Community College Leadership Commons^™

Balancing The Demands Of College And Athletics: First-Generation Female Student Athletes’ Perception Of The College Experience, Adrienne Rodriguez

Theses & Dissertations

Research Focus. The launch of the 1972 Title IX regulation education amendment arrived at a pivotal time for women in sports. “Title IX recognized the uniqueness of intercollegiate athletics by permitting colleges and universities to have separate and equal athletic programs for women” (Hogshead-Makar, & Zimbalist, 2007, p. 2). As more women began to participate in sports, pressures to perform both competitively and academically presented different challenges for female athletes during their collegiate career. For a female student-athletes to be successful in both academics and athletics, the student-athlete must discover a means to sustain a reasonable balance academically and athletically …

It’S Everyone’S Job To #Endccstigma, Eric Heiser

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

I have watched with great enthusiasm the past few months as I’ve seen more and more movement behind the #EndCCStigma movement, both on Twitter and in real-life form. Frankly, this has been many years in the making and is long overdue. The fact is, we have allowed society to perpetuate this stigma and it is high time we stop allowing them to do so. Community colleges touch the lives of so many individuals. Even those who never become our students are often touched by their local community college. Whether a parent, brother, sister, cousin, or even friend attended, the touch …

Influencers Of Succession Planning Among Rural Community College Chief Executives, Ashley Aylett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The challenge of maintaining strong leadership within many community colleges has been exacerbated by many factors including demographic shifts, therefore, succession planning is one tool used by institutions to offset the challenge of dealing with aging leaders, retirements, and a limited pool of competent applicants. Many senior administrators have and will continue to retire at rapid rates and fewer well-prepared individuals seem to be available or willing to move into these roles. Higher education literature has explored the future of community colleges during this time of change, some examining critical factors for the future of community colleges by asking questions …

Perceptions Of Maxine Smith Fellows On Barriers That Contribute To The Underrepresentation Of African Americans In Faculty And Administrative Positions At The Tennessee Board Of Regents, Sidney R. Hill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

African Americans are underrepresented in full-time faculty and administrative positions at Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions. This study examined the perceptions of 11 Maxine Smith Fellows on the underrepresentation at TBR institutions and provides recommendations that could assist in increasing representation of African Americans in full-time faculty and administrative positions.

A qualitative method was used for the study. Each participant was required to participate in a recorded SKYPE interview. The researcher transcribed the interviews and analyzed the data using coding to derive overarching themes that provided findings based upon the research questions.

Based upon the analysis of data, the …

Assessing The Correlations Between Non-Cognitive Factors And The First Semester Gpa Of Nontraditional Students At A Community College., Alexis Parent Ferrouillet

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ninety percent of the students enrolled at community colleges in the United States are nontraditional (NCES, 2001). According to Horn and Carroll (1996), characteristics of nontraditional student include: delayed college enrollment, financially independent of parents, worked at least thirty-five hours per week, had dependents other than a spouse, were single parents, and had not received a standard high school diploma. Because of these characteristics, nontraditional students can face a plethora of challenges in higher education and feel underprepared for college coursework. Upon enrollment into the community college with an open admissions policy, these underprepared students must take high stakes standardized …

Inspiring Faculty Innovation: Open Educational Resources And Competency-Based Education As Pedagogical Change Models, Jody Carson, Kim Burns, Sue Tashjian

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Every college has pockets of innovative faculty who are resourceful and skilled problem solvers. They come to you with solutions instead of complaints and when they leave your office you wish you could clone them. These faculty are your innovators. Academic innovation is currently getting a lot of attention. It is a concept that is trendy, as well as murky. What do we mean when we talk about innovation? In early 2018, a survey of academic administrators framed innovation as a tool for solving problems and driving overall improvement. When asked how to support innovation, Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) reported …

The 4 Connections: Moving From Intuitive To Intentional Relationship-Building To Improve Success And Reduce Equity Gaps, Suzanne Ames, Sally Heilstedt

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Equitable student success can be achieved through connections and a sense of belonging created among faculty members and students. Lake Washington Institute of Technology, one of the 34 community and technical colleges in Washington State, implemented the 4 Connections framework based on best practices identified and systemically implemented at Odessa College. Through quantitative and qualitative research, Dr. Don Wood (now Odessa’s VP of Institutional Effectiveness), discovered that all faculty with high in-class retention rates shared “a common thread of connectivity with their students” (Kistner & Henderson, 2014). From this common thread emerged four key practices: 1. Learn and use students’ …

