Education Commons^™

A Comparison Of Student Academic Variables In Mixed Teaching Methods And Traditionally Taught Biology Courses At Participating Community Colleges In Tennessee, Elesha Goodfriend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to compare academic variables from students participating in mixed teaching methods/course revitalization biology courses to those in traditional courses at two community colleges in Tennessee. A two-group comparison design using archived data was used, which evaluated differences in final grades, exam scores, and homework completion as indicators of the academic success between an urban institution and a rural college. A power analysis was performed using G*Power software to provide the needed sample size, indicating a size of 176. There were 227 students in the active teaching lecture classrooms, and 198 students in the …

Community College Students' Perceptions Of Sense Of Community And Instructor Presence In The Online Classroom, Marla Cartwright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, comparative, quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences between the perceptions of male and female community college students about the importance of sense of community (SoC) in online classes and sense of instructor presence (IP) at eight southern, public, community colleges using survey data. It was the intent of the study to determine if there were significant relationships of students’ perceptions of the presence of sense of community in online classes among factors of age, race, grade point average, cumulative credit hours, credential type, major area of study, and number of previous …

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 …

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 …

Leading A Community Promise: A Mixed Method Study Exploring The Dynamics Of Adaptive Leadership And Student Success, Elizabeth M. Narehood

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to gain greater understanding of the dynamics between adaptive leadership strategy and the success of community college students. A strategic alliance formed between a community college and a college promise non-profit organization provides the complex environment to explore these phenomena. The establishment of a “Future Center” on the community college campus serves as the adaptive focal point of the study. The study’s theoretical framework is based upon the interaction of two perspectives: the ecological model of student development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and adaptive leadership theory (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). Study design utilized a three-phased exploratory …

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 …

Impostor Phenomenon, College-Going Knowledge, And Staff Expectations: Ramifications On First Time In College Students Enrollment, Julia A. Vickery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A lack of technically trained, skilled, and educated workforce has become a critical issue in Texas. Furthermore, an educated workforce improves communities and individuals with economic, health, and personal benefits. Community colleges not only provide open-access admissions and low-cost tuition but are specifically aligned with educating the technical and industrial skilled workforce. Although a post-high school education has never been more accessible or necessary for obtaining high-earning jobs, post-high school college enrollment is declining, and conventional reform strategies do not appear to be effecting change. Graduating high school students aspire to attend postsecondary training by applying and being accepted but …

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, …

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. …

Supporting Reverse Transfer Students: From Trauma To Transition And Triumph, Stephanie Burga

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

This study explores the reverse transfer student identity, a population or group that transfers from a four-year college or university to a two-year community college. The research utilizes a San Diego two-year community college as the sample institute to discover more about a sample of the reverse transfer student identity. The theoretical framework includes a combination of intersectional stigma and the ethic of care that is implemented throughout the transition process for the student. The purpose of this study is to seek and uncover patterns as to why students reverse transfer and what support looks like for them. How does …

Text Nudges: Proactive Communication By An Urban Community College, Ann L. Hall

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The landscape of higher education has shifted over the last ten years. Student needs have changed. Educational institutions have begun to change the way they conduct business to support student needs more fully including just-in-time communications that are focused and customized to the individual student. Higher education institutions are using text nudges to support student outcomes from enrollment to graduation. This study evaluated the impact of text nudges on retention at a large, urban community college in the southwest region of the United States. The study found a small, negative relationship between the number of text nudges received and fall …

Learning To Navigate The Unknown: The Importance Of Critical Reflection And Collaboration For Community College Faculty During A Pandemic, Karen Ann Ladley

Education Doctorate Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused sudden and dramatic shifts in educational systems worldwide, including colleges and universities. Students, faculty, and service staff found themselves navigating uncertain times and addressing challenges they had not faced previously. The use of critical reflection and collaboration became crucial for faculty as they struggled to engage students in different ways. Understanding students’ needs and addressing them effectively became priorities with reflection and collaboration both cost-effective and convenient methods. Following this time of uncertainty, faculty can continue using reflection and collaborative learning communities to address new challenges and obstacles, especially at community colleges where money, time, and …

Completion And Success Of Community College Developmental Students Enrolled In Online Mathematics Coursework, Mary Monica Ryder

Theses and Dissertations

As online education gains popularity among both learners and postsecondary institutions, there is a movement toward identifying ways to promote student success. Over half of all higher education institutions offer online classes, due in part to the ease of offering and scheduling (Hoffman, 2006); educators seek ways to identify any demographic or academic characteristics that lead to success (Jaggars & Bailey, 2010). With the growth and popularity of online learning, postsecondary institutions must continue to develop best practices in the areas of online teaching pedagogies to promote student success. Within community colleges there is a growing acceptance of online courses …

