Higher Education Commons^™

Information Literacy Instruction Services At Rural Community Colleges, Fall 2019 Through Ay 2021/22, Heather Posey Vandyne

Forsyth Library Faculty Publications

This exploratory study examines the instructional practices of two-year institutions located in rural areas during the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the two academic years that follow. Since the virus commonly known as COVID-19 first made its way to the United States in March 2020, three classes of community college students have had an introduction to higher education unlike any other in living memory. The mixed method approach consists of a survey aimed towards rural college librarians and subsequent in-depth interviews. This study identifies attempts to retain connections with faculty and students, as well as adjustments in …

Serving Graduate Students At A Community College Library, Daniel K. Blewett

Journal of Graduate Librarianship

Even though a community college library rarely attempts to offer the same depth of support found at a university, it can still serve the needs of local graduate students in two ways: through the library’s core collection of print and electronic resources, and through its on-site services, spaces, and librarian expertise. Graduate students need to know that these resources are available to them. The knowledge and ability of the librarian is key to supporting this patron group. This article is informed by the author’s experiences at the College of DuPage, a large comprehensive community college in northeastern Illinois.

Black Women Vice Presidents Of Student Affairs At Community Colleges Leadership Pathways And Barriers, Danielle Sims Brooks

Dissertations

This study explored the lived experiences of five Black women Vice Presidents of Student Affairs (VPSAs) at community colleges through narrative inquiry to get a better understanding of the strategies Black women deploy to be successful as well as the challenges and barriers they must navigate. Data was analyzed from a purposeful sample of five Black women VPSAs to get a better understanding of the experiences of Black women executive leaders in higher education. Participants shared many similarities in their educational and professional backgrounds in higher education by their experiences with leading and developing essential areas in student affairs. Findings …

Community Colleges And Covid-19: An Exploration Of Challenges And Inequities, Tammy Bosley, Holly R. Custer

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

COVID-19 drastically changed many aspects of life in the U.S. and most certainly changed standard operating procedures in higher education. Moving all classes completely online created numerous challenges not only for students, but also for faculty. For students, these challenges included issues related to physical and mental health, job loss, and caregiving, as well as access to internet and even access to a home computer. Faculty also faced challenges. For example, many colleges and universities rely on adjunct faculty who are compensated on a course-by-course basis. Although most institutions provided faculty development sessions to make a smooth transition to online …

Getting To Work: Information Literacy Instruction, Career Courses, And Digitally Proficient Students, Alexandra Hamlett

Publications and Research

This article discusses how following graduation, students often enter the job market unprepared to find, evaluate, and use information in the digital environment effectively. Essentially, there is a disparity between the skills students attain in college coursework, including information literacy (IL) skills, and those required in the workplace, which impacts graduates’ success as new members of the labour market. The article highlights how collaboration between a librarian and an instructor of a career centered course influenced instructional design for IL instruction in their courses. Librarians and instructors will benefit from practical examples from Guttman Community College’s innovative IL Program and …

A Qualitative Description Investigation Of U.S. Higher Education Quantitative Datasets, Mia Ocean, Karon T. Hicks

The Qualitative Report

Currently, the U.S. system of higher education is almost exclusively evaluated by quantitative data based on traditional student trajectories and university structured programs. This could be problematic for community colleges and post-traditional students, who are a growing population at all institutions. Therefore, we conducted a pilot, qualitative description analysis of three U.S. quantitative national datasets to assess their accuracy and identify factors that influence classifications. We interviewed individuals (n=13) who would qualitatively be considered success stories, specifically individuals who attended community colleges during their undergraduate studies and ultimately high ranking graduate programs, to gather information about their educational timelines. In …

Learning To Fail? Student Experiences In Remedial Mathematics In Community Colleges, Margaret P. Fay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Referral to remedial coursework in mathematics is a significant barrier to degree attainment for community college students, which in turn has serious consequences for their employment and earning prospects. Students are placed into remediation when they are deemed unprepared to engage in college-level coursework, most often based on a score on a placement test. Nationally, 59% of community college students are placed into remedial math courses. Of these, only 49% complete remediation and gain access to college-level coursework. Because a college-level math course is often a degree requirement, many students who fail to complete remedial math courses are forced to …

Needs And Best Practices For Transfer To Our Four-Year Institutions: The Results Of Survey Research, Patrick K. Smith