Community College Presidents' Perspectives On Campus Safety, Chad Christopher Sartini

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This study addressed the phenomenon of campus safety from the perspective of the community college president. The researcher employed a mixed methods design by surveying the community college presidents of one state community college system followed by in-depth interviews of three of the presidents of the same community college system. The quantitative inquiry used descriptive statistics to detail community college presidents’ knowledge and perceptions of campus safety. The qualitative inquiry employed case study analysis through in-depth interviews to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between community college presidents and the phenomenon of campus safety.

The results of the study …

The Business Of Choice: Why Students Select For-Profit Career Colleges In Northeast Florida And The Implications For Community College Leaders, Tameiko Allen Grant

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Over the past decade, for-profit career colleges have faced significant scrutiny and increased governmental regulation. Even with the skepticism of critics, for-profit enrollments surged and had one of the fastest enrollment growths among higher education sectors. For-profit career colleges are typically known for their predatory marketing practices and exorbitant costs. However, there is a significant concern surrounding why students would attend an institution with such a high cost and a socially perceived low-probability of return on investment (Cellini, 2012; Iloh & Tierney, 2013). This study employs a case study methodology to examine the decision-making process of students who selected for-profit …

A Delphi Study: Retention Of Women In Leadership Positions In Stem Disciplines, Kimberly T. Luthi

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

This Delphi study explores barriers and support systems that impact women’s professional advancement in STEM disciplines. There were 20 expert panelists who committed to participate in the study and 15 panelists completed the four rounds of the study after attrition. The panelists were selected based on specific criteria including educational background, diversity within STEM disciplines, experience as a former or current female administrator who served at two-year degree offering institutions, leadership and membership within women’s advocacy organizations in STEM and related workforce education fields, and depth of knowledge and understanding of the research questions. Through the four rounds of the …

Cross-Cultural Considerations: Raising Language Teachers Awareness About The Importance Of Multiculturalism, Abir El Shaban

Journal of Research Initiatives

Abstract

With the worldwide use of English as a second language (ESL) and globalization, teachers are expected to understand, acknowledge and interact with culturally and linguistically diverse students and integrate their linguistic and multicultural backgrounds in classroom settings. Teachers need to be multicultural to be able to successfully impact their students to be multicultural. This paper provides English language teachers with valuable recommendations based on cross-cultural studies and my experience, as an ESL teacher, on how to be responsive to students from different cultures to empower and enhance their language proficiency skills.

Examining Feminist Consciousness In Lgbtq University Constituencies, John P. Cullen, Angela Clark-Taylor, Catherine Faurot, Alysha Alani, Catherine Cerulli

New York Journal of Student Affairs

There is little data on the perception of LGBTQ constituencies toward feminism. We conducted focus groups on our campus and within the surrounding community on perspectives of LGBTQ students, university-employed gay men, community-based transgender individuals, and community-based gay men toward feminism. We analyzed findings using Bem’s gender schema and Ridgeway’s construct of individual, interactional, and institutional aspects of gender identity. Our results show the majority of our LGBTQ focus groups held positive views toward feminism, associating it with equality for all genders and social justice, with the exception of community-based gay men, who negatively associated feminism solely with women’s rights.

Dual Degree Program Guidebook, Student Affairs And Enrollment Management

Student Affairs Reports

This Guidebook is designed to encourage unprecedented cooperation between four-year institutions and community colleges. The advice goes far beyond articulation to creating a culture of cooperation and inclusion.

