Education Commons^™

Assessing The Correlations Between Non-Cognitive Factors And The First Semester Gpa Of Nontraditional Students At A Community College., Alexis Parent Ferrouillet

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation

Ninety percent of the students enrolled at community colleges in the United States are nontraditional (NCES, 2001). According to Horn and Carroll (1996), characteristics of nontraditional student include: delayed college enrollment, financially independent of parents, worked at least thirty-five hours per week, had dependents other than a spouse, were single parents, and had not received a standard high school diploma. Because of these characteristics, nontraditional students can face a plethora of challenges in higher education and feel underprepared for college coursework. Upon enrollment into the community college with an open admissions policy, these underprepared students must take high stakes standardized …

Equity Issues In Dual Enrollment Programs: Exploring African American Community College Students’ Perceptions Of Dual Enrollment, Kristen Wagner Rarig

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Dual enrollment has been shown to increase post-secondary student success outcomes across a variety of measures such as retention, grade point average, and four-year attainment (Allen & Dadgar, 2012; Hoffman, 2012, Pretlow & Wathington, 2014). In Virginia, access to community colleges among students of color has increased from 32.3% in 2008 to 42.7% in 2018 (SCHEV, 2019-a). Despite these gains, far fewer African American students than White students participate in dual enrollment in Virginia, which has significant implications for their future success in post-secondary education. This study examined the experiences that influenced African American students’ choice to participate in dual …

Figured Worlds: A Phenomenological Study Of Community College Faculty Leaders, Quinton Bemiller

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Despite the importance of community colleges in higher education, community college faculty are understudied. Although the community college has been defined as a teaching institution, its faculty also serve in non-teaching leadership roles. The purpose of this research study is to know (1) what the experiences of community college faculty in leadership roles are, (2) how their roles have changed over time, (3) what factors motivated faculty to accept non-teaching roles, and (4) how faculty have navigated the transition. Data were obtained from open-ended, semi-structured interviews using an Interpretive Phenomenological approach. Qualitative data were transcribed, coded, categorized, and then organized …

Promoting Persistence Among Lgbtq Community College Students, Gregory D. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

A vast amount of research has been devoted to the persistence and retention of college students since the 1970s. Recent research has focused on targeted populations such as first year students, racially minoritized, students with low social economic status and students at the developmental/remedial level. Nevertheless, limited scholarly research has been conducted on the persistence and retention of another category of students, sexual and gender minorities. This qualitative study examined the experiences that promote persistence among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community colleges students. Interviews with eight LGBTQ students from three community colleges in the state of Illinois …

Matriculation Through Dual Credit, Lorry Beth Wilson

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Earning college credit in high school has become a rising trend, while correlation of matriculation to credit hour accumulation, underrepresented minority population, and high school data is limited. State policies are redefining outdated rules and processes in order to provide access, affordability, and awareness to students throughout the United States. West Kentucky Community and Technical College, in partnership with area high schools, enroll students in dual credit courses, which assists with increasing college credential completion and the reduction of total college costs. Students must have guidance and planning before, during, and after earning dual credit. This helps the student to …

Exploring The Lived Experience Of Female Presidents In Higher Education: A Journey Of Ascension To The Rural Community College Presidency, Patsy Jackson

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study is to investigate the lived experience of females who ascended to rural community college presidencies. This study explores their perceptions of barriers and facilitators that influenced their success in capturing a rural community college presidency. Lastly, this study aims to examine their leadership approach and their intended leadership legacy. An imminent leadership crisis exists for community colleges and has created an uncertain future for these open access institutions. The number of qualified applicants to fill the presidential pipeline is declining and sitting presidents are retiring at alarming rates, threatening the sustainable of community …

Treated Like A Professional: A Case Study In Adjunct Faculty Socialization, Elizabeth C. Hobson

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the experiences of part-time adjunct faculty members in a community college setting. It specifically looked at how adjuncts described: (1) their career journey to being adult educators, (2) their socialization experience, and (3) how teaching adult education influenced their perspective on teaching. All participants were experienced adjunct instructors in an adult basic and secondary education department (ABE/ASE) at a suburban community college. By looking at experienced adjunct instructors, the study informs practices to support both experienced and new part-time college faculty members.

A qualitative case study approach was used to explore the participants’ experiences. Ten adjunct faculty …