Education Commons^™

Promoting The Value Of Career Education Programs, David Howell, Maryanne Serignese, Shawn Anderson, Rachel Dodson, Joshua Mcdowell, Jesse Miller, Dana Newcomer, Regina Sanders, Brooklyn Shehan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

12.5 million secondary and postsecondary students are currently enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the United States (“Career,” 2019). CTE programs provide students with the academic skills, technical skills, knowledge, and training necessary to succeed in future careers and to become lifelong learners (“Career,” 2019). Students are prepared for the workplace as a result of a competency-based learning approach and through partnerships with local employers who provide hands-on experience and work-based learning opportunities (“Career,” 2019). By 2020, 65 percent of American jobs will require some postsecondary education or training, with half of these positions requiring an ...

Accelerating Student Success: The Case For Corequisite Instruction, Maggie Emblom-Callahan, Nekisha Burgess-Palm, Sandra Davis, Amanda Decker, Heather Diritto, Shana Dix, Camisha Parker, Eric Styles

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The successes of corequisite remediation courses and supplemental instruction over traditional remediation courses such as the modular Math Essentials have been widely and recently documented (Logue, Watanabe-Rose, & Douglas, 2016). Corequisite reform is an important strategy to improve student completion of higher education goals. A robust corequisite model integrates gateway course content with lifelong tools such as time management and study skills that help students beyond the scope of one course. Corequisite remediation may not completely eliminate developmental courses; however, “a fundamental redesign of the support system for academically underprepared students” will include corequisite remediation (Vandal, 2014). This broader “support system” may integrate corequisite courses with the current (or similar) modular curriculum with non-modular precollege courses such as MTH 5 or MTH 9 in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). Student placement into the optimal teaching/learning mode may be as key as course level placement (Bickerstaff, 2016). Corequisite remediation provides the ...

Increasing Diversity Of Faculty And Administrators In The Virginia Community College System, Nicole Munday, Rachel Angel, Mahzar Anik, Sylvia Clay, Lorraine Justice, Cheri Maea, Gena Mckinley, Tim Merrill, Aaron Rosenthal

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

In 2013, Chancellor DuBois convened a Task Force on Diversity with the aim of making the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) a model for diversity by “increasing the demographic diversity of the VCCS so that teaching faculty and leaders look more like the communities we serve” (Chancellors Diversity Task Force, 2014, p. 3). The hard work of the Task Force members culminated in a report that summarized their findings and recommendations, including a “Call to Action” list of 11 steps, many of which have been implemented or are in progress. Several of these key initiatives have put the VCCS on ...

Improving Transferability Case Studies: 'Building A Better Bridge To The Bachelor's', Tamra Lipscomb, Cindy Wallin, David Braun, Katherine Clatterbuck, Faison Dana, Leonda Keniston, John Lipp, Christian Mason

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Many Virginians aspiring to earn a four-year degree intentionally begin their journey at one of the 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). In concert with those aspirations, the VCCS is committed to providing its residents an affordable and accessible program of study that prepares them to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree at any one of Virginia’s colleges and universities. The establishment of an affordable and accessible pathway was one of the emanating purposes of the community college (Mellow & Heelan, 2015). The dream of affordable transfer education is one of three key legislative efforts ...

Using Artificial Intelligence To Enhance Educational Opportunities And Student Services In Higher Education, Mandy Barrett, Lisa Branson, Sheryl Carter, Frank Deleon, Justin Ellis, Cirrus Gundlach, Dale Lee

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is becoming the basis for business. Most businesses use it to improve the customer experience. The education community is just beginning to find ways to successfully implement AI for staff and students. Artificial Intelligence should be leveraged to create a better student experience. For example, Elon University uses AI to assist students with tracking previously taken courses and helps them apply the information to their course-planning (Gardner, 2018). Georgia State University uses Pounce, a chatbot built by AdmitHub, reducing summer melt by over 20% by reaching out to students via text when they have not completed ...

