Research Advancing Identities and Student Experiences Center (RAISE Center)

The RAISE Center is excited to continue to host the RAISE Center Journal with its second issue set for publication in March 2025. The first issue of the RAISE Center Journal included the proceedings of the inaugural RAISE Conference held on February 22, 2024. Themed “The Research Odyssey: Charting New Waters in Identities, Experiences, and Community Engagement”, this conference welcomed diverse and insightful submissions from the university community. The journal showcased top presentations, epitomizing the breadth and depth of research aligned with the journal's mission.

In line with the RAISE Center mission, the journal aims to reshape the discourse around the diversity of college student identities, understanding of inclusive and transformative experiences on college student development and the transition beyond college. This peer-reviewed publication will encompass a wide range of research, reflective of the center’s core objectives.

The RAISE Center Journal will serve as a platform for original research, promoting collaboration among SFA researchers, graduate students, administrators and practitioners. It aims to enhance research capacity in higher education and form a network of scholars dedicated to this vital field.

Journal and Conference Timeline

• Nov. 15, 2024 - Call for Proposals open
• Jan. 26, 2025 - Call for Proposals closes
• Feb. 3, 2025 - Notification of acceptance
• Feb. 21, 2025 - RAISE Conference
• Mar. 31, 2025 - RAISE Center Journal Conference Proceedings published

The mission of the RAISE Center will be to support research activities and outreach about higher education specifically related to the identity development and experiences of college students.

The center’s activities are organized around centering student experiences through three A’s: amplifying voice, affirming identity and advancing belonging.

1. Amplifying voice will foreground marginalized social identities across student populations to explore how the college student experience expands their developmental narrative despite systemic barriers and personal challenges. 
2. Affirming identity will center specific identities across gender, racial and cultural identities to discuss how institutions or their individual lived experiences influence their identity salience and may facilitate learning across differences.
3. Advancing belonging will highlight the potential ways in which the college experience can involve student populations the research notes as “invisible identities,” which are often pushed to the far boundaries of the cocurricular experience.

• Enhance research capacity about higher education related to college student identities and promote research collaboration among SFA researchers, graduate students, administrators and practitioners
• Build capacity to be competitive in obtaining grant funding and sustainable external funding
• Author and collaborate on original research by forming an extended network of higher education researchers and scholars who examine college student identities and their experiences
• Promote the study of college student identity research related to undergraduate student experiences through the creation of an academic journal
• Disseminate knowledge and scholarship through public service, which will include continuing education and training workshops