Education Commons^™

Implementing The Guided Pathways Model: A Case For Change Management And Transformation, Russell Frohardt, Janie C. Scott

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Wouldn’t we all love to roll out changes according to best practices and reliable data? This session includes a case study on change management at a large community college, as well as a discussion on the strategies and best practices used to help academic leaders implement the Guided Pathways Model.

Navigating The Career Pipeline: Experiences Of Female Community College Presidents, Andrea Allen Deal

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Despite holding a majority of lower and middle management positions in public two-year institutions, women still hold only one-third of current community college presidencies. This study explored the gendered phenomenon of navigating the career pipeline in higher education to reach the office of community college president. The purpose of the study was to examine the educational backgrounds and career paths of recently-appointed female community college presidents, as well as the barriers and sources of support they encountered while navigating the career pipeline.

A phenomenological approach was utilized for this qualitative study. Data was primarily collected using semi-structured interviews. Additional sources …

Predictors Of Community College Students’ Academic Success In The Corequisite Model, Damon Andrews

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine predictors of community college student academic success in the corequisite model. Academic success was defined dichotomously on a pass or fail basis. The population in this study included 1,933 students that enrolled in at least one corequisite English and/or mathematics course at the college between the fall semester of 2015 and summer semester of 2018. The predictors examined were a student’s sex, race, age at time of enrollment, Pell grant recipient status, first-generation college student status, high school GPA, placement test scores, academic major, time spent receiving academic tutoring in college’s …

The Relationship Of Community College Staff's Job Satisfaction To Administration's Leadership Style: A Correlational Study, Darla Sue Harwell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today, higher education faces more social, cultural, accreditation, and funding opportunities than they have faced in the past and it is important for staff to have job satisfaction to assist the colleges to meet these opportunities. Higher education leaders are increasingly recognizing that to keep the institutions doors open financially, they must have staff that are satisfied with their jobs and thus are placing a greater emphasis on meeting the staffs’ expectations and needs. This will allow for the staff to assist with the opportunities that those in higher education are facing today. The purpose of this study was to …

Its Okay For Us To Be Students, But Not Leaders: African American Women In Executive Leadership Within The Community College, La Shemia C. Hanebutte

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

As the nation’s racial and ethnic diversity continues to grow, so does the number of students of color within the college system, particularly within the community and technical college systems. While the student body grows more diverse, African American women are not invited into circles of power and executive leadership positions continue to be filled by White leaders. This racial disparity perpetuates an educational system that is neither open nor inclusive. To better understand the persistent underrepresentation of African American women in community college leadership settings, a racially conscious framework was chosen to be applied in the exploration of how …

Upward Mobility: A Phenomenological Study Of The Hispanic Student Experience In Dual Enrollment, Marina Ashmar Giovannini

All Theses And Dissertations

Dual enrollment continues to experience rapid growth throughout the United States and is viewed as one of the best ways to prepare students for college. Hispanics represent the largest and fastest growing minority ethnic population in the nation, but they are underrepresented in most dual enrollment programs. Although previous research has demonstrated that dual enrollment programs produce positive outcomes concerning academic achievement and college completion, few studies have captured the experiences of Hispanic students in dual enrollment. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate how Hispanic students in an Arizona community college perceive how their experiences in …

The Perceptions And Lived Experiences Of African American Male Presidents In California Community Colleges, Tyree L. Robinson

Doctoral Dissertations

Current research has shown racial disparities and inequities among African American men who desire to be community college presidents in California, or already hold the position. This study explored why California has only 7 African American community college presidents on 115 campuses; how to overcome obstacles to attain the presidency position; what life/work experiences assists current presidents in their leadership positions in higher education, as well as each president’s trajectory that ultimately led them to the presidency. The study explored factors that have kept African Americans out of higher education leadership roles such as the presidency.

Leading The Transition To Active Learning Strategies And The High-Engagement Teaching Model, William J. Buchhorn, Elena Allen

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This interactive workshop will showcase several strategies used in the new active learning model of teaching as chairs from English and Reading at Butler Community College (KS) share insights developed during the multi-year implementation of a partnership with AVID for Higher Education.

