Education Commons^™

Leading A Community Promise: A Mixed Method Study Exploring The Dynamics Of Adaptive Leadership And Student Success, Elizabeth M. Narehood

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to gain greater understanding of the dynamics between adaptive leadership strategy and the success of community college students. A strategic alliance formed between a community college and a college promise non-profit organization provides the complex environment to explore these phenomena. The establishment of a “Future Center” on the community college campus serves as the adaptive focal point of the study. The study’s theoretical framework is based upon the interaction of two perspectives: the ecological model of student development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and adaptive leadership theory (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). Study design utilized a three-phased exploratory …

Post-Application Factors Affecting Community College Enrollment, Kyle L. Mccarrell

Dissertations, 2020-current

For many open-enrolled higher education institutions, including community colleges, enrollment is dropping each semester creating significant financial challenges. While much research literature focuses on four-year colleges, little is known about the students who seek to enroll at community colleges. What is known is often evaluated using college choice theoretical models, e.g., Hossler & Gallagher (1987), that focus on a limited, and often linear, student experience. Contemporary evaluation models, including Perna (2006) and Iloh (2018), seek to expand college choice understanding by incorporating contextual matters that include the diverse experiences of potential students as they consider college. These contextual theories, with …

The Credentialed Workforce: Examining Success Rates Across Short-Term Noncredit Training Programs Aligned With Industry Credentials, Rochelle Fisher

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

A new grant program implemented to provide subsidized training costs for students enrolling in short-term noncredit programs aligned with high-demand industry credentials leading to middle-skill jobs was implemented in July 2016. The grant program follows a pay-for-performance model where students are given a two-thirds discount on tuition but required to pay back an additional one-third if they do not successfully complete their short-term noncredit training. An exploratory study was conducted to provide training program completion and credential attainment rates for the overall program and by student demographic groups (age, race, and gender). Results showed little variation among training program completion …

Failure To Launch?: Advancing The Case For Financial Literacy Interventions In Postsecondary Education, Cathleen Snyder

Dissertations, 2014-2019

For college undergraduates, the thought of managing money is often new, exciting, and terrifying in the same breath. Some students have learned well from their parental and prior academic influences, and yet others may be overwhelmed by a lack of those same resources. As postsecondary institutions endeavor to level the proverbial playing field, helping college graduates launch into meaningful, financially independent lives, it begs additional consideration on the intervention methods that might be most impactful.

This study examined a for-credit, curriculum-based intervention specific to personal finance topics. It attempted to answer several key questions: How knowledgeable are students relative to …