Community College Leadership Commons^™

G.R.A.C.E. Under Pressure, Kimberly Lowry

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

As we welcome faculty, staff and students back to campus and implement the first weeks of classes and activities, we do so while facing one of the greatest challenges higher education has ever seen. The COVID-19 pandemic has completely disrupted nearly every aspect of how we teach, how we serve students and how students attend college. In just five short months, we have re-examined and adjusted all that we had relied upon in our professional and personal lives. And yet, we will come together, continue adjusting, and focus on how best to ensure we take care of one another while …

Identifying Competencies And Outputs Of Sss Role In Stem Bridge Programs In The Silicon Valley, Alexandra C. Duran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study identified the competencies and outputs associated with the role of student support specialists (SSS) in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) bridge programs in the community colleges of Silicon Valley. The growth of STEM education, coupled with the increasing diversity of student population in community colleges, has made the work of SSS professionals in the region challenging. While the SSS professionals are often positioned as comprehensive, nonacademic support for STEM students, not enough has been documented on the competencies and outputs associated with SSS role in STEM bridge programs. In addition, most studies on student affairs professionals primarily …

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

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development 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 …

Campus Apartment Architecture Style And Likelihood To Graduate, Newman Chun Wai Wong, Michael T. Mills, Isabel Araiza

New York Journal of Student Affairs

Because of increased opportunities for social interaction, undergraduate students living on campus are more likely to persist and graduate than their counterparts. Residence hall design also contributes to student interaction. This study explores the relationship between campus apartment design and graduation rates of a sophomore cohort attending a southern public liberal arts university. Initial findings indicate students living in a communal apartment complex were more likely to graduate than those living in traditional complexes; a multivariate logistic regression finds the strongest predictors of graduation are race/ethnicity and semester credit hours earned. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Stress Management And Coping Strategies In Undergraduate Students At A Midwestern State University, Megan Scribner, Pietro Sasso, Laurel Puchner

New York Journal of Student Affairs

This qualitative interview study explored the experiences in a purposive sample of nontraditional and traditional undergraduate students, examining their current stressors and how coping strategies to manage stress developed. The study used Schlossberg’s (1995) transition theory in conceptualizing experiences with stress and Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) transactional theory of stress and coping in defining coping strategies. Four themes emerged indicating that participants used a variety of coping strategies towards maintaining or improving their mental health. Implications for practice are provided to facilitate increased understanding by student affairs professionals of undergraduate students’ coping strategies and stress management.

Comments From The Editor, Logan Hazen, Julia Davis, Robert M. Mangione

New York Journal of Student Affairs

No abstract provided.

Experiencing The Loss Of A Colleague, Jeff Hess

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Last month’s Instructional Leadership Abstract featured my colleague, Dr. Shawnda Navarro Floyd’s discussion about responding to trauma in our educational practice. A poignant part of that conversation concerns unexpected tragedies that take the lives of colleagues at our institutions. This is a difficult topic to write about but also vital as we navigate the COVID pandemic. I teach a business communication class, and towards the end of the term, I share 10 Things Extraordinary People Say Every Day (Haden, 2013). I talk with each class about words they say at work. When I share the saying, “I love you,” the …

Responding To Trauma In Our Educational Practice, Shawnda Navarro Floyd

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

COVID-19 thrust most higher education institutions into 100% online learning during the Spring of 2020 with a ready or not approach. Despite the many obstacles faculty and students faced, the end result was a valiant effort that afforded students the opportunity to continue to access education in the face of many uncertainties. With the initial rush to move coursework online behind them, academic administrators turned toward planning for the future. What should learning look like long term while working through COVID-19? How do we adequately support full and part-time faculty and staff? Should learning be kept online indefinitely? If there …

Si Se Puente! Validation And Puentistas Beyond Undergraduate Studies: Sustaining Latina/O/X College Achievement, Frances Valdovinos

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Latina/o/x are the fastest growing group in the United States and in the state of California. Higher education has also encountered a growth in Latina/o/x students pursuing higher education. Yet, despite this continuous rise higher education is less likely to retain the Latina/o/x student population. The purpose of this interpretive phenomenology study was to discover what factors of the Puente Program supported and prepared the Latina/o/x participants in facilitating transfer and college achievement during their undergraduate studies. Through the use of validation theory and the lived experiences of the participants, this study allows for a better understanding of the way …

Educational And Workforce Development Through Creation Of Programs In Transportation To Generate Future Careers For Our Students In Navajo Nation Region, Gholam Ehteshami

Data

Navajo Technical University (NTU) in New Mexico, has made a partnership with the Tran-SET regional center at Louisiana State University, LSU. We have provided learning and training the Native American students in transportation-related Industries to some of STEM students at NTU through these partnerships opportunities. The program was designed and supported by Native American students from high school to STEM undergraduate students. The program was implemented accordingly with four main components: (1). Selected eligible and interested Native American student to paid summer internships to the field and facilities of transportations industries and participate in research summer at LSU. (2). Directed …

Community College Student Success: Connections To Student Perceptions Of Faculty Behaviors, And Classroom Motivators, Victor A. Henry Ubiera

Dissertations

This study explored how community college students perceive certain faculty behaviors, its relationship with students’ classroom motivators and how the perception of those behaviors and motivators predicts students’ persistence and academic success. The statistics about the low rates of completion in higher education institutions is an issue that researchers and educational organizations are concerned about (Apolinar, 2013; Kolodner, 2015). Addressing this issue, a body of inquiring is focusing on the student-faculty relationship (Kezar & Maxey, 2014) revealing that faculty behaviors and student motivation are related to several students’ outcomes (Lancaster & Lundberg, 2019; Wilson & Ryan, 2013). However, less is …

