Community College Education Administration Commons^™

Avoiding "Oh My God" Experiences: How White Female Developmental Literacy Instructors (Dis)Engage Race In Their Instructional Decision Making, Alison Michelle Douglas

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores the instructional decision making of White female community college developmental literacy instructors in order to better understand pedagogical practices that impact educational inequities for Black male students in developmental literacy classes. Historically, the U.S education system has underserved Black male students, and college success rates demonstrate that educational inequities persist for Black male students today. Although much research has focused on educational inequities for Black male students in K-12 and university environments, little research has focused those inequities for Black male students in community colleges. In addition, although research that explores Black male experiences in educational settings …

Widening The Pathway To A Degree: The Impact Of Accepting Credit For Prior Learning At A Community College, Jessica Berek

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Credit for prior learning is a way to recognize previous experiences and knowledge as an equivalent to college level learning. Determining effective ways to accept credit for prior learning experiences can have a positive impact on students, including community college students, as they work to reach academic goals. This qualitative study aimed to understand the experiences of community colleges students who have received credit for prior learning on their academic transcript. Through interviews with students, benefits and barriers of credit for prior learning were discussed. Barriers to credit for prior learning included a lack of overall knowledge on the types …

Sociodemographic Factors Influencing Choice Of Career Training Program: An Analysis Of Washington State Technical Colleges, Scott J. Latiolais

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Over 219,000 students enroll in Washington State’s 34 community and technical colleges annually. The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) also reports that of these students, 88,000, or 40%, are in career training programs. The need to examine these career training students’ decision-making behaviors is vital, given the $20.5 billion annual contribution these students make to the state economy. This study examines the factors that impact students’ selection of a high or low wage-earning program of study, determines the extent to which the impact varies for historically underserved student populations, and delineates which sociodemographic variables influence student …

After The Protests: A Campus Racial Climate Case Study Of The Perception And Curricular Responses For Institutional Reforms, Following The Black Students’ Demands For Interventions At The University Of Missouri-Columbia, Bruce E. Mitchell Ii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative method single case study explores the phenomenon of a racially tense campus climate at the University of Missouri Columbia, a Predominantly White Midwestern Institution. At the forefront of the media regarding student and athlete protests, leading to the resignation of senior level administrators, African American students put forth eight demands to their administrators. Included, was the creation and implementation of a required racial awareness and inclusion curriculum. The study explores the perceptions of the institutional response to an exceptional campus racial climate issue and the process of formulating and participating in a diversity training course and a semester …

Cultivating A Stem Investigation: Reading And Task Expectations For Introductory Biology Courses, Tina M. Ballard

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

College completion is an important discussion in today’s world with only about 30% of community college students completing their degrees within three years of starting their programs. Especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, students are changing their majors or not completing their degrees for a variety of reasons. Previous research has established that there are high attrition and failure rates for introductory biology courses which may be causing some students to change their majors or not complete their degrees. This multicase study investigated the reading and task demands for introductory biology courses designed for STEM majors …

What Does The Staff Say?: Front-Line Staff Perceptions Of Their Role In Student Success, Lee A. Helbert

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study focused on exploring the perceptions of front-line staff in supporting student success at a mid-western community college. These staff are generally the employees who are not generally involved with teaching or administration, but work in offices like the business, financial aid, enrollment services, or are administrative assistants to the different departments. Nine participants participated in individual interviews and/or a focus group discussion. These front-line staff shared their stories that related to how they saw themselves contributing to student success, what they saw as the challenges and benefits of supporting students, and what professional opportunities were provided by the …

The Relationship Between Academic Coaching And Student Retention For Community College Students Enrolled In Developmental Education Courses, Tanya Woltmann

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationship between participation in an academic coaching program and retention for community college students enrolled in developmental education courses. With low retention and completion rates for students beginning in developmental courses, support programs to improve student success are needed. This quantitative study examines the participation in an academic coaching program and student retention in both the short-term and the long-term as well as the effect of the level of program participation on retention. Data was collected on over 8,000 students attending a community college who were enrolled in a developmental education course. The quantitative analysis included …

The Co-Requisite Model: A Quantitative Analysis Of Its Relationship With Gateway English Course Success, Anita Moore-Bohannon

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if students’ participation in the ALP co-requisite developmental English program relates to the likelihood of passing gateway college-level English. Data was collected to allow for analysis of gateway college-level English passing probability for all students who participated in gateway college-level English courses during the fall and spring semesters between Fall 2018 and Spring 2021. To show trends in the data, descriptive statistics were calculated using the frequencies procedure, which shows counts and percentages of study participants that fall into each category of data. The chi-square test was used to show relationships …

To Note Or Not To Note: Students' Conceptualizations Of Note Taking During Academic Reading In A Developmental Reading Course, Margaret J. O'Kerns

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This grounded theory research study investigated one active reading strategy, note taking, with a goal of creating student-centered, evidence-based curriculum for the developmental reading instructor. Sixteen students participated in a two-part session: a semi-structured interview and a think aloud of an assigned, academic text. The students were asked to discuss their attitudes regarding reading, both academically and for pleasure, and about any previous reading instruction. They were then observed reading their assigned text, an expository article, and queried as to their use (or not) of any note taking procedures or strategies. As an outcome of this study, it became apparent …

Advising Matters: An Exploration Of Trio Students’ Experiences With Advising, Kari Schimmel

