Education Commons^™

Experiences Of Vertical Transfer Students In The Department Of Biological Sciences With The Transfer Credit Process: A Phenomenological Study, Laura Love

All Dissertations

The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological study was to highlight the experiences of undergraduate STEM vertical transfer students. Through the lens of Schlossberg’s Transition Theory, this study sought to better understand how students make sense of the transfer credit process and which support structures facilitated their understanding. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using qualitative methods with eight biological sciences and vertical transfer students currently enrolled at a large public four-year land-grant research institution in the Southeast United States. All participants had successfully transferred from one of 16 technical colleges within the state. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, three themes were identified. This …

Enhancing The First-Year Experience Program For Community College Students: Creating A Cohort Model To Encourage Success, Engagement, And Sense Of Belonging, Vicky Herbel, Christina Cox, Amy M. Koehler, Kim Mercurio, Barbara Stratman

Dissertations

Community Colleges are facing significant challenges to enrollment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending enrollment cliff which will require higher education administration to adapt, get creative, and lead change in recruiting and retention strategies. Using the Sense of Community Theory (Serason, 1974) and the Involvement Theory (Astin, 1984), this study aims to evaluate student success, engagement, and sense of belonging. Through a qualitative comparative case study, students in a Men of Color (MOC) cohort, a pre nursing (NUR) cohort, and a baseline group of students in the standard college success seminar course enrollment were evaluated using in vivo, …

Information Literacy Across The Curriculum: A Faculty Professional Development Program, Jaime Corris Hammond

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Information literacy is a set of skills that encompass conducting research, evaluating sources and authority, and ethically using information. While information literacy as a concept has existed for 50 years, higher education has struggled to meaningfully incorporate it into college curricula. The concept of “across the curriculum” instruction, most notably Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), empowers faculty to incorporate skills outside of their discipline to increase learning. This information literacy program uses the concept of “across the curriculum” instruction, an American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) High Impact Practice, to incorporate and contextualize these skills in a variety of …

The Practices Of Instructional Design At Community Colleges: A Post-Qualitative Study Of The Mutual Invisibility Of Work, David Robert Niebuhr Tod

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The work of instructional design in community college settings is woefully understudied. This study documents that work in three community colleges in the southeastern United States while placing it in the theoretical context of neoliberalism, and in line with that theoretical context, takes a post-structuralist stance in its methodological approach.

It is in the discourses of instructional quality, online teaching, and design that instructional designers and faculty engage with each other. In contrast to the more well understood working relationship in a four-year institution, the power relationships between these two groups have not been examined in a community college context. …

Expanding On A Promise: Influences Of Student Identity And College Mindset On Retention And Success For First-Time Community College Students, John Kirby Hall

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A capstone submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Ernst and Sara Lane Volgenau College of Education at Morehead State University by John Kirby Hall on March 26, 2024.

Success Beyond Access: Examining Institutional Barriers To Persistence And The Supports Needed By Nontraditional Students Participating In A Tuition-Free Community College Program, Amanda K. Roeher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This research study examined the experiences of nontraditional community college students attending through a tuition-free grant. The intent of the study was to explore the student identified barriers to degree persistence and the student support services nontraditional students recognize as being beneficial towards their academic journey. This qualitative case study was guided by three research questions and utilized Bean and Metzner’s (1985) Nontraditional Student Attrition Model as a guide for study design and analysis. Data collection consisted of student interviews and institutional document collection. Data analysis explored themes related to nontraditional student motivations for attendance, persistence factors, and student support …

A Case Study Of Technology Integration At A Community College During A Disruption Of Learning Due To A Global Pandemic, Cara Suzanne Barth-Fagan

Dissertations

This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the financial stress, digital divide, and inequalities in educational opportunities that arose during this period. However, it also acknowledges the advantages of remote learning, such as flexible scheduling, individualized learning, and global collaboration. The study design used was qualitative, aiming to identify the perceived levels of student engagement and support between faculty and students, and the perceived levels of success of completing a blended learning course in an online, hybrid, or hyflex format during a global pandemic. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance …

Email Invitation And Survey For Faculty Whose Experience Has Mostly Been With Actual Vertical Transfer Students, Alexandra W. Logue, Vita Rabinowitz, Yoshiko Oka, Nayeon Yoo, Rhina Torres, Kerstin Gentsch, David Wutchiett

Publications and Research

Copy of survey used for faculty whose experience has mostly been with actual vertical transfer (bachelor's-degree) students, along with email sent to faculty inviting them to complete the survey.