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Contemporary concerns for college programs focus on the ability of the program to prepare students to become employable upon graduation. For a community college psychology program, that focus is somewhat muted by the fact that many of the graduates of the community college will transfer to four-year state universities. For this reason, it is imperative for the community college programs to ascertain from those four-year institutions what preparation those transferring students need. This study has captured what fourteen state public university psychology departments desire for transferring students and what they see as lacking in their students transferring from community colleges. …

Finding An Acceptable Definition Of "Original" Work In Platform Speeches: A Study Of Community College Coaches, Crystal Lane Swift, Gary Rybold

Speaker & Gavel

The quantitative analysis of this paper was undertaken to discover coach definitions of "original work" in platform speaking in the community college forensics competition. A survey was conducted to determine if there was any consistency to coaching practices when considering a recent rule change requiring that all platform speeches be the original work of the student. Although the literature review indicates that academia has established guidelines for plagiarism and unattributed collaboration, no such consistent definition was found among the coaches surveyed. The discussion of the results revolves around the conclusion that coaches are consistent in their own practices but those …

Suicide Prevention Strategies In Tennessee Community Colleges: A Case Study, Sandra Perley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students; annually approximately 1,100 students in institutions of higher education die by suicide. However, most research related to college student suicide was conducted using the sample of 4-year institutions. Community colleges have seldom been included in the sample of suicide research studies. This qualitative case study research explored the student suicide prevention strategies in the 13 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents higher education system. Data were collected from surveys, institutional web sites, and interviews with institutional personnel.

Approximately half of the institutions offer suicide prevention information to …

Using Administrative Data To Evaluate The Ohio Jobs Student Retention Program, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

This paper presents findings from a net impact evaluation of the Ohio JOBS Student Retention Program. The JOBS program, a component of the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADC) program, was required, in all states, for ADC recipients who met certain criteria. The Ohio JSRP was an activity pursued by some JOBS program clients in Ohio to fulfill their responsibilities in order to receive aid. The JSRP was a three-fold support program designed to facilitate entry to and success in programs of study at two-year community or technical colleges. We evaluated this state welfare policy while simultaneously dealing …

Using Administrative Data To Evaluate The Ohio Jobs Student Retention Program, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel, Randall W. Eberts

Kevin Hollenbeck

This paper presents findings from a net impact evaluation of the Ohio JOBS Student Retention Program. The JOBS program, a component of the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADC) program, was required, in all states, for ADC recipients who met certain criteria. The Ohio JSRP was an activity pursued by some JOBS program clients in Ohio to fulfill their responsibilities in order to receive aid. The JSRP was a three-fold support program designed to facilitate entry to and success in programs of study at two-year community or technical colleges. We evaluated this state welfare policy while simultaneously dealing …

Adapting To A Virtual Learning Environment, Winston H. Maddox

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This participatory action research (PAR) dissertation examines the experiences of five experienced faculty transitioning from teaching in a traditional classroom to a virtual learning environment. The research participants used technology to deliver course material and reflected on the changes in their pedagogical practice. Data were collected using four phased sessions, including the completion of interview questions, individual interview video sessions, and group video sessions and the review of participant video validation postings. Research participants used journaling to reflect on their values, beliefs, assumptions, and experiences associated with teaching and learning. Research participants teaching in virtual learning environments were provided an …

Perceptions Of Personnel At Selected Texas Community Colleges Regarding The Impact Of Technology On Their Libraries, Sharon K. Kenan

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Technological innovations have transformed all areas of community college libraries. Automated library systems, office software, and Internet access have altered work processes for library personnel and have changed research methodologies for students and faculty. The purpose of this bounded multiple case study was to explore how the adoption of technology has changed important areas of four community college libraries in Texas. Using purposeful sampling to select community colleges with high technology libraries, the study explored how the adoption of technology by the case college libraries changed the libraries and the roles of people employed within the libraries by examining the …

Emancipation From Affluenza: Leading Social Change In The Classroom, Merri Mattison

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if one's level of affluenza could be reduced through education and awareness. In particular, this study measured whether or not exposure to the benefits of community involvement, and the harm of overconsumption could alter the intentions that college students have regarding their behavior, as it pertains to materialism, consumption, and civic responsibility. The data were collected from college students in the form of pre-tests and post-tests utilizing an affluenza scale created for this research. Over the course of a semester, information and activities that elucidated the benefits of community involvement and …

A Comparison Of Graduation Rates For Community College Transfer Students And Non-Transfer Students At An Urban, Regional University, Rory Jay Deshano

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

No abstract provided.