Education Commons^™

Chief Academic Officers And The Aacc's Leadership Competencies, Josh Philip Lavorgna

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) hold one of the most vital senior leadership positions at community colleges. Typically thought to be the second person in charge, directly under the president, their impact on the community college is crucial. CAOs have historically been considered the next in line to the president, and community college presidents were often CAOs before assuming their first presidency. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) publishes Leadership Competencies for hopeful and current community college leaders. This study examined the perceptions of community college CAOs regarding the AACC Leadership Competencies for Aspiring Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), or presidents. …

The Impact Of Moderate Physical Activity And Student Interaction On Retention At A Community College, Anne Leavy-Prial

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Student retention and persistence are key to student success. Therefore, it is of great concern to community college leaders that their students are retained. In addition to having the best interest of students in mind, community college leaders feel the pressure of performance-based funding to produce increased retention and graduation rates. Over the past several years, retention rates at community colleges in the United States have hovered below 50% (National Student Clearinghouse, 2019). The researcher of the current study implemented a very low-cost initiative with the intent of increasing retention at a community college.

The purpose of this study was …

Student Success Coaching In Virginia Community Colleges, Angela Lawhorne

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Community college students face many barriers when they start college, especially if they are from first-generation families, are low-income, or identify as a minority. Retention and completion for these at-risk students are relatively low compared to those with higher socioeconomic backgrounds (Bettinger & Baker, 2014). To improve these statistics and promote academic persistence, some Virginia Community College System (VCCS) colleges have implemented student success coaching under the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative (VCCS, 2011). This entails not only assisting students with academic coaching, but also with career, financial, and personal matters that may affect their academic success. The researcher sought …

Community College Faculty And Administrators' Perceptions Of Civic Engagement In General Education, Eric Thomas Vanover

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The President’s Commission on Higher Education (1947) firmly established civic engagement as a principle function of higher education. The report emphasized college-level learning as a democratic function by producing informed, active citizens essential to the future of American democracy. Chickering (2008) argued the United States faced a critical lack of engaged citizenship and in A Crucible Moment (2012), this concern was declared an outright emergency. In recent years many colleges and universities have re-embraced civic engagement as an important component of general education. Although the establishment of community colleges was a direct result of the Truman Commission’s report, the literature …