Students' Perceived Value Of The Community College Experience: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin A. Duncan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceived value of their community college experience and its relationship to other factors often related to student persistence in college, namely satisfaction, academic quality, service quality, and engagement. The research was guided by three focused questions: How do students describe and define perceived value of community college; what components emerge from exploratory factor analysis of items designed to measure perceived value; and how, if at all, is a student’s perception of the value of a community college experience different from related measures such as satisfaction, engagement, or quality? Data were collected …

The Impact Of Financial Aid On Graduation Rates For First-Year Developmental Community College Students In North Carolina, Eric Douglas Barnes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

One of the most significant issues in post-secondary education is persistence. In community colleges, retention and graduation rates are very low. This is especially true for students enrolled in developmental English, reading, and/or math courses. The low cost of community college tuition and fees combined with financial need-based programs in the form of Pell Grants, give all students, including students academically unprepared who require developmental courses, access to a college education and the means to persist and complete a degree program. However, despite the financial resources, these students are not persisting and completing a degree program. This study will be …

Women In Recovery: Perceptions In Transition To Community College, Mandi Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Substance abuse is an area of concern for college administrators, and they have implemented campus programming in an attempt to address it. Additionally, prior researchers have studied substance abuse on college campuses in order to better understand how substance abuse affects student success. However, limited research exist that addresses the unique perspective of college students who are in recovery from substance abuse, and most studies were conducted in 4-year institutions rather than community colleges. This qualitative case study explored the transition experiences of female students in recovery who attend community college or have recently graduated. The sample included students from …

A First-Year Experience Course And Its Relationship To Retention And Academic Success At A Public Community College, Jackie F. Newman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to determine the relationship between retention and academic success of students who participated in a First-Year Experience (FYE) course and students who did not participate in a FYE course within a southeastern community college in the United States. The impact of the relationship was to inform an understanding of how a FYE course influences student success.

Archival data were collected from the southeastern community college’s student information system, Banner, Data for first-time full time students were gathered, including whether or not the individuals enrolled in a FYE course. Other data included the …

Community College And High School Partnership: College Math Readiness Program, Ernesto Oscar Reyes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study describes the partnership between an urban community college and seven high schools from its inception. The purpose of the partnership was to increase the number of high school seniors transitioning into college-level math courses through the college math readiness program, an existing community college intermediate algebra course. In addition to archival records and documents, college math faculty, high school math teachers, administrators and staff, and college students were interviewed for this study. Four major challenges were identified in the following areas: student recruitment process, data management, lack of information to students, and collaboration among math faculty and math …

Tales From The Field: A Phenomenological Study On The Unique Challenges Iraq/Afghanistan Ptsd Veterans Experience While Attending A Community College In Southern California, Nick N. Arman

Dissertations

With the downsizing of U.S. military personnel and increased educational benefits offered by the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, many Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans will enroll in a community college for education and training opportunities (Vacchi, 2012). A review of literature revealed the majority of OIF/OEF combat veterans in higher education suffered from symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Ackerman, DiRamio, & Garza Mitchell, 2009; American Council on Education, 2009; Cate, 2014). The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the unique challenges experienced by OIF/OEF veterans diagnosed with PTSD when attending community college …

Exploring The Impact Of The Masstransfer Program: A Look At Latina/ Latino Student Transfer Success At A Two Year Hispanic-Serving Institution Into A Four Year Non-Hispanic University In Massachusetts, Lizette V. Rivera

Dissertations

The majority of Latina/Latino students enrolling into higher education are doing so through community colleges. Latina/Latino students are not transferring at comparable rates to their peers. This study explored the impact of the MassTransfer program on the transfer success of Latina/Latino students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) community college into a 4-year state university in Massachusetts. Twelve students were individually interviewed for this study. Six of the students attend an HSI community college. The remaining six students were enrolled in a Massachusetts state university and had successfully transferred from the HSI in this study. The MassTransfer program encourages degree specific …