Blending Credit & Non-Credit Courses: Best Practices, Opportunities, Barriers, Keisha Samuels, M. Todd Estes, Heather Eckman, Kelly Gillerlain, Shanda Jenkins, Wendy Miller-Edwards, Olivia Reinauer, Nicole Walker

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Community colleges offer an array of programs designed to help students meet different goals. Noncredit education provides training for students seeking targeted, often shorter, courses for personal and professional enrichment (Cohen, Brawer, & Kisker, 2014). Many community colleges are now increasingly emphasizing noncredit workforce education as they support regional workforce development efforts and strive to meet the needs of their local industry partners (Van Noy, Jacobs, Korey, Bailey, & Hughes, 2008). Despite the millions of students enrolled in these courses and their potential to generate revenue for the institutions delivering programs, Voorhees and Milam (2005) refer to noncredit community college education as ...

Communication And Data Sharing Between K-12 And Community Colleges, Beth Page, Jacob Surratt, Debbie Bond, Mitzi Jones, Josh Meyer, Amy Webster, Brian Wright

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

This report investigates communication and data sharing between K-12 and community colleges to identify best practices. This wide-ranging topic encompassed many efforts that impact student recruitment, retention and success in their postsecondary education. To prioritize the most pressing issues, this report focuses on recent system-wide findings and recommendations. In 2016, the Virginia General Assembly directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to review the VCCS, a process that had not been done since 1991. The JLARC report in 2017 stated that a relatively low percentage of community college students obtain a degree or credential (39 percent). In addition ...

Improving Completion Rates For Underrepresented Populations, Jen Daniels, Lynn Bowers, Megan Cook, Mark D'Antonio, Amber Foltz, Carlita Mccombs, John Sound, Jenni Vancuren

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Most experienced educators recognize that many students will not complete optional assignments, and often those students who need additional help do not seek assistance. Current research demonstrates that students in underrepresented populations (see definition below) are less likely to seek support than others because they see needing help as a confirmation that they don’t really “belong” in college in the first place. Research shows that those who do access currently optional supports such as tutoring are more likely to succeed, so this research group looked for ways to build structured connections between underrepresented students and resources.

We found that ...

Increasing Success With Online Degree Courses And Programs In The Vccs, Thomas Chatman, Dave Dick, Paula Ford, Pamela Henry, Kim Hobert, Miles Keller, Kevin Riley, Christina Tidwell, Roberta Wright

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Over the last three years, 724,116 online courses were attempted within the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). From these attempts, 206,533 resulted in a grade of D or F or a withdrawal, accounting for 29% of all attempted online courses (Virginia Community College System, 2015). This does not account for the students who may have dropped the course early in the semester to avoid academic and/or financial consequences. Studies have shown that students who do not experience success in their courses drop out significantly more than their counterparts (Thayer, 1973). Additionally, these students experience delayed degree or ...

Taking The Leap (Learner Engaged Advising Programs): Vccs Advising Practices And Recommendations, Valerie Burge-Hall, Latoya Garrison, Leigh Giles-Brown, Dan Lepore, Melanie Mcnall, Christine Pauly, Andrew Quinn, Lisa Vaughn Jordan

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) administration identified the need for adequate and proactive advising programs to foster student success. This paper presents a review of “best practices” in advising to determine commonalities, provides a comparison with current VCCS advising practices, and offers recommendations that support the goal of ensuring high quality advising programs.

The Impact Of Learning Communities On The Experiences Of Developmental Students In Community College: A Qualitative Study, Jason P. Vanora

Learning Communities Research and Practice

This study explores the impact of a first-semester learning community (LC) program on the experiences of developmental students in community college. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, students shared four central benefits of beginning their college careers in an LC program, including: 1) access to a supportive social and intellectual community, 2) opportunities for interdisciplinary thinking, 3) changes in perceptions of remediation and enhanced self-efficacy, and 4) the occasion to experience a more active and engaging pedagogy. Students also articulated what they experienced as drawbacks of their LC experience, underscoring a perceived lack of opportunity to connect with the larger ...