Exploring Black Women Initiative Programs At Community Colleges: Potential Possibilities For Institutional Support, Erin K. Lewis

Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations

The existing literature lacks sufficient exploration of Black women’s experiences of a sense of belonging in institutional-sponsored programs centered around their Black and Woman identities at community colleges. Using a collective case study qualitative methodology, the purpose of this study was to understand Black women's experiences of a sense of belonging in institutional-sponsored initiative programs centered around their Black and woman identities at community colleges. The research question guiding this study is: How do Black women experience a sense of belonging in initiative programs centered around their Black and woman identities at community colleges? And to what extent? The conceptual …

Does Path Matter?: A Quantitative Study Examining Mathematics Course-Taking Patterns And Degree Or Transfer Attainment, Jacqueline Kraus

Dissertations of Practice

DOES PATH MATTER: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY EXAMINING MATHEMATICS COURSE-TAKING PATTERNS AND DEGREE OR TRANSFER ATTAINMENT

Abstract

This quantitative study, guided by Bean and Metzner’s (1985) student attrition model, examined whether mathematics course-taking pattern is associated with a students’ chances of attaining degree or transfer at a community college. Six years of student data from a midwestern community college was used. Descriptive statistics of student course-taking patterns highlighted that more full-time and college level students enrolled in mathematics immediately while part-time and developmental level students delayed their enrollment in mathematics coursework. Contradicting assumptions at the midwestern community college under study, it …

Exploring The Need For Additional Title Ix Education And Training, Maria K. Lamiotte

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study explores the differences between students, faculty, and staff about the need for additional Title IX education and training at a community college in Southeastern Connecticut from the four-level construct of the Social-Ecological Model of sexual misconduct prevention. This paper analyzed the existing literature on sexual misconduct education and training across higher education institutions, specifically related to community colleges nationwide. The literature was limited, related to community colleges. The data analysis explored the differences between students, faculty, and staff’s gender, sexual orientation, and college status about the need for additional Title IX education and training using archival data …

Opportunity That Transforms Lives: Exploring The Lived Experience Of Graduates From A New Community College In The Dominican Republic, Sally Joslyn Peña Martinez

Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of graduates from a recently established community college in the Dominican Republic (DR). The study sought to understand from graduates' perspective the influence of completing an associate degree at the first Dominican Community College, Instituto Técnico Superior Comunitario (ITSC), and if their experience was transformative. Enrolling in higher education initiates a potentially transformative journey, consciously or unconsciously (Taylor et al., 2000). These changes stem from personal reflections on new experiences, forming new beliefs and assumptions that infill life with new meaning (Brookfield, 1984; Mezirow, 1978). This phenomenon is evident in community college students …

Strategies That Contribute To The Sustainability And Success Of Community College Non-Credit Workforce Development Programs, Amy Lovin Henecke

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Several factors contribute to the challenges community college leaders face in maintaining and sustaining noncredit workforce development programming. For example, these factors include funding reductions from state legislators and corporations using internal training departments for workforce development. There are community colleges that do overcome these challenges and achieve sustainability, provide revenue to the college, and increase and expand programming. The purpose of this case study was to identify strategies that contribute to the sustainability and success of community college noncredit workforce development programs.

The research focused on two community colleges in the United States that are nationally recognized for achieving …

Learning Mindset Dimensions And Completion Status Of Tennessee Community College Students, Donna Sue M. Shellman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study was to analyze relationships between three learning mindset dimensions (growth mindset; purpose and value; and sense of belonging) to retention and persistence to graduation among first-time, full-time Tennessee community college student graduates and nongraduates who attended one of 13 institutions in Fall 2019. In addition to comparing Tennessee community college graduates and nongraduates’ learning mindset dimensions, I analyzed student subgroups to explore those dimensions with regard to gender and race. Additional analyses included correlations between students’ growth mindset scores; purpose and value scores; and social belonging scores.

