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Theses and Dissertations

Community Colleges

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Faculty As Institutional Agents For Students Enrolled In Developmental Education, Jennifer Jane Swartout Mar 2015

Faculty As Institutional Agents For Students Enrolled In Developmental Education, Jennifer Jane Swartout

Theses and Dissertations

Using focus groups, this study sought to understand whether instructors at community colleges who teach developmental education perceive that they act as institutional agents. Institutional agents are instructors who go beyond classroom instruction to advocate for students, provide regular advice and guidance, or act as a "bridge" to resources for the purposes of helping the student build social capital within the institution. The findings of this study suggest that faculty are committed to helping students in developmental education adapt to and be successful in college. However, the conditions under which most instructors work can make it difficult for them to …


The Impact Of Virginia Statewide Community College Transfer Policy On Student Academic Success, Paul Smith Apr 2014

The Impact Of Virginia Statewide Community College Transfer Policy On Student Academic Success, Paul Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges are an increasingly important component of the higher education systems in the United States. Community college as a pathway toward a better educated workforce has been emphasized at a national and state level. Virginia’s policy makers set a goal of producing 100,000 new baccalaureate degrees in the Commonwealth by 2025. Critical to meeting this goal is Virginia’s Community College System. In 2005, Virginia passed the Higher Education Restructuring Act which granted students graduating from Virginia’s community colleges with an associate’s guaranteed admission into any state-funded, four-year institution. Building on this earlier policy, Virginia passed The Higher Education Opportunity …