Extending Open Textbook Network Workshop And Reviews To Include All Oer And Library Materials, Jennifer Lantrip, Amy Hofer, Carol Mcgeehon

OLA Quarterly

The cost of higher education is a barrier for many students, keeping them from attaining their goals. While textbooks and course materials are just a small part of the total cost of attendance, this is the area where faculty can have a direct impact in lowering costs. By choosing openly licensed course materials, faculty can not only help students save money but also have complete control over customizing their curriculum. This article describes a workshop model that offers stipends for faculty to review open educational resources (OER), which increases the likelihood that they will go on to adopt OER in ...

Volume 24 Issue 3 Introduction, Jacquelyn Ray

OLA Quarterly

As always, Oregon Librarians are on the cutting edge of identifying our patrons’ crucial needs and creatively finding ways to remedy these needs. Providing our communities access to otherwise unobtainable resources that support growth and learning has always been among our shared goals as librarians. We know that by providing these resources, we are enhancing inclusive community engagement and providing a crucial contribution for both individuals and society as a whole.

A pressing issue at hand that speaks to both individuals and our society is access to higher education. Oregon’s college students are facing increasing barriers to accessing a ...

Overcoming Isolation As A Form Of Leadership, Julie Gaida

OLA Quarterly

Working in the technical services department of a small academic library is a bit of an isolation double-whammy: not only are you more removed from the patrons you serve than are your public-facing counterparts, you may also be a department of one and solely responsible for discharging a highly specialized set of duties. This has been the case for me since 2015 when I moved to Oregon after accepting the position of Acquisitions Specialist at Pacific University, a small, private, liberal arts college in Forest Grove. I am primarily responsible for tracking the library’s resource funds; overseeing the ordering ...

Community College Discipline Faculty Perceptions Of Role As Literacy Educators, Kristen H. Gregory, Monique Colclough

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Approximately a quarter of community college students are entering college-level courses underprepared for the literacy and critical thinking skills required to be successful in discipline courses (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2013). Discipline faculty are considered experts in their content area and are often not trained in pedagogy and literacy instruction, yet they are faced with meeting the diverse literacy needs of their students while still maintaining high content-focused expectations within their courses. This phenomenological case study investigated community college discipline faculty’s perceptions and practices regarding integrating literacy instruction within their disciplines. Data were collected from community college faculty ...

Progress For Low Income Students, Johann Ducharme

The William & Mary Educational Review

This essay argues in favor of Mike Rose's assertion that funding cuts to education have a detrimental effect on numerous factors, including stunted job growth in America, not remaining innovative and competitive in global markets, as well as attaining the college graduation goals set by Department of Education. In agreeing with Rose, the author provides comprehensive reasoning and data from numerous national centers: Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, American Council on Education (ACE), The College Board, and American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). The author also examines the weaknesses of Rose’s arguments as he ...

Engaging Student Disengagement, Emily E. Calvert

Exigence

Student disengagement is pervasive in community colleges. The Virginia Community College System serves a varied demographic that includes single parents, the disabled, minorities, and the impoverished. These unique qualities present unique challenges to keeping these students involved. Students at community college may have low self-esteem, lack purpose and encouragement, or have negative peer influences. While many students may not acknowledge this problem, VCCS takes many steps to combat it. This papers delves into the core of disengagement and examines the personal aspects of student disengagement.

The Motivational Factors Of African American Men Enrolled At Selected Community Colleges, Ted N. Ingram, Lavon Williams, James Coaxum Iii, Adriel A. Hilton, Ivan Harrell

Journal of Research Initiatives

This manuscript is designed to call attention to the realities that are specific to African American male community college students. Using a qualitative research design, focus groups were conducted with 14 African American male students enrolled in an urban community college. This study uncovered that their educational experiences are consumed with personal challenges and academic obstacles. Students were asked to explain their motivation toward persistence at the urban community college. Participants within the study noted that motivational factors such as: (a) improving their life status, (b) societal pressure, (c) “man of the house,” and (d) faculty and staff encouragement, provided ...

Opinion Editorial: Reflecting On Obama’S America's College Promise Proposal, Brandon L. Rush

College Student Affairs Leadership

Reflecting on Obama’s America’s College Promise Proposal

“Warming Up” In The Developmental Sequence? Upward Transfer Conditional On Dependency Status, Cody Davidson, Kristin B. Wilson

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine predictor factors of upward transfer for Kentucky community college students enrolled in a developmental algebra course. For independent students, a mother with a college degree, a declared major, a federal work-study position, greater adjusted gross income, and a higher grade point average was positively correlated with upward transfer. For dependent students, a father with a college degree, a declared major, and a higher grade point average was positively correlated with upward transfer.

