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Appalachian Bridges To The Baccalaureate: How Community Colleges Affect Transfer Success, Amber K. Decker

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Statement of the problem. Too few community college students who intend to transfer and earn a baccalaureate degree actually do. This is a problem because postsecondary education is a key factor in economic mobility, and community colleges enroll a disproportionate number of nontraditional, part-time and low-income students. Although individual factors must be considered by community colleges, they often are out of the control of the institution. This study focused on the institutional factors, including the ways that organizational structures contribute to the success of a community college’s transfer program.

Design. This companion study was conducted by a four-member research team. …