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Academic advising has been identified as a key strategy in helping students to persist and complete their academic goals. This exploratory case study investigated student perceptions of advising, particularly low-income and first-generation students participating in a TRIO Student Support Services program at a midsize midwestern community college. Themes that emerged from interviews and document analysis were categorized by the researcher and found that students identified self-efficacy, proactive advising, relational development, and belonging and support as key practices. Institutional messages were also categorized as confirming or disconfirming. Results indicated effective advising practices that can be implemented into existing advising structures, with …

That Push Helps: A Qualitative Case Study Exploring Students' Responses To Receiving An Early Alert, Eric Tammes

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examined the decision-making experience of students receiving an early alert notification at a community college and what influenced students’ responses to the alert. Early alert programs are identified as a high impact persistence practice and may involve significant financial, technology, and personnel investments. Examining how students engage or disconnect from an early alert program may help maximize the institution’s investment and fulfill the program’s intent. Utilizing a qualitative case study, informed by Pascarella’s (1980) Student-Faculty Informal Contact model, this study sought to fill a gap within the persistence and early alert literature. The study also provided participant-driven guidance …

Student-Parenting During A Global Pandemic: A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Experience Of Community College Student-Parents, Malinde Althaus

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Approximately one-quarter of undergraduate students are parents or guardians of dependent children. While having similar or higher GPAs, student-parents have lower rates of graduation than peers without children and often struggle with finances, childcare, and scheduling. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced many new stressors to our lives. In addition to the mental and physical health risks during the pandemic, college students experienced a change in delivery of classes to largely online and for parents of school age children, it has added challenges of supporting children at home in distance learning. This study used a feminist phenomenological approach to discover the lived …

Diversity And Inclusion: Examining The Lived Experiences Of Lgbtq Students At Historically Black Colleges And Universities (Hbcus) In The Bible Belt, Steven Jones

Dissertations

Throughout the twentieth century, the Gay Rights Movement has gained momentum as LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) individuals have fought for civil equality and social acceptance. However, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been slow to adapt, implement, and effect change that improves the quality of education for LGBTQ students. Strong religious beliefs derived from the church; especially in the South, may be the connection to understanding why homosexuality isn’t vastly accepted or celebrated in the Black Community and at HBCUs; particularly, in the Bible Belt.

Thus, this phenomenological qualitative study, guided by the theory of care framework, …

Engagement Requires The Institution Too: A Case Study Of A California Community College Using Assessment Data To Improve Student Success Practices, Duane Brooks

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

While the collection of assessment data by educational institutions is important, these activities are not sufficient to create an institution that is fully “engaged” with not only the data, but also in using data to improve decision making and student success practices within the institution. The institution must be ready to use the data for action and improvement. Understanding the process that transforms data into institutionalized knowledge is an important component of what institutional engagement looks like. This qualitative single case study explored the scope and nature of institutional engagement in the case of one California community college by examining …

Exploring The Voices, Experiences, And Leadership Career Paths Of Women Of Color In Higher Education, Tonya P. Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the voices, experiences, and factors promoting the leadership career paths of senior-level women of color in higher education and to capture the voices of senior-level women of color on how they were able to overcome the barriers and challenges to breaking the glass ceiling on their leadership career paths to senior-level administration in higher education. A phenomenological research method was employed to capture the participants’ voices, experiences, and leadership career paths of their roles in higher education. Results show that the women of color in the study confirmed the perceived challenges …

Program Director Support For Adjunct Faculty In The Promotion Of Student Success, Nicholas Anthony Dejosia

All Theses And Dissertations

There is a need for adjunct faculty in community colleges to be supported by administration at the program director level or by those that have experience socializing new adjunct faculty into their departments, to ensure the promotion of student success in the classroom. This qualitative phenomenological study allowed the researcher to interpret the subjective lived experiences of ten educational leaders within a community college to document how they support adjunct faculty members to develop teaching methods to promote student success. The research question posed was, what do program directors and those who have experience socializing new adjunct faculty into their …

Student And Faculty Engagement And Support In A Pandemic, Ericka Hackman

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

It’s been seven long months since our world was turned upside down with the onslaught of COVID-19. We all remember clearly the chaos of March 2020 transforming our in-person, on-campus instruction to remote models; frantically securing technology for students, faculty, and staff to work remotely and standing up phone and videoconference operations for all of our support and administrative services. Our campus faculty and staff worked incredibly hard to pivot teaching and learning to support students’ successful completion of the Spring 2020 semester. I think many of us thought it was a pipedream to get to Commencement and actually graduate …

Students On The Spectrum, Kristin Mallory, Dana Burnside

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

changed many aspects of our lives this year. Things we’ve taken for granted in the past are now different, and we’re being forced to become comfortable with ways of doing things that are unfamiliar, and often initially uncomfortable. Last week, I had an issue with my Verizon bill and had to call customer service. I understood that because of COVID-19, customer service representatives were working from home, and wait times would be considerably longer. The wait was long. It was almost an hour long, whereas in the past connecting to a representative might have taken 10 minutes. I felt impatient; …

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 …

The Impact Of Moderate Physical Activity And Student Interaction On Retention At A Community College, Anne Leavy-Prial

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Student retention and persistence are key to student success. Therefore, it is of great concern to community college leaders that their students are retained. In addition to having the best interest of students in mind, community college leaders feel the pressure of performance-based funding to produce increased retention and graduation rates. Over the past several years, retention rates at community colleges in the United States have hovered below 50% (National Student Clearinghouse, 2019). The researcher of the current study implemented a very low-cost initiative with the intent of increasing retention at a community college.

The purpose of this study was …