Organizing For Change: A Case Study Of Grassroots Leadership At A Kentucky Community College, Andrea Rae Borregard

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Community colleges constitute a special type of higher education organization: their complex mission, dynamics, personnel structures, and values require a distinct set of understandings and skills to lead and manage them well. Most of the research on leadership in community colleges focuses on leaders in positions of power (presidents, provosts, etc.) and not on grassroots or bottom-up leadership. Bottom-up leaders are individuals who perpetuate change without having the backing of a formal position of authority to do so. Recent leadership research validates the importance of having change agents at all levels of an organization in order to further the mission …

Dual Enrollment And Community College Outcomes For First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen: A Quasi-Experimental Study, John M. Grubb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of dual enrollment course participation by comparing first-time, full-time traditional community college students who participated in dual enrollment (N=246) to peers (N=986) that did not participate. Dual enrollment participation was defined as taking one or more dual enrollment courses. The population for this study (N=1,232) included first-time, full-time students who graduated from public high schools in the service area of Northeast State Community College over a five year span from 2008 through 2012. Propensity score matching eliminated self-selection bias by controlling for confounding covariates …

Understanding The Transition Experience Of Community College Transfer Students To A 4-Year University: Incorporating Schlossberg’S Transition Theory Into Higher Education, Tony A. Lazarowicz

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

With over 60% of college graduates attending multiple institutions (United States Department of Education, 2006), many starting at community colleges, the importance of understanding community college transfer students’ stories is critical to retention and graduation agendas at colleges and universities nationwide. Schlossberg’s Transition Theory has recently been introduced into higher education literature as a conceptual framework for working with various student populations such as student veterans (Wheeler, 2012; Rumann, 2010); student athletes (Henderson, 2013); and students on academic probation (Tovar & Simon, 2006) among others. Minimal work has incorporated Schlossberg’s Transition Theory into studies of community college transfer students; thus …

The Community College Baccalaureate: A Mixed Methods Study Of Implementation And Best Practices, Stan E. Essink

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Community colleges have a number of missions ranging from developmental education through academic transfer. They are obligated to provide higher education opportunities in a manner that is affordable, accessible, and adaptable to the changing needs of their constituents. As the mission of community colleges continues to evolve, several states have interpreted this mission to include baccalaureate programming.

This study employed a mixed methods approach to understanding the best practices of implementing and offering bachelor’s degrees through community colleges. The objectives of the research were to determine the influences affecting implementation of bachelor’s degrees, to examine resulting institutional change, and to …

Community College: The Chameleon Of Higher Education, Louis Fletcher

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

A perceived dichotomy in higher education frames the relationship between four-year universities and community colleges. The four-year university thrives on publishing research as much as it does on administering curriculum leading to a degree. The community college is focused on instruction which could lead to a degree, certificate, or other outcome that serves the needs of the community. The four-year university serves the traditional student who typically attends the institution full-time and is a recent product of secondary education. The community college serves the non-traditional student who typically attends the institution part-time and often has already entered the world of …

An Examination Of Best Practices In Retention In The Associate Degree Nursing Programin The Florida Community College System, Mary Lewis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods research examined student nurse retention methods perceived as best practice by directors and coordinators in selected Associate Degree Nursing (AND) programs within the Florida Community College System (FCCS). A critical nursing shortage is expected to worsen over the next twenty years due to the aging workforce and the inadequate supply of qualified nurse graduates. The Associate degree nursing programs supply the majority of nursing graduates to the workforce. Thus, the associate degree nursing programs and student retention measures were studied. The research was conducted using a Delphi survey of directors of nursing in ADN programs within the FCCS. …

Community College Leadership In The 21st Century, Laurie Van

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore with community college presidents of 292 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Level 1 institutions their perceptions as to the extent to which selected leadership styles presently required in the performance of presidential duties may be required in the future. Also investigated were leadership succession planning and professional development initiatives aimed at identifying and developing future leaders. A total of 209 (71.6%) presidents completed a researcher designed survey. Data analysis resulted in the following major findings. The presidents indicated a high level of support for each of the five leadership styles for …