From the time of widespread establishment of community colleges until now, clearing a pathway from the two-year college to baccalaureate graduation was assumed to be the sole responsibility of the community college. The university or liberal arts college served more as gatekeeper than facilitator. As a result, community college students, often the first in their families to pursue post-secondary education, were expected to navigate two complex bureaucracies with help only from the …

What Ever Happened To Summer?, Kristin Mallory

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Did you ever have a summer that felt like summer? For me, it was when I was a full-time faculty. I enjoyed the nine-month teaching contract and the three months of downtime, yet I was eager to return to campus and my students. As I transitioned from teaching to administration, my summer “downtime” became the summer crunch time. People ask, “How is your summer going?” knowing that I work for a college. My response is usually, “What summer?” I am sure those of you who work in administrative positions have had similar experiences, and often ask the question “What ever …

Black Male College Persistence: A Phenomenological Collective Of Familial And Social Motivators, Tyson Beale, Lavar Charleston, Adriel A. Hilton

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examined familial differences between Black males not pre-categorized as high achieving or unprepared for college. The article highlights student persistence and examines the critical components in social and environmental arrangements. While there is evidence that some Black men never graduate college, this is not reflective of all Black men. Many do earn a baccalaureate degree, pursue graduate study, and diversify the workforce. This phenomenological study captures the voices of those who have persisted in higher education and concludes with implications for institutional practice and future research. Social capital, hyper-masculinity, and exchange theories guided this study.

Community College Grow Your Own Leadership: A Phenomenological Study Of Employee Perceptions Of Individual And Organizational Leadership Development, John Delozier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges often face challenges with leadership as a result of retirements and turnover. In reaction to these challenges some community colleges have developed Grow Your Own (GYO) leadership development programs. Although the topic of leadership and leadership development has been researched extensively, more research is necessary concerning GYO programs and their perceived impact on participants and their colleges. This study was designed to determine the perceived development of GYO participants as well as the perception of a GYO’s impact on the organization. Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) in Greensboro, North Carolina has had a GYO program for 30 years. …

The Challenges Facing Women Leaders In Mid-Level Positions At Urban Community Colleges, Kia L. Hardy

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Although women lead at higher rates overall at community colleges, they continue to lead at lower rates in senior-level positions compared to men within those institutions. Women serve as presidents in 36% of community colleges (ACE, 2017). Additionally, community college presidents are currently retiring at rapid rates, and this turnover in leadership is expected to continue (Phillipe, 2016; Shults, 2001; Tekle, 2012). As community colleges face current and future reductions in senior-level leadership, women in mid-level leadership roles should be considered to fill the leadership gap.

Previous studies have examined the leadership challenges faced by women leaders, but there has …

“Now Let Us Shift”: A Case Study Of Developmental Education Reform In A Hispanic Serving Community College, Audrey Marie Baca

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Latina/o/x students who persist to college are likely to enter through community college (Contreras & Contreras, 2018) and until the enactment of California Assembly Bill 705, would have been susceptible to placement in developmental education courses (Rodriguez, Cuellar Mejia, & Johnson, 2018). The implementation of AB 705 shifted the requirements for new student placement in all 115 California Community Colleges. With compliance mandated by Fall 2019, the law required colleges to "maximize the probability" that entering students enroll and complete transfer-level English or mathematics within a one-year timeframe and within a three-year timeframe for students enrolled in English …

The Cultural Adaptation Experiences Of Chinese Higher Education Students In The American Deep South: A Comparison Across Disciplines, Xiaonan Song

Dissertations

In the past decade, Chinese international students have been found as one of the largest international student groups at American institutions across the country. However, the American Deep South was not less frequently studied in the past. Due to the distinctiveness of the Deep South, the researcher conducted this qualitative research on Chinese international students studying in this historically and culturally distinctive region. Mississippi was chosen as a representative state of the Deep South in the current study. The researcher collected data from in-depth interviews from three publicly funded institutions in Mississippi. Besides reporting many common issues regarding to cultural …

Remaking Identities, Reworking Graduate Study : Stories From First-Generation-To-College Rhetoric And Composition Phd Students On Navigating The Doctorate., Ashanka Kumari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation responds to the decreasing number of first-generation-to-college doctorates in the humanities and the limited scholarship on graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition. Scholars in Rhetoric and Composition have long been invested in discussions of academic and/or disciplinary enculturation, yet these discussions primarily focus on undergraduate students, with few studies on graduate students and far fewer on the doctoral students training to become the next wave of a profession. In this dissertation, I argue that if we engage intersectional identities as assets in the design of doctoral programs, access to higher education and academic enculturation can become more manageable …

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 …

Seeking Success: A Case Study Of African American Male Retention At A Two-Year College, Richard Latroy Moss