Cracking The Code To Effective Marketing In Higher Education: A Case Study Of Recruitment And Retention Of First-Generation, Latinx Community College Students, Manuel L. Romero

Theses and Dissertations

Marketing strategy involves selecting a target market and determining the desired product positioning to attract the desired customers (Silk, 2006). Recently, community colleges have seen a decrease in student enrollment. In some cases, this was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic; in other cases budget constraints have posed challenges to community colleges and their recruitment marketing efforts. Successful advertising involves a marketing strategy where the student is considered the customer (Guilbault, 2017) and creative “edvertising” (DiMartino & Jessen, 2018) campaigns entice students to select one college above other competitors. With a growing Latinx population in the United States, college recruitment …

Agency And Self-Efficacy In Corequisite Math Courses, Silvia Reyes

Theses and Dissertations

Students identified as unprepared for college work face considerable barriers to performance and college completion. To improve underprepared student outcomes, community colleges where most underprepared students enroll are using different models of developmental education. A recently implemented model in mathematics is a corequisite course designed to increase students’ chances of success by using different methods of instruction to decrease student time to completion. This corequisite course accelerates students placed in developmental math classes and offers students the opportunity to complete their developmental requirements while taking college-level work and earning college credit. As developmental mathematics poses the biggest barrier for underprepared …

Exploring The Effects Of Creativity And Student Success On Community College Stem Students Taking Fine Arts Courses, Jimmy Leduc

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined overall success and creativity in students taking STEM courses at a Midwestern community college. There were four hypotheses in this study. The first was that STEM majors who had taken one or more fine arts courses would report a higher GPA than STEM majors who have not taken fine arts courses. The second was that there would be a positive correlation among STEM majors between the number of fine arts courses taken and grade point average. The third is that STEM majors who had taken one or more fine arts courses would demonstrate greater creativity than STEM …

Understanding The Experience Of Mid-Level Community College Change Leaders, Kelley L. Conrad

Dissertations

This qualitative study investigates the phenomenon of leading major change as a midlevel administrator or faculty member at a Michigan community college. Specifically, this study explores how three leaders experienced their roles in implementing the guided pathways strategic change initiative, how they describe the emotional aspects of leading change, and how they made sense of their experiences. One overarching research question guided this study: How do guided pathways leaders at Michigan community colleges experience their roles in the strategic change process?

The results of multiple, in-depth interviews are presented as three profiles, one per participant, using their own words to …

A Narrative Study Of The Experiences That Disrupt Or Terminate Entry In The Community College Presidential Pipeline For African American Women, Dana G. Stilley

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

Organizational structures, beliefs, and values in higher education are influenced by the deep-seated characteristics of patriarchy, dominance and racial and gender bias, upon which higher education was founded. These factors continue to impact the ascension of African American women to college presidencies. Current challenges facing community colleges include a gap in executive leadership and the underrepresentation of African American women in the presidential pipeline.

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to better understand the experiences that disrupt or terminate the journey to a presidency for African American women in senior level positions at community colleges. The goal was to …

Experiences That Support Persistence And Retention Of Latinx First-Generation College Students (Fgcs) At Community Colleges, Veronica Rios

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to describe experiences of successful Latinx first-generation college students that support persistence and retention toward graduation for Latinx first-generation college students at California community colleges. The study was framed using Tinto’s retention theory. Successful Latinx first-generation college students were defined as those who have attained graduation from a California community college. This study focused on Latinx first-generation college students not persisting toward graduation at California community colleges, a situation that extends to the national level. This case study included nine Latinx first-generation college students, and the researcher collected data through virtual semistructured …

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 …

Paving The Way: Enhancing The Transfer Admission Practices At The University Of San Diego, Andrew Alsoraimi-Espiritu

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine how the University of San Diego’s (USD) Office of Undergraduate Admission can better serve prospective students from local community colleges by striving towards a Transfer Receptive Culture (Jain, Herrera, Bernal, & Solórzano, 2011). Using my positionality as an admissions counselor at USD, I explored the following question with current and prospective transfer students, as well as local community college partners: how can I enhance the practices of my department to better support transfer students during the pretransfer phase at USD? My findings indicate that the transfer path to USD is hectic and …

