Community College Education Administration Commons^™

Persistence Of First-Generation Graduates Of A Community College Healthcare Program, Tennie Rene Sanders-Mcbryde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many first-generation students (FGS) succumb to challenges and barriers and ultimately give up on their educational goals. Little is known about FGS who graduate and are successful in their discipline. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors that influenced the persistence of FGS who graduated and are employed in the healthcare field. The theoretical framework consisted of experiential learning, identity development and environmental influence, and social cognitive career theories. The research questions focused on how FGS made decisions to graduate, interpreted their academic learning experiences, and perceived academic support received in the college environment. Data was collected …

The Influence Of Cognitive And Psychological Well-Being Factors On Freshmen Community College Student Gpa: A Prediction Model, Barbara Karwacinski

Dissertations

Problem

One of the most significant issues for higher education in the early 21st century is student success. Research studies indicate that a large number of freshman community college students are unsuccessful in their academic endeavor. However, there is insufficient research conducted to determine the holistic causes of this problem. Current research focuses on two types of traditional predictors: cognitive (ability, academic factors) and non-cognitive (affective, non-academic factors). It seems, however, that traditional cognitive and non-cognitive predictors alone are inadequate measures for determining students’ full potential because they cannot account for the psychological processes that contribute to and influence a …

Investigating The Effects Of Student Engagement On Latina/O Community College Students, Manuel Salgado

Dissertations

As the growth of the largest ethnic minority group, Latina/os, continues to grow there is an increasing concern that the current educational system is not effectively meeting the academic needs of this group of students. The community college sector has gained greater recognition for its potential to meet the needs of a much broader scope of students, particularly low-income and students of color. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the Latina/o experience and the factors that contribute to college success among community college students. Specifically, this study used hierarchical multiple regression and logistic regression analysis to investigate …

Effect Of Response To Intervention On Developmental Education Students' Persistence, Retention, And Completion, Cheryl Garayta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2012, national rates of degree or certificate completion for students beginning college in developmental education courses were 35%. At a Midwestern state community college completion rates were even lower, with only 27% of developmental reading/writing (DRW) students completing their program. Therefore, the purpose of this causal- comparative study was to compare success rates for DRW students beginning college in a multileveled (MLI) program and in a response to intervention (RtI) based program. The MLI program was grounded in a scaffolded learning framework, and the RtI program was grounded in a transformative learning framework. Four research questions were posited to …

Testimonios Of Latino/A Students In Hispanic Serving Institutions: Lessons For Community Colleges, Luz Briceno Moreno

Doctoral Dissertations

This qualitative study was conducted at a Northern California community college with eight Latino/a student’s and the utilization of their testimonios to bring awareness to their academic experiences, successes and needs as first-generation college students. A large majority of Latino/a students who do enroll in college begin at community colleges, this stands to be the first point of entry into higher education for current and future Latino/a student’s (Santiago & Stettner, 2013). Community colleges graduating mostly vocationally trained Latino/a student’s continue to feed into a history of limited educational and societal mobility, which is vastly different from the white students …

Speaking Out Despite White Noise: Examining The Leadership Of African American Female Technical College Presidents And Vice Presidents, Ashley Morris

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological, qualitative study was to explore the experiences of African American female leaders in higher education. More specifically, this study examined the experiences of these leaders who assume the role of presidents and vice presidents at Georgia technical colleges. The study contextualized the experiences of these leaders and illustrated how those experiences influence their leadership methods and the establishment of their leadership presence. The results of this study form a context for understanding the leadership methods of African American female leaders.