Book Review: What Excellent Community Colleges Do: Preparing All Students For Success, Sylvia F. Ramirez

Journal of Student Financial Aid

In What Excellent Community Colleges Do: Preparing All Students for Success, Joshua Wyner offers atypical response to the problems that tend to plague community colleges; insufficient state support and underprepared students. Reviewer discusses Wyner's case studies, suggestions, and ethical impacts of the innovative ideas offered in the book.

Book Review: Confessions Of A Community College Administrator, Valerie Culler Edd

Journal of Student Financial Aid

Confessions of a Community College Administrator by Matthew Reed provides readers with an overview of many of the practical day-to-day challenges encountered by community college administrators. The author has more than 10 years of experience working in the community college sector and is also the author of a popular blog, Confessions of a Community College Dean, which is featured regularly in InsideHigherEd.com. Reed’s approach in Confessions of a Community College Administrator is to educate future leaders of community colleges on current and long-term challenges for the sector, by sharing many of his own experiences in the roles of ...

Growing Pains And The Zen Rx: Surviving Success After The 6-Year Mark, Newland Charles Peterson, Miles Mccrimmon

Learning Communities Research and Practice

Subsequent to participating in the 2006 National Summer Institute on Learning Communities sponsored by the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education at The Evergreen State College, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College’s Learning Communities Team spent the next several months preparing the college for a fall 2007 launch of learning communities. In the ensuing semesters the learning communities’ initiative has experienced healthy, although not always consistent growth and refinement. Reynolds and its LC initiative are herein examined as an organic entity embodying interrelated needs for growth, equilibrium, reflection and sustainability. The Reynolds Learning Communities Team participated in ...

High School Students Embedded In Adult Community College Classes, Karen P. Saenz, George W. Moore

Administrative Issues Journal

Early college high schools were established as an initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with the goal for students of earning college credit and an associate degree while in high school. Many of these high school students attend college classes with adults, ages 18 and older, in the same class. Instructors are challenged to address these students’ diverse needs and diverse ways of learning. Young teenagers typically are told exactly what to learn and how it is to be learned; the adult learner, however, is much more independent and he or she learns and thinks differently based on ...

A Comparison Of College Affordability Indexes Among City, Suburban, Town, And Rural Public Community Colleges, Lee Walter, Louis Glover, Madeline Justice

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

During the past 50 years, community colleges have increased in number and evolved to meet the changing needs of an increasingly diverse student population. No other segment of postsecondary education has been more responsive to the needs of its community (Kasper, 2002). Community colleges grant associate’s degrees normally requiring 2 years of full-time study for completion. Enrollment at public 4-year colleges and universities nearly doubled from 1965 to 1999, while enrollments at public community colleges have increased approximately 5-fold (Kasper).

Conflict In The Community College Classroom., Will Carpenter

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Violence and aggression in the community college classroom is something overlooked by many. “In a given month, 11 percent of all students reported having something stolen, 1.3 percent of all students reported being physically assaulted, and 12 percent of all teachers reported having something stolen, 5 percent of these thefts occurring by way of force, weapons, or threats” (Barton, 1998). At this level of education, it is typically assumed that students will act professionally and know how to control anger and situations of conflict. On the contrary, at this level, students may be under more stress than elementary and ...

Higher Education: The Black Professional, Donald H. Godbold, Andrew Goodrich, William Moore, Jr.,

IUSTITIA

The black professional in the community college is a catalog of contradictions. His or her condition can only be described as tragic; and his or her plight is a travesty on the philosophy of the two-year college. The preliminary findings of one study in progress note that nearly half (409 or 47 per cent) of the 865 two-year institutions included in the sample do not have a single black faculty member or administrator. Eighty-nine of the remaining 456 colleges have only one black staff member. Similarly, there are a number of community colleges located in areas heavily populated by blacks ...