Education Commons^™

How Do Faculty And Staff Perceive The Effectiveness Of Student Support Systems That Promote The Retention Of First-Generation College Students?, David Shawn Wolff Dr.

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

Research showed faculty-student interactions impact student engagement and was a primary factor to student retention (Kuh & Hu, 2001; Means & Pyne, 2017; Swecker et al., 2013; Tinto, 1987). The literature revealed while retention may be an issue for many institutions, there is a greater need to address retention specifically related to first-generation college students (FGCS). Students often seek advice from faculty and staff when faced with questions about their academic progress. Faculty and staff voices need to be collected regarding their perceptions of the effectiveness of the support systems used within an institution that promote retention for FGCS. This …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Parenting Adult Learners Regarding Persistence In Two-Year Community Colleges, Michelle T. Webb Ed.D.

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the results of semi-structured interviews conducted with six parenting adult learners (ParentALs) enrolled in three public two-year community colleges in the United States. This study investigated the problem of a lack of understanding of the experiences of ParentALs enrolled in community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine how the lived experiences of ParentALs enrolled in community colleges may influence their persistence. Three themes emerged from the literature review and data analysis: the identity of the ParentAL, characteristics and intersectionality of factors, experiences, and perceptions that may influence ParentAL persistence in community college, …

Lived Experiences Of Latino(A) College Students Enrolled In A Historically Black College & University (Hbcu), Gabriel Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For many first-generation Latino(a) college students, the college-setting is a new and scary place. Without the support of family and friends, the chances for them dropping out or not finishing their college education grow. Recognizing that Latinos(as) make up a growing segment of the college-going population, higher education institutions and their leaders must not only recruit individuals from this demographic population, but must also work to help these students remain enrolled and guide them to graduation. Institutions must be able to provide a welcoming campus culture and environment as a means of fostering student success. Historically Black College and Universities …

Possible Causes Of Leaks In The Transfer Pipeline: Student Views At The 19 Colleges Of The City University Of New York, A. W. Logue, Yoshiko Oka, David Wutchiett, Kerstin Gentsch, Stephanie Abbeyquaye

Publications and Research

Only 11% of community college (associate’s-degree) students transfer vertically and obtain a bachelor’s degree within six years, despite over 80% originally intending to do so. These leaks in the transfer pipeline disproportionately affect students from underrepresented groups, who are more likely to attend community colleges and to leak out of the pipeline. To obtain insights about how to decrease these leaks, a survey was distributed to all City University of New York undergraduates; 31,511 responded. The survey concerned students’ life and academic circumstances, as well as their information about and views on transfer. Analyses particularly compared responses of never-transferred associate’s …

Exploratory Case Study Of Freshman Student Experiences In Developmental Education Courses That Encourage Persistence At One College In West Texas, Brandon A. Hernandez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore freshman student experiences in developmental education courses that encourage their persistence at one college in the West Texas region. More specifically, this study focused on the programs and services that benefit freshman community college students enrolled in developmental education courses. This study followed case study methodology to examine the student experience. The data were collected by way of personal interviews with students and employees that lasted on average of 45 minutes via the software Webex. The interviews were all conducted online from one community college in the West Texas region. Participants were …

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 …

Barriers To Access And Success For Rural Community College Students At Rural Community And Technical College: Understanding The Effect Of A Mandatory First-Year Experience Course On Retention And Persistence, Amanda Spencer-Barnes

Online Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the effect of a mandatory first-year experience course on retention and persistence. More specifically, this study examined the effect of a mandatory first-year experience course on in-semester retention and semester-to-semester persistence rates for rural community and technical college students at one rural community and technical college in Southeastern Kentucky. Existing data about in-semester retention and semester-to-semester retention rates was used for students who took a mandatory first-year experience course as well as for students who did not take the mandatory first-year experience course. The data was analyzed using an independent samples t-test for each group to do …

A Transcendental Phenomenological Study Of Persistence Among National Junior College Athletic Association Division Iii Student Athletes, Carlton Hartsell Bryan Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the experiences of Division III National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) student athletes in central North Carolina who successfully persist to a four-year institution. The theory that guided this study was Vincent Tinto’s Theory of Student Integration (1975) as it established the principle that student’s personal commitment or determination to earn a degree and their commitment to their college or university determines whether they will complete their educational goals. The central research question guiding this study is: What are the experiences of the Division III NJCAA student-athlete in central North …

Different And The Same: A Comparison Of Vertical And Lateral Transfer Students., Joshua Harris Mckee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As more students evaluate their choice for higher education, the rate of transfer students continues to grow. The transfer population is often addressed broadly in research studies, and few examine differences among the population. This study was designed to analyze the differences in transfer shock and retention rates between students who transferred from a community college to a four-year institution (vertical) versus those who transferred from one four-year institution to another (lateral). Participants of this study consisted of 1,032 students who transferred to the University of Louisville during the fall 2014, 2015, and 2016 semesters. Results indicated, when controlling for …

Promoting Persistence Among Lgbtq Community College Students, Gregory D. Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

A vast amount of research has been devoted to the persistence and retention of college students since the 1970s. Recent research has focused on targeted populations such as first year students, racially minoritized, students with low social economic status and students at the developmental/remedial level. Nevertheless, limited scholarly research has been conducted on the persistence and retention of another category of students, sexual and gender minorities. This qualitative study examined the experiences that promote persistence among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) community colleges students. Interviews with eight LGBTQ students from three community colleges in the state of Illinois …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of The Non-Academic Factors That Cuban Female Non-Native English Speakers Perceived To Have Been Principal Influences On Their Successful Attainment Of A Baccalaureate Degree In The U.S., Nelson Magana

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cubans arrive in the U.S. with more formal education than other Latino immigrants, and they arrive to communities with long standing networks of support. Though their baccalaureate degree attainment is better than their non-Cuban Latina counterparts, Cuban women still lag behind White, non-Latina women. The qualitative study aims to explore the principal influences and non-academic factors that 15 adult Cuban non-native English-speaking women in South Florida attribute to the successful attainment of their baccalaureate degree.