Analyses included Tennessee Board of Regents’ …

Vamos A Pláticar: The Sense-Making Process Of Career Services Practitioners At California Community Colleges In A Guided Pathways Epoch, Claudia Estrada-Howell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The California Community College system and its vision for success, which includes a focus on increasing students' degree and certificate completion, as well as increasing the percentage of existing Career and Technical Education students who report being employed in their field of study is highlighted. To help support these goals, the California Community College System has adopted the Guided Pathways framework. This framework requires all campuses to fundamentally redesign their programs and support services to ensure they are clear, more educationally coherent pathways to credentials that in turn prepare students for success in the workforce and further education. To do …

Tennessee Promise And Two-Year Community College Retention And Graduation In Rural Appalachia, Tammy Dycus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to explore the relationship between the implementation of the Tennessee Promise scholarship program and the two-year Tennessee community college retention rates and graduation rates of first-time, full-time Tennessee students from rural Appalachian counties. Results from this study may help higher education stake-holders better understand the features of Tennessee Promise that are influencing an increase in community college retention and graduation rates for Tennessee students from rural Appalachian counties. The theoretical framework that guided this research was the social capital framework. Data including use of Tennessee Promise, county of origin, retention, and graduation …

Unequal Usage: Geographic Disparities And The Michigan Reconnect Program, Kyle Huisman, Kathleen Bolter

Reports

No abstract provided.

Understanding Community College Transfer Student Experiences: Academic And Social Engagement At A Private Four-Year Institution, Hezal Patel

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to understand the academic and social engagement experiences of community college transfer students at a private four-year institution. Approached through the lens of a conceptual critical framework for transfer student research advanced by Laanan and Jain (2017), and using a qualitative narrative methodology, this study collected the stories of 12 community college transfer students attending a private four-year institution to understand their engagement experiences. Restorying participants’ narratives and multiple rounds of coding including: deductive coding, open and in vivo coding and process coding revealed the findings for this study. The findings indicate that individuals’ …

The Relationship Between Academic Self-Efficacy And Academic Achievement Of First-Time First-Year Students Enrolled At A Technical College, Heather Marie Hoppe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Student persistence, retention, and completion are continued concerns in higher education. While external influences contribute to persistence and retention, the focus of this research study was to determine the academic self-efficacy and self-regulated factors that influence the academic achievement of first-time first-year students who persist from the fall to spring semester at a Southeastern technical college. One hundred four first-time first-year students who persisted from fall 2021 to spring 2022 completed an Academic Self-Efficacy Survey. There were five significant predictors identified in the analysis. The three self-regulated learning tasks: “I can finish homework assignments by deadlines,” “I can organize my …

Exploring Learning Experiences Of Community College Faculty Short-Term Study Abroad Leaders Using Ipa And Visual Research, Rachel Ann Simpson

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

As short-term study abroad programs increase in popularity and number at community colleges, it is vital to examine the effect on the faculty who lead these programs. The purpose of this research study was to explore how community college faculty who lead short-term study abroad programs perceive personal learning including social and cultural factors and how they apply any change in perspectives to their non-study abroad courses. At the community college level, faculty-led short-term study abroad courses play a key role in addressing the growing importance of intercultural competence within undergraduate education. Despite the critical role that faculty play in …

Exploring The Advising Experiences Of First Year, First-Generation Community College Students: A Case Study, Kristen Stradt-Johnson

Culminating Projects in Higher Education Administration

The current study was conducted to better understand how first-time, full-time, first-generation community college students understand their experiences with academic advising in their first year of college. This study utilized a qualitative research design with a case study methodology to focus on how first-generation students experience academic advising and how their experiences reflect the expectations of their institution. The theoretical framework used for this study was Schlossberg’s Transition Theory. Participants in this study are first-generation community college students and community college academic advisors, and seven first-generation students and two academic advisors participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data collected also includes …

Ways To Increase Retention Rates Among American Indian/Alaskan Native Students At Community Colleges, Sarah R. Wheeler

Culminating Experience Projects

American Indians/Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) pursue higher education disproportionately compared to other populations. Literature indicates that a sense of belonging significantly impacts AI/AN students' persistence rates at community colleges. Sense of belonging and support from community colleges and families directly influence student success in higher education. AI/AN students are grounded in their community and have desires to build their cultural capital. Obtaining a degree will strengthen their community and, ultimately, their nation. It is essential for AI/AN students and parents to feel equipped with resources and ways community colleges support marginalized students. Creating a student and parent orientation, access to a …

The Dialectic Transformation Of Teaching And Learning In Community Colleges Through Ungrading., Grace Pai, Jennifer Corby, Nicole Kras, Dusana Podlucká, Midori Yamamura

