Education Commons^™

Faculty Perception Of Inclusive Instruction At Three South-Central Community Colleges, Karen R. O'Donohoe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Enrollment rates for student with disabilities in higher education continue to rise, particularly in 2-year colleges, but graduation rates have not kept pace due to barriers not addressed by traditional disability supports (Black et al., 2014; NCES, 2019; Smedema et al., 2015). Inclusive instruction is a low-cost, high-impact solution that can be implemented on any campus (Black et al., 2014; Lombardi et al., 2013; Roberts et al., 2011). This quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive non-experimental research design that explored faculty self-reported attitudes and actions associated with inclusive instruction at three of the largest degree-granting, two-year institutions in a single …

Understanding The Experience Of Mid-Level Community College Change Leaders, Kelley L. Conrad

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the phenomenon of leading major change as a midlevel administrator or faculty member at a Michigan community college. Specifically, this study explores how three leaders experienced their roles in implementing the guided pathways strategic change initiative, how they describe the emotional aspects of leading change, and how they made sense of their experiences. One overarching research question guided this study: How do guided pathways leaders at Michigan community colleges experience their roles in the strategic change process?

The results of multiple, in-depth interviews are presented as three profiles, one per participant, using their own words to …

A Narrative Study Of The Experiences That Disrupt Or Terminate Entry In The Community College Presidential Pipeline For African American Women, Dana G. Stilley

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Organizational structures, beliefs, and values in higher education are influenced by the deep-seated characteristics of patriarchy, dominance and racial and gender bias, upon which higher education was founded. These factors continue to impact the ascension of African American women to college presidencies. Current challenges facing community colleges include a gap in executive leadership and the underrepresentation of African American women in the presidential pipeline.

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to better understand the experiences that disrupt or terminate the journey to a presidency for African American women in senior level positions at community colleges. The goal was to …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Perceptions Of Single Mother College Students, Jamaica Delmar

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

As parenting students are an underserved subset of the growing nontraditional college student population in the United States, this study aims to understand and illuminate the experiences of single mother students while in pursuit of a post-secondary credential. This research is motivated by the following research questions, viewed within the context of a participant's identities: How do single mother college students perceive institutional support services? How do single mother college students experience their interactions with faculty? What institutional systems are in place that pose the biggest barriers to persistence and degree completion for single mother college students? A phenomenological qualitative …

That Push Helps: A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Students' Responses To Receiving An Early Alert, Eric Tammes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the decision-making experience of students receiving an early alert notification at a community college and what influenced students’ responses to the alert. Early alert programs are identified as a high impact persistence practice and may involve significant financial, technology, and personnel investments. Examining how students engage or disconnect from an early alert program may help maximize the institution’s investment and fulfill the program’s intent. Utilizing a qualitative case study, informed by Pascarella’s (1980) Student-Faculty Informal Contact model, this study sought to fill a gap within the persistence and early alert literature. The study also provided participant-driven guidance …

Community College Full-Time Faculty Members’ Perceptions Of Course Grading, April C. Zawlocki

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined community college full-time faculty members’ perceptions of grading and reporting student learning via course grades using a mixed methods approach. The research questions that guided this study asked about the differences that exist in community college full-time faculty members’ perceptions of grading by different academic subdivision, by having or not having a degree in education, and by gender. Additionally, the study examined how perceptions of the purpose of grades differ among faculty members. The study also sought to find out which criteria were used to determine course grades and what experiences faculty members attribute to learning how …

Cultivating A Stem Investigation: Reading And Task Expectations For Introductory Biology Courses, Tina M. Ballard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

College completion is an important discussion in today’s world with only about 30% of community college students completing their degrees within three years of starting their programs. Especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, students are changing their majors or not completing their degrees for a variety of reasons. Previous research has established that there are high attrition and failure rates for introductory biology courses which may be causing some students to change their majors or not complete their degrees. This multicase study investigated the reading and task demands for introductory biology courses designed for STEM majors …

Student-Parenting During A Global Pandemic: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Experience Of Community College Student-Parents, Malinde Althaus

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Approximately one-quarter of undergraduate students are parents or guardians of dependent children. While having similar or higher GPAs, student-parents have lower rates of graduation than peers without children and often struggle with finances, childcare, and scheduling. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many new stressors to our lives. In addition to the mental and physical health risks during the pandemic, college students experienced a change in delivery of classes to largely online and for parents of school age children, it has added challenges of supporting children at home in distance learning. This study used a feminist phenomenological approach to discover the lived …

What Does The Staff Say?: Front-Line Staff Perceptions Of Their Role In Student Success, Lee A. Helbert

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on exploring the perceptions of front-line staff in supporting student success at a mid-western community college. These staff are generally the employees who are not generally involved with teaching or administration, but work in offices like the business, financial aid, enrollment services, or are administrative assistants to the different departments. Nine participants participated in individual interviews and/or a focus group discussion. These front-line staff shared their stories that related to how they saw themselves contributing to student success, what they saw as the challenges and benefits of supporting students, and what professional opportunities were provided by the …

Assessing An Academic Readiness Model In A Community College Occupational Program, Scott A. Hauert, Robert L. Moore, Quinton Nottingham

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This study assessed a localized academic readiness model that measures academic skills relevant to an occupational program and the institutional context. Enrollment in the program’s mandatory gateway course is contingent upon establishing academic readiness either: (1) possess an associate-level or higher degree; (2) achieve placement test scores that permit enrollment in college-level English composition/critical reading; or (3) complete developmental education prerequisites to permit enrollment in college-level English composition/critical reading. Using the gateway course performance for 112 students, the study explored whether any of the model’s criterions are significantly related to success in the gateway course and whether there is any …