Community College Education Administration Commons^™

Women In Nontraditional Occupations: A Case Study Of Worker Motivation, Katherine Wesley

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

The Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupation Act (WANTO Act) of 1992 highlighted an urgent matter facing the American workforce that persists today. The urgent matter in 2012 involves the precarious effect of demographics on the American labor market, placing women at the crux of engaging opportunity or maintaining status quo.

Women must be empowered and encouraged to seek employment opportunities they have never considered, e.g. male-dominated, nontraditional occupations, for the U.S. to keep pace with labor market needs. The need amplifies the myriad of issues for women in male-dominated, nontraditional occupations.

Among the barriers confronting women is the persistence …

Social Networking Systems As A Vehicle To Promote Sense Of Community And Performance In Online Classes, Jonathan Mark Woodward

Dissertations

Academicians are navigating through the intersection of information technology and social change. The path that educators choose will help determine the future of higher education in traditional and online settings. The journey of teachers is clouded by the abundance and rapid creation of emerging technologies, but the trends of Net Generation students offer direction. Among Web 2.0 applications, social networking systems (SNSs) offer students a new approach to communicating, learning, and collaborating.

The sociocentric view of knowledge and learning and the theories of Vygotsky and Dewey are helping to drive educators to look for a solution to a missing link …

The Neglected Minority: Interviews With Successful Community College Students From Poverty, Heather Hollifield-Hoyle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is middle- and upper- income students. Low-income students are less likely than their more affluent peers to enroll in college or graduate. Employing qualitative narrative methods, this dissertation explores the factors that contributed to the persistence and success of 18, low-income, community college students. This study addresses …

Factors Associated With Instructor-Student Interaction And Community College Students' Intent To Persist, Yolanda Faye Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations

A causal-comparative, nonexperimental research study was conducted to analyze secondary data from the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). SENSE assesses community college student behaviors in the earliest weeks of college, along with practices that are most likely to engage students and encourage them to persist. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of student demographic variables (age, sex, generation status) and time-commitment variables (children, employment, college enrollment status) on the interpersonal aspect of classroom student engagement, as defined by instructor-student interaction, of community college students. The study also examined the relationship between these variables and interactions …

Spirituality As A Viable Resource In Responding To Racial Microaggressions: An Exploratory Study Of Black Males Who Attended A Community College, Lloyd Sheldon Johnson

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Upon entering college, Black males must negotiate a system that assumes they are in need of academic remediation and are lacking in higher-order critical thinking skills (Washington, 1996; Brown II, 2002; Harper, 2012). The low enrollment levels of Black males in college and their disenchantment with their college experiences has increased the likelihood that they will not be in classrooms with a diverse student population and a climate where they could feel comfortable (NSSE, 2008; Harper, 2006A; Harper, 2012). Black males who have enrolled in college must shoulder the stresses that accompany perceptions and stereotypes on campus about who they …

Perceptions Of College Readiness And Social Capital Of Ged Completers In Entry-Level College Courses, Donalyn L. Lott

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Examining the efficacy of literacy improvement, general education development (GED) completion, and GED completers’ perceptions of college readiness and social capital was the purpose of this study. The participant sample (n=321), derived from the target population (N=1050), consisted of former participants of Adult Literacy Education (ALE)/GED programs in the Greater New Orleans area (GNO), who have earned the GED credential, and, are currently enrolled in entry-level courses at two community colleges in Southeast Louisiana; specifically, in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes. The study was framed by the social capital theoretical perspective.

The study used quantitative methodology, with …

Developmental Education Repeaters: Stories About Repetition, Jade J. O'Dell

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Developmental education students make up almost half of the community college population in the United States (Bettinger & Long, 2005). Approximately 42% of first-time freshmen at community colleges must enroll in at least one developmental education course in English, reading and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are unsuccessful in passing a developmental education course in their first and second attempts and retake the course sometimes five times before passing. There is substantial research on persistence among college students, but the research fails to link persistence to developmental education repeaters. My study sought to explore community college developmental education …

The Effectiveness Of A Community College's Grow Your Own (Gyo) Leadership Development Program, Cynthia Seiss Rowan

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Raising The Bar: The Modern Community College Presidency, Meredith Noel Brunen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

One of the largest challenges facing community colleges in the new millennium is identifying leaders who possess the necessary skills and competencies to successfully navigate the modern presidency. Facing a dynamic shift in the fiscal landscape, community college presidents are tasked with filling the gap between institutional needs and existing forms of financial support. The purpose of this study was to examine community college presidents with former fundraising backgrounds and to explore the impact of prior fundraising experience on their current roles. Because the president plays a pivotal role in the acquisition of alternative funding sources, the effectiveness of this …

An Analysis Of Institutional Policies And Practices Critical For Effective Leadership In Developmental Education Programs, Carolyn Gaughan Sizemore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to identify the most critical institutional policies and practices deemed essential for the effective development and governance of systemic, effective developmental education programs in community colleges through the perspective of community college administrators. This study ranked community college leaders’ ratings of what policies and practices should be implemented to improve developmental education programs. Expert opinion by the participating developmental education administrators and college presidents were compared and ranked to identify priorities for change. The results could serve as guidelines for the improvement of developmental education programs for student success in community colleges. This non-experimental, …