Publications and Research

As five Andrew J. Mellon Transformative Learning in the Hu-manities Faculty Fellows in the City University of New York, we capture in this essay the dialectical experience of ungrading our community college courses with our students. Drawing on case examples of implementing un-grading in a range of courses and a thematic analysis of our students’ reflec-tion submissions of being ungraded, we argue that ungrading is an effective pedagogical tool for debunking a deficits-based, outcomes-focused perspec-tive that is pervasive in studies on and of community college students. Through various ways of building student agency, self-reflection, and feed-back into our courses, we …

Community College Presidents And Campus Safety: Perspectives On Critical Issues, Chad C. Sartini, Dennis E. Gregory, Kim E. Bullington, Mitchell Williams, Joshua Howell, William L. Nuckols, Minghui Hou

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Community college presidents must understand the phenomenon of campus safety. For this mixed-methods study, community college presidents in one state were surveyed, and three presidents from the same community college system participated in in-depth interviews. Descriptive statistics measured the levels community college presidents’ knowledge and perceptions on campus safety. The in-depth interviews provided a deeper understanding of the connections between community college presidents and campus safety.

Overall, the results show that campus safety is important to community college presidents, who believe that, overall, their institutions are safe. We found that community college presidents believe they should be proactive and reinforce …

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, …

Exploring The Upward Transfer Advising Experience Of First-Generation Latinx Community College Students, Lizette Avalos-Morales

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the student experience of Latinx first-generation community college students who graduated from a community college and transferred to a 4-year university. The research examined if intrusive advising served as a mechanism to aid academic persistence despite the challenges of first-generation Latinx students. Eleven first-generation community college students who graduated from a Hispanic Serving Institution in southwest Kansas were interviewed. The thematic analysis conducted led to five themes emerging. The themes included family, meaningful relationships, belonging, independence, and embracing uncertainty. The theme of family was separated into two subthemes: family support and …

Authentic And Unapologetic: Culturally Responsive Leadership Strategies Used By California Community College Senior-Level Leaders Of Color, Renee Craig-Marius

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe how California Community College senior-level leaders of color are culturally responsive in their leadership strategies, based on Horsford, Grosland, and Gunn’s (2011) culturally relevant leadership framework.

Methodology: This qualitative ethnographic study identified and described the culturally responsive leadership practices utilized by 15 senior-level leaders of color within California Community Colleges and explored how their lived experiences and identities influence their ability to lead their institutions using the four dimensions of Horsford et al.’s (2011) culturally relevant leadership framework: political context, personal journey, pedagogical approach, and professional duty. …

Marrying A Good Story And A Well-Formed Argument: The Metanarrative Of Zyx, Megan X. Schutte

The Qualitative Report

This article uses a metanarrative of a fictional, gender identity minority community college student (named Zyx) to elucidate and humanize the experiences that students in this population undergo throughout the course of their college career. Using a journal entry format, Zyx (they/them) is followed from the day before their first day at school through to their graduation. Their experience includes being first-generation and mixed race, living through COVID-19, coping with academic failure, and ultimately triumphing over adversity. The story is meant to cover some of the myriad obstacles to success faced by gender identity minorities attending community college while also …

Still A Private Universe? Community College Students’ Understanding Of Evolution, Meredith A. Dorner, Philip Sadler, Brian Alters

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Measuring what students know and retain about evolution is essential to improving our understanding of how students learn evolution. The literature shows that college students appear to have a poor understanding of evolution, answering questions on various instruments correctly only about half of the time. There is little research regarding evolution understanding among community college students and so this study examines if those students who are enrolled in life science classes, who are assessed using questions based on grade eight standards, show a better understanding of evolutionary principles than younger students and if there are differences in knowledge based …

How Do First-Year Dominican Students Perceive Their First Year Of College And How Do These Perceptions Impact Their Retention, Maria C. Cano

Theses and Dissertations

College completion rate is a major challenge afflicting colleges and universities as well as students in the United States, particularly Hispanic students (Field, 2018). This qualitative case study aimed to investigate how Dominican students perceived their first year of college and how that perception impacted their retention in a community college in the Northeast. Participants included a purposeful sample of fourteen students (four students enrolled fall of 2021 and four students who did not enroll in the spring of 2022, five students from a focus group, and one of the students from the focus group was interviewed for an in-depth …