Pathways To A Brighter Future: Narratives Of Latino Students’ Perceptions At Community College, Columba Myra Gaytan-Morales

Theses and Dissertations

Helping Latino students into leadership roles begins with a college experience. Latino students are the largest and fastest growing student population within community colleges, yet they are less likely to graduate. Blame is often placed on minority students and their families for the students’ poor academic performance. Deficit thinking models have impacted this way of thinking and this adds to the variety of factors that prevent students’ from successfully completing a college degree. An analysis of nine Latino students’ college experiences was examined to determine the types of barriers that were evident. Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Race narrative …

Perceived Leadership Practices Across Two Generations Of Community College Deans: “Baby Boomers” And Generation Xers”, Donna J. Mccauley

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to examine what Illinois community college academic deans perceive to be important leadership practices to enhance faculty effectiveness. A sequential mixed-method study was performed with academic deans at Illinois community colleges across the state. In Phase I of the study, 70 of the 164 academic deans in Illinois completed an anonymous online survey ranking importance of leadership practices that enhance faculty effectiveness. Eight of the academic deans who are Generation X volunteered to participate in the second phase of the study which consisted of in-depth, one-on-one interviews to identify what leadership practices they …

Community Literacy, Community College, And Community Leadership In The Rural South: A Tenuous Triangle, Denise Kay Perdue

Dissertations

This study explores a small, southern, rural community’s interrelational domains engaged in literacy development and the choices made by community leaders related to their understanding of literacy. Community domains affected by community members’ literacy deficiencies is ascertained by acknowledged sentience to the problem; however, the response to the challenges of inequitable access and denied liberties to all its members (i.e., education, employment, social strata, and governance) serves to articulate disparities in leadership for social justice and equity.

Within the context of ontological and epistemological assumptions, the transformative leadership conceptual framework by Brown (2006) of adult learning theory, transformative learning theory, …

A Brief History And A Framework For Understanding Commonalities And Differences Of Community College Student Success Programs, Deryl K. Hatch

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews ways that researchers have presented variously narrow and broad groupings of special student success programs over the course of decades. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is proposed as a way to conceptualize various kinds of community college student success programs as instances of a more general type of program.

There is today broad consensus among policy makers and higher education stakeholders that community colleges are key to achieving goals to increase the portion of adults with postsecondary credentials. In turn, community colleges educators look to new or innovative pedagogical and institutional structures to realize these goals. Key …

Editors’ Notes To New Directions For Community Colleges, No. 175, Gloria Crisp, Deryl K. Hatch

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

National reform movements have placed considerable attention and pressure on community colleges to substantially and efficiently increase the number of students who earn degrees and certificates in the next decade (Harbour, 2015). The Completion Agenda, led largely by policy makers, professional organizations, and philanthropic foundations, is a national imperative and democratic obligation to increase completion rates, collect quality data regarding students’ pathways, and enact and improve policies that encourage and improve degree production. Though the aims of such an effort are welcome by community college practitioners and fit with these institutions’ long-standing missions of community responsiveness, some warn that without …

What’S In A Name? The Challenge And Utility Of Defining Promising And High-Impact Practices, Deryl K. Hatch, Gloria Crisp, Katherine Wesley

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews multiple complementary and divergent descriptions of practices that have been identified as holding particular promise for high impact on college student success and offers a possible map of practices to illustrate key features and relationships.

In this chapter, we seek to lay groundwork for the remainder of the volume with what should be a straightforward task but in the end was among the more difficult aspects of compiling this volume: identifying and describing high-impact and promising practices. Rather than an exhaustive accounting of the ways practices have been grouped and defined (see Hatch, Chapter 2, for an …

Latino Men In Two-Year Public Colleges: State-Level Enrollment Changes And Equity Trends Over The Last Decade, Deryl K. Hatch, Crystal E. Garcia, Victor B. Sáenz

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Latino males continue to lag behind their peers in college enrollment and attainment, even as evidence suggests the 2-year public college sector in particular is making some strides to address this inequity. Yet there are few published figures of enrollment trends for Latino males in 2-year public colleges on a national or state-by-state basis to provide context that might informs local policy and practice. Using the most recent available data from IPEDS and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Population Survey, this study establishes trends over roughly the last decade in enrollment numbers and, through the use of equity indices, gains …

Critical College Experiences Of The Middle Third Of The High School Graduating Class, Nathan Kaoru Keikiokamakua Hanamaikai