A Study Of Prior Learning Assessment In Degree Completion, Jean Marie Chappell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of prior learning assessment (PLA) in postsecondary degree completion for adult community college students at Mountwest Community and Technical College (MCTC). The study group consisted of 339 MCTC graduates, who applied PLA credits toward degree completion between the academic year 2006 and 2011. A comparison group was comprised of 321 MCTC graduates from the same time period, who did not apply PLA toward degree completion. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis found statistically significant relationships between time to degree completion and the application of PLA from military credits and institutional …

The Role Of College Counseling In Increasing College Access For Black Students: A Case Study Of An Effective College Counseling Program, Ricky Shabazz

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this case study was to learn more about the role of the college center, the college counselor, and college peer counselors in creating a college-going culture among Black students.

"I Hope To Be A Symbol Of Encouragement": Using Craft In Community Colleges To Facilitate Student Voice In The Remedial Studies Debate, Aja Nadine Henriquez

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to collect information about basic skills students in one cohort of 24 students at a local community college in order to inform policy-makers about the group for which they are making decisions. As faculty and administrators scramble to enact changes to cope with the current economy, political changes, and community demands, students are the only stakeholders whose voices aren't heard in the debate over what is to come of remedial studies in California Community Colleges. Throughout all of this research, one important element is missing in the discourse regarding remedial coursework in community college--the …

Teacher Perspectives On Performance Based Student Assessment In Career And Technical Education In West Virginia Public Schools, Brenda L. Tuckwiller

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate career and technical education teachers’ level of knowledge and use of performance based student assessment practices in West Virginia’s secondary and post-secondary career education centers. In addition, this study sought to determine what relationships, if any, exist between levels of knowledge and use of performance based student assessment practices. Finally, this study described factors identified by respondents as supports or barriers to implementation of performance based student assessment. A researcher-developed survey was used to collect data. The study population consisted of engineering, hospitality and health occupations teachers in career and technical education …

Creating Pathways For Low-Skill Adults: Lessons For Community And Technical Colleges From A Statewide Longitudinal Study, Carol A. Perry

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the educational experiences and outcomes of low-skill adults in West Virginia’s community and technical colleges, providing a more detailed profile of these students. Data for the variables were obtained from archival databases through a cooperative agreement between state agencies. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine momentum point attainment, milestone achievement, persistence, and pre- and post-educational mean wages of first-time students age 25+ who enrolled in a West Virginia community and technical college over a five year period beginning with the 2004-2005 academic year. Chi-square tests for independence were used as well as …

The Bucknell Community College Scholarship Program: A Documentary As A Performative Social Science, Sean D. Fortney

Honors Theses

Reviews Bucknell participation with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation (a non-profit foundation with a mission to “help under-resourced students of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education".

The Influence Of Late Registration On Academic Outcomes And Retention At A Multi-Campus Community College, Kathy John Maalouf

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

In response to the increasing challenge for community colleges to uphold their mission of accessibility with an open door policy, while being held accountable for student success, higher education administrators and counselors need to have a better comprehension on the relationship among community college students, institutional enrollment policies, and academic success. The overall purpose of study was to broaden the understanding of the implications of late registration policy on community college students. Specifically, the purpose was to (1) investigate if there are statistical relationships between the demographics of community college students, registration behaviors, academic outcome, and retention (2) identify possible …

The Value Of Student Services And Activities At A Large, Rural, Two-Year College In The Midwest, Andrea E. Bright

Masters Theses

In order to assist in the development and growth of students to reach their maximum potential research into what services and activities students perceive as valuable was conducted. The purpose was to explore student's relations between the perceived value of student services/activities and the knowledge, use, and value of student services and activities. The literature expresses that many factors affect a student's experience at college. Student involvement occurs through many facets, academics, socialization, and environment. Student satisfaction with these factors impact student success or failure. The research demonstrates that students need interactions with the college community in order to facilitate …

The Relationship Between Professional Preparation Of Student Affairs Professionals And Community College Completion Rates, Jennifer D. Elliott

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to gather data and investigate what type of degree or degrees student affairs professionals hold at community colleges in Illinois, and how earned a degree in College Student Affairs or an equivalent degree. Then, to compare this data with existing graduation and retention data to see what, if any, correlation there might be. A survey was distributed to student affairs officers at each of the 48 Illinois community colleges, with the request the survey be forwarded to their student services professional staff. This data was then compared to recent graduation and retention rates at each school. …

Unpacking The Black Box Of Student Engagement: The Need For Programmatic Investigation Of High Impact Practices, Deryl K. Hatch

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The conceptual understanding of student engagement entails a necessary relationship between institutions and individuals. Several decades of research have revealed the empirical relationship of student engagement and desirable student outcomes, as well as the myriad intervening factors that influence engagement levels. However, there is a critical gap in the research literature as to the specific programmatic features of college practices that best foster student engagement. In an era of dwindling resources and increasing demand for higher education access and student success, this understanding is critical for utilizing scarce resources and developing programs with the most impact. This essay argues that …