Udl And Motivation: Student Perceptions Of The Impact Of Universal Design For Learning On Motivation Of First-Year Community College Students In Rural East Tennessee, Jennifer Mayes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the perceptions of how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) impacts motivation in first-year community college students in rural East Tennessee. This study investigated the effects of UDL on motivation of first-year community college students in East Tennessee. This involved multiple sections of courses participating in a UDL pilot training program with the college’s Instructional Design department. Two of the courses were part of the UDL pilot, and two of the courses were teaching the Standard approved Master Curriculum. The study had a total of 109 participants, and 9 research questions were …

Improving Student Success In Community Colleges: A Case Study Of One Virginia Community College, Kristin M. Ogden

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

The Gates Foundation’s Completion by Design Loss Momentum Framework (LMF) has been the catalyst for twenty-first century community college reform. This framework indicates the points in a student’s college journey as: 1) Connection – from interest to application; 2) Entry – from enrolling to passing program gatekeeper courses; 3) Progress – from program entry to completion of program requirements; and 4) Completion – completion of credential of value for further market value or labor market advancement. The Completion by Design Loss Momentum Framework focuses on student success by using a Guided Pathways approach through which incoming students are given support …

The Effects Of The Work Environment On California Community College Counselors' Professional Self-Care, Tina Dang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Healthy work environments are critical in fostering occupational self-care for helping professionals, but information on the self-care and the work environment is limited among community college counselors in California. Self-care is essential for the counseling profession in California community colleges (CCC), as it promotes wellness, which is needed in order to provide optimal services to students/clients. The lack of self-care results in counselor impairment, leading to undesirable factors (i.e., burnout, health conditions, and decrease in productivity). In educational institutions, counselors often find it difficult to maintain their own self-care. However, work environments have been shown to affect self-care at work …

Exploring The Effects Of An Afrocentric Learning Community On The Retention Of African American Students In Community Colleges: A Quantitative Study, Andre Crenshaw

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of African American students who begin postsecondary educational pursuits do not graduate within 6 years, resulting in one of the lowest postsecondary completion rates in America. As of Fall 2019, the degree applicable retention rate for African American students in California community colleges was 62%, compared to all students 87.65%. The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to examine whether a learning community positively affected retention and success rates of African American students in community colleges, comparing outcomes with cohort Fall 2016 with cohort Fall 2019. This analysis applied Tinto’s Student Integration Model Theoretical Framework with supporting …

Asian American Community College Presidents: An Asiancrit Analysis Of Their Approaches To Leadership, Johnny Hu

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

This study explores the experiences of five current and former Asian American community college presidents including their career transitions into executive leadership using an AsianCrit analysis for framing their narrative experiences. The literature review situates the experiences of Asian American community college presidents in various contexts by providing a brief summary of several historical moments and political movements that have shaped the realities they currently confront as higher education leaders. This study employed a Critical Race Theory (CRT) approach to counter storytelling to analyze the participants’ narratives both individually and thematically based on their social identities as Asian Americans and …

Stepping Stone Or Road Block: An Evaluation Of Community Colleges In The Midwest To Improve Attrition And Graduate Percentages Of African American Students, Tamela Odom

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The path towards higher education is not the same for all. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore why African American students enroll into community college in the Midwest at higher percentages than any other racial group but persist to graduation at the lowest percentages. Factors that hinder African American students from persisting toward graduation and eventual degree completion from a 2-year college were uncovered through interviews conducted with participants on community college campuses throughout the Midwest. Considering the findings of this study, it is suggested that professors and instructors use classroom interactions and instructional opportunities to …

Organizational Culture In Community Colleges: Making Connections To Diverse Student Success, Darcy A. Orellana

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The lack of equitable educational outcomes for students of color continues to be a glaring problem for community colleges. Community colleges are challenged to find solutions to address long-standing achievement gaps. One institutional response has been to implement high impact practices (HIPs) as a means to improve persistence, retention, and graduation rates for all students. HIPs, however, have produced mixed results in terms of enhancing student success, and evidence suggests that students of color participate in fewer HIPs and thus receive less benefit from them. This study considers the proposition that students of color may decide not to participate in …

The Importance Of Coaching: A Program Evaluation Of The Americorps College Completion Coaches Program, Latoya E. Rolle

All Theses And Dissertations

As more students enroll than earn a post-secondary credential, persistence toward completion and graduation have become issues in community colleges. This program evaluation highlights the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program implemented across community colleges in Ohio during 2012–2017 under the leadership of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC). The program goal is to improve postsecondary credential obtainment by increasing course completion and credit hour accumulation. This outcome is achieved by providing coaching to at-risk students in community colleges across Ohio. This study sought to discover the AmeriCorps College Completion Coach program’s best practices for student support services and explored …