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

Seven recent graduates from a large, open access university in the Western United States who also graduated from high school in the middle third of their graduating class were interviewed to examine what they considered critical decisions during college and what effect those decisions had on their progress towards graduation. More than 45 critical incidents were identified by the participants. All incidents involved interaction with another person to some degree. All but 11 of the incidents were with people outside of institutional employees. Of the 11 incidents, the majority involved faculty members in either positive or negative situations. Upon further …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Of Leadership Competency Perceptions Among Community College Leaders In South Central Appalachia, Matthew S. Mcgraw

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Combined with other economic development challenges in the region, this context presents unique challenges for community college leaders in this part of Appalachia. The American Association of Community College Six Competencies for Community College Leaders are considered within this context to explore how those leading community colleges in the region feel about the competencies, what is unique to leading in Appalachia, and their most useful professional development experiences. Those competencies are: organizational strategy, resource management, communication, collaboration, community college advocacy, and professionalism.

The Appalachian Regional Commission subdivides Appalachia into several regions which share similar topographical, demographic, and economic characteristics. South …

The Impact Of Faculty Development On Community College Adjunct Faculty, Stefanie Forster Bourque

All Theses And Dissertations

Facing a host of challenges posed by economic constraints and increased accountability, higher education is rapidly changing. All institutions are expected to meet changing student needs, implement learning-centered pedagogies, and utilize evolving technologies regardless of their size or access to resources. Rural community colleges face the same challenges as all other higher education institutions; however, small, rural colleges have added difficulties due to their size and location. Recruiting qualified faculty is one challenge due to the small number of local residents, and the salary and isolation of a rural college makes it difficult to attract instructors from other areas. Retention …

Cultural Influences Of Resource Dependence: Community College Administrator Perceptions Of Implementing Initiatives Related To Tennessee’S Performance Funding Model, John Owen Driskill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the cultural influences of resource dependence for community college administrators responsible for the implementation of initiatives related to Tennessee’s new performance funding program. Tennessee’s funding formula, considered one of the most aggressive and robust in the country, is among a second generation of performance funding programs commonly referred to as performance funding 2.0. Cultural influences of resource dependence were defined as values, beliefs, and customs that influence administrator efforts to improve institutional outcomes and acquire additional resources through performance funding.

A top performing community college in terms of the performance …

Ethical Leadership In Today's Community Colleges: Presidents Respond To The Completion Agenda, Monica Parish Trent

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The role of ethical leadership for community college presidents is of concern (Anderson, Harbour, & Davies; Wood & Nevarez, 2014), especially given the added pressure on community colleges to increase completion rates for student populations that have historically underperformed academically. In these times of increased scrutiny to produce more college-educated people ready to enter the workforce, college CEO’s are facing a completion agenda climate that is rampant with financial constraints, greater demands from stakeholders, and governmental mandates. The purpose of this descriptive, multiple case study was to examine how community college presidents execute ethical leadership in responding to institutional policy …

An Empirical Typology Of The Latent Programmatic Structure Of Community College Student Success Programs, Deryl K. Hatch, E. Michael Bohlig

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The definition and description of student success programs in the literature (e.g., orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.) suggest underlying programmatic similarities. Yet researchers to date typically depend on ambiguous labels to delimit studies, resulting in loosely related but separate research lines and few generalizable findings. To demonstrate whether or how certain programs are effective there is need for more coherent conceptualizations to identify and describe programs. This is particularly problematic for community colleges where success programs are uniquely tailored relative to other sectors. The study’s purpose is to derive an empirical typology of community college student success programs based …

Perceptions Of Students, Families, And Community College Administrators About Developmental Education, Justin Necessary

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Cohen and Brawer (2008) define developmental education as serving “students who initially do not have the skills, experience, or orientation necessary to perform at a level that the institutions recognize as regular for those students” (p.290). Students in developmental education must take additional courses in the beginning of their college career in order to prepare them for credit bearing college courses. Developmental education has reached the forefront of the higher education debate in part due to the overwhelming academic need of incoming college students. Currently the number of students requiring developmental courses ranges from 50 to 75 percent (Conley & …