There are many differences among the various immigrant Latino communities in the U.S., and Cuban women are largely absent from the research. Nearly 75% of …

Women In Stem: The Effect Of Undergraduate Research On Persistence, Jodi Christine Wilker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers constitutes a major issue in postsecondary science education. Perseverance of women in STEM is linked to a strong science identity. Experiential learning activities, such as undergraduate research, increase science identity and thus should help keep women in STEM. Most studies on research program development are from 4-year institutions, yet many women start at community colleges. The goal of this study was to fill this gap. Science identity and experiential learning theories provided the framework for this case study at a local institution (LECC). Semistructured interviews determined college science …

Chicanas In Ir: Data-Driven Advocacy For Latinx Students From Institutional Research Contexts In The Community College, Elvira Abrica, Martha Rivas

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Various inequities and challenges facing Latinx students in community colleges continue to be documented. Yet, less documented are the challenges associated with advocacy efforts to support Latinx and other underrepresented Students of Color within the community college sector. There is not often pause to consider: who advocates for Latinx students? When and how does this advocacy take shape? In this article, we offer Chicana testimonios as institutional research (IR) professionals to highlight ways we experience, respond to, and challenge institutionalized racism and systemic obstacles to advocate for Latinx students in the California community college system. We situate our testimonios within …

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 …

Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support …

“Warming Up” In The Developmental Sequence? Upward Transfer Conditional On Dependency Status, Cody Davidson, Kristin B. Wilson

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

The purpose of this study was to determine predictor factors of upward transfer for Kentucky community college students enrolled in a developmental algebra course. For independent students, a mother with a college degree, a declared major, a federal work-study position, greater adjusted gross income, and a higher grade point average was positively correlated with upward transfer. For dependent students, a father with a college degree, a declared major, and a higher grade point average was positively correlated with upward transfer.

Why Latino American Community College Students Drop Out After One Semester, Rosa Delia Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why many Latino America students at an urban community college in the state of Maryland who were enrolled at least part-time and were U.S. citizens or permanent residents did not continue their education into the second semester. Guided by Tinto's model of student integration and student persistence, this study explored the reasons these students dropped-out using the students' words to describe barriers to success, factors that influenced their decisions not to return for their second semester, and what they believed could have made a difference in their decisions. Five Latino …

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 …

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

University of 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 …

A Study Of Persistence In The Northeast State Community College Health-Related Programs Of Study., Allana R. Hamilton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to identify factors that were positively associated with persistence to graduation by students who were admitted to Health-Related Programs leading to the degree associate of applied science at Northeast State Community College. The criterion variable in this study was persistence, which was categorized into two groups the persister group (program completers) and the nonpersister (program noncompleters) group. The predictor variables included gender, ethnic origin, first- (or nonfirst-) generation-student status, age, specific major program of study, number of remedial and/or developmental courses taken, grades in selected courses (human anatomy and physiology I and II, microbiology, …

Moderator Effect Of Financial Aid On Predictors Of Community College Graduation Rate, Richard Wilt

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the resource allocation decisions community colleges make in order to gain insight into the relationship of those decisions to graduation rate and whether those relationships were influenced by the percentage of students at the college receiving financial aid. Much of the literature on persistence and graduation rate in higher education is based on student characteristics such as SAT scores, high school GPA, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, or on college selectivity. This study switches the focus to the characteristics of the college rather than the student.

The relative lack of literature on community college graduation rates and the …

Social Support And Persistence Among University Transfer Students Attending A Community College: A Grounded Theory Study, Stanley Burdette

All Dissertations

This study explored the role of social support in relation to the persistence of community college students enrolled in a university transfer program at a single institution. Student persistence rates in community colleges are low in comparison to other sectors of higher education. To explain community college student persistence, past researchers relied on theories of student retention that were developed from data collected in traditional four-year colleges and universities. Although the dominant theories of student retention emphasized social integration and involvement, the role of social support as related to persistence in community colleges was not adequately explored. The purpose of …

Pre- And Post-Matriculation Correlates Of Student Retention Within A Community College Setting, Pamela E. Goodman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the 1990s, due in part to declining enrollment numbers and prolonged budget constraints, student retention became a primary focus in higher education. Aligned with the nationwide interest, this longitudinal, archival study focused on the correlates of student retention at Walters State Community College, located in Morristown, Tennessee. The population involved 17,497 students enrolled from the fall semester of 1992 through the fall semester of 1997. Four sets of variables were investigated--demographic variables, pre-matriculation variables, post-matriculation variables related to grades, and post-matriculation variables related to enrollment. The data were collected through the use of a computer program written to access …