First & Second Cycles Final Report For: Educational And Workforce Development Through Creation Of Programs In Transportation To Generate Future Careers For Our Students In Navajo Nation Region, Gholam Ehteshami

Publications

Navajo Technical University (NTU) in New Mexico, has made a partnership with the Tran-SET regional center at Louisiana State University, LSU. We have provided learning and training the Native American students in transportation-related Industries to some of STEM students at NTU through these partnerships opportunities. The program was designed and supported by Native American students from high school to STEM undergraduate students. The program was implemented accordingly with four main components: (1). Selected eligible and interested Native American student to paid summer internships to the field and facilities of transportations industries and participate in research summer at LSU. (2). Directed …

Overcoming Adversity In The Stem Classroom: Examining Learned Helplessness In First-Year Community College Students Using Salivary Cortisol, Surveys And Interviews, Diane M. Price Banks

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to determine whether a relationship between STEM attrition and Learned Helplessness exist in a group of first year STEM majors studied at an urban community college. STEM attrition rates have shown that 69% of the 20% of incoming STEM freshmen in associate degree programs, drop out or switch their majors to non-STEM curriculum within their first year of college (NCES, 2013). Learned helplessness is a behavioral phenomenon where some may become helpless as the conditions surrounding their success become adverse. Classic signs expressed with learned helplessness include: lack of motivation, depression, poor social skills, absence of control …

African American Females Holding Executive Administrative Positions At California Community Colleges: A Phenomenological Study Of Cultural Influences And Opportunities, Daria Reynolds

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived

experiences of African American female presidents, vice presidents, deans, associate deans, and directors serving at a California community college (CCC) and to explore what African American cultural influences or other opportunities contributed to their becoming administrators.

Methodology: This phenomenological study explores the lived experiences of African American female administrators of CCCs. This study highlighted the essence of those lived experiences. The respondents were chosen based on specific criteria. The researcher then conducted structured web-conference interviews that described the essence of the lived experiences of the 10 African American …

Dnp Final Report: The Flipped Classroom: An Evidence-Based, Course Redesign To Increase Retention Rates In A Vocational Nursing Program, Jennifer P. Hauger

DNP Final Reports

Over the past three decades, Vocational Nursing has been taught using a conventional didactic method that is content heavy and lecture focused. Despite having a group of highly qualified professors and an excellent student pass rates on the National board examinations, student retention in a Vocational Nursing Program in central Texas remains below the National benchmark. With a unique student demographic that is identified as non-traditional (over 21, full-time working adults, English Second Language and single parents), we embarked upon the redesign of a Medical-Surgical Nursing course using the flipped pedagogical framework to increase retention rates. Therefore, in 2019 we …

New Jersey Community College And High School Concurrent Enrollment Program (Cep) Partnerships Case Study, Darlene Mary Schapley

Theses and Dissertations

Students who are not college ready enter New Jersey Community Colleges placing in developmental education delaying entry into their degree program and possibly ending their aspiration for college completion. Students not completing a college degree cannot compete for livable wage jobs in America. My qualitative multiple case study contributed to the gap in knowledge about New Jersey partnerships offering comprehensive CEP programs including math and English from the participant perspectives. CEP partnerships engaged students in college coursework at New Jersey high schools in collaboration with New Jersey community colleges. These collaborations are great opportunities for community colleges to provide access …

The Tesol 6 Principles Of Exemplary Teaching Of English Learners: Perceived Effectiveness In The Community College Esl Classroom, Stephanie N. Marcotte

All Theses And Dissertations

Community college English as a second language (ESL) programs provide targeted English language support to diverse student populations. Limited research exists pertaining to the instruction taking place within community college ESL programs. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore community college ESL faculty-perceived effectiveness in their use of the TESOL 6 principles for exemplary teaching of English learners. The study asked, What is the community college ESL faculty’s perspective of their effectiveness in their application of the TESOL 6 Principles? Participants in this study included full-time, adjunct, and retired professors from community colleges across Massachusetts. They were invited …

Defying The Odds, Stories Of Success: A Case Study Of Foster Care Alumni In The Community College Environment, Julia Philyaw

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

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the lived experiences of foster care alumni and how these experiences influenced the individual’s decision to enroll in a community college, persist, and complete a degree. The dissertation drew from two conceptual frameworks, Bandwidth (Verschelden, 2017) and Capitals – cultural, social, and academic (Bourdieu, 1986; St. John, Hu, & Fisher, 2010). Foster care alumni were selected as the population due to their underrepresentation in college enrollment and poor completion rates. Moving beyond a deficit model that focuses on identifying obstacles, this dissertation focused on success stories of the foster care alumni in …

Udl And Motivation: Student Perceptions Of The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning On Motivation Of First-Year Community College Students In Rural East Tennessee, Jennifer Mayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceptions of how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) impacts motivation in first-year community college students in rural East Tennessee. This study investigated the effects of UDL on motivation of first-year community college students in East Tennessee. This involved multiple sections of courses participating in a UDL pilot training program with the college’s Instructional Design department. Two of the courses were part of the UDL pilot, and two of the courses were teaching the Standard approved Master Curriculum. The study had a total of 109 participants, and 9 research questions were …

"We Don't Work For Free": Tenured Faculty Engagement In Assessment Initiatives On A Unionized Community College Campus, Lauren Kosrow

Dissertations

This case study, which included faculty and administrator interviews as well as an exploration of institutional documents and faculty meeting spaces, examined what influences a tenured faculty member’s decision to engage with assessment initiatives at Midwest Community College and what senior leaders can do to successfully engage tenured faculty in these efforts. Principal-agent theory (PAT) offers an important and helpful framework for considering how senior leadership can successfully engage tenured faculty in student learning outcomes assessment on this specific unionized community college campus. The findings of this study suggest that senior leaders must leverage both incentives and monitoring to successfully …