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There is a problem in higher education in the United States. African American students, specifically males, are not being retained and graduating. This problem is even more evident for students that attend two year colleges. African American male students lag behind white males, Hispanic males and African American females, in retention and graduation rates. This problem has caught the attention of many leaders. Policy makers and college leaders are among those who seek to understand the why and find solutions to the challenge of African American male student retention at two year colleges, as two year colleges are becoming the …

Assessment And Support For Basic Computer Skills At Community College Hispanic Serving Institutions In California, Jason Wayne Hough

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional survey study was conducted to determine if California community colleges designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) assess incoming students for basic computer skills, provide learning support for these skills, as well as assess the attitude of administrators towards basic computer skills of incoming students. Prior published research documented the false assumption in higher education incoming students are “digital natives”, capable of effectively using technology expected on college campuses; however, there was no research focused on community colleges designated as HSIs. The study adds to the body of literature about the assessment of and support for basic computer skills …

Identifying Predictors Of Organizational Commitment Among Community College Faculty Members In Arkansas, Chris Aaron Lorch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges serve an important function of allowing students to achieve an affordable education closer to home. However, these opportunities often challenge community college faculty members due to smaller budgets and resources, which leads to differentiation in curriculum delivery, underprepared students, increasing workloads, and increasing stakeholder expectations. As such, across the nation, faculty are showing lack of commitment, lowered engagement, and increasing turnover rate. This study sought to determine the predictors of organizational commitment in community college faculty, using Meyer and Allen’s framework of three components of this commitment. Both individual demographic characteristics of faculty, and institution characteristics of degree …

Parenthood And Persistence Of Adult Learners In The Western Region Of The United States, Emetrude Lewis, Alexia Bailey-Webb

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored the role of parenthood on adult learners who were parents of minor children and gaining an understanding of their needs while attending a college or university. A qualitative phenomenological approach and purposive techniques were used to identify and recruit adult learners who were parents of minor children located in the general area in the Western Region of the United States. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and Yüksel and Yıldırım (2015) guide used for phenomenological narrative data analysis. Recorded interviews were transcribed into text and NVIVO software was then used to organize the interview data and uncover …

Expanding The Conversation: The Value Proposition Of For-Profit Institutions For African-American Post-Secondary Students, Thomasina O. Lawson, Mario Jackson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This article presents a different discourse to promote access to and equity in higher education by re-examining the value of for-profit education and its attractiveness to African-American students underserved by traditional institutions. The authors suggest that for-profit institutions face similar challenges to traditional schools in the matriculation of African-American students but to a larger degree. Guided by the spirit of researchers Asa G. Hilliard and Barbara Sizemore, the article offers a progressive view of improving African-American students’ access to higher education. Additionally, the article suggests ways to engage in meaningful conversations on how to improve higher education by replacing traditional …

Evolving Narratives About College: Immigrant Community College Students’ Perceptions Of The Four-Year Degree In The Great Plains, Moises Padilla, Justin Chase Brown, Elvira Abrica

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

A significant percentage of the enrollment growth in higher education can be attributed to the recruitment of more diverse students, including those from immigrant households. Although research on immigrant students is growing in light of changing U.S. demographic shifts, this literature is inchoate. This paper examines evolving perspectives of the value of a four-year degree among immigrants and children of immigrants. Thus, in this paper article we synthesize current dominant narratives of immigrant students about the utility and viability of a four-year degree (and the changing impact on community college enrollment) and how they have shifted over time. We observe …

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 …

Perspectives On University Student Engagement In England, Roxanne Duvivier, Monica Ratliff, Brigette Gardner, Lauren Ouwerkerk, Josua Scacco

New York Journal of Student Affairs

While national quantitative research has been conducted that measured satisfaction and engagement of undergraduate students in England, fewer qualitative studies exist that focused on the needs of students and their perceptions of the totality of their university experiences. This study examined the multifaceted phenomena of student engagement in a non-US setting to explore student attitudes and needs that contribute to retention and engaged decisions at an English university. Findings suggested that US research has applicability in the English university context. As is the case in the US, English student engagement in academics and societies was affected by factors associated with …

Ua42/3/3 Delo Extended Campuses Wku Owensboro, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the extended campus of WKU Owensboro.