosocial Outcomes for Lower-Income Students?

Nicholas Bowman, N Tennessen, Shinji Katsumoto and Lauren Irwin

Journal of college student development, Vol.67(2), pp.161-183

03/01/2026

DOI: 10.1353/csd.2026.a986508

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Abstract

Colleges and universities have many options when offering programs to bolster student success, but the plethora of choices leads to an important question about the characteristics of programs that are most likely to promote desired outcomes. While much research has examined the outcomes associated with student success programs that combine multiple components (e.g., summer bridge programs, learning communities), the results provide limited guidance for program designs. This issue was studied using a multi-institutional, longitudinal dataset of first-year undergraduates from lower-income backgrounds, which was merged with data from students’ high schools, precollege zip codes, and detailed information offered at 36 different college success programs. Overall, the programs most consistently and favorably associated with psychosocial outcomes provided substantial financial aid, started before the first semester of college, lasted for two years, and did not involve a tutoring component. Many other types of programs are rarely or never associated with psychosocial outcomes. These findings offer direct insights for administrators and practitioners who seek to maximize the usefulness of their student success programming.

Academic Achievement

College Students

Higher Education

Academic Advising

Academic Persistence

Addition

Campuses

Career Exploration

College campuses

College Freshmen

College Programs

Communities of Practice

Comprehensive Programs

First Generation College Students

First generation students

Graduation Rate

Help Seeking

Interpersonal Relationship

Land Grant Universities

Learner Engagement

Literature reviews

Meta Analysis

Outcomes of Education

Personal relationships

Program Costs

School Holding Power

Self Efficacy

Student Characteristics

Student retention

Success

Tutoring

Details

Title: Subtitle: Which College Success Programs Lead to Psychosocial Outcomes for Lower-Income Students?
Creators: Nicholas Bowman
N Tennessen
Shinji Katsumoto
Lauren Irwin
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Journal of college student development, Vol.67(2), pp.161-183
DOI: 10.1353/csd.2026.a986508
ISSN: 0897-5264
eISSN: 1543-3382
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Grant note: Susan T. Buf-fett Foundation
The work described in this article is generously supported by funding from the Susan T. Buf-fett Foundation. The authors also thank Sonja Ardoin for her detailed feedback on an earlier version of this article.
Language: English
Date published: 03/01/2026
Academic Unit: Educational Policy and Leadership Studies; Center for Social Science Innovation
Record Identifier: 9985149520102771

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