Community College Leadership Commons^™

Full Issue Winter 2018 Volume 13, Issue 1

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Nontraditional Students Success In Compressed Courses Within A Community College Cohort, Elizabeth Kinter Tanner

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Nontraditional students are an untapped population for American higher education institutions. Private baccalaureate-granting universities have taken the lead on creating programs for this population’s needs. These programs typically include combinations of online instruction, cohorts, compressed or accelerated courses, and prior learning assessment. Similarly constructed programs for nontraditional students at public community colleges are less common. A review of the Council for Accelerated Programs’ website reveals only twelve of the 98-member institutions are community or technical colleges, and only one is in California (Council for Accelerated Programs, n.d.). In 2016, Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District in California created the Accelerated College …

How Race And Racism Empower A School's Curriculum, Sunni Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

Teaching students about race and racism are so multi-faceted and sophisticated, yet it remains the most crucial conversation and lesson to have with young people to empower them. One of the useful ways Americans can attempt to unravel and transform this complicated legacy is to make it a part of a school’s curriculum. Allowing race and racism to remain a hidden-aspect of a school’s curriculum reinforces its trivialization and dysfunction.

Indeed, having constructed, well-thought-out lessons about race and racism “myth-bust” any attempts for future Americans to continually embrace xenophobia and genetic inferiority. In recent years, the institution of education and …

Adjunct Faculty: The Silent Majority, Erin M. Hillstead Walton

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The increase in use of part-time faculty, commonly referred to as “adjunct,” has shifted the academic workforce. Utilization of this populace has increased steadily over the past several years and is anticipated to continue this growth as colleges and universities seek cost-cutting measures in balancing their annual budgets. With this increase, however, comes unexpected consequences for the educators who fill these roles; often they are underpaid, overworked, and employed tenuously from term-to-term with no security in employment. This dissertation examines the adjunct faculty role; including what adjunct faculty need to be successful, versus what they have been provided to succeed …

Praxis Core: A Systemic Approach To Helping Minority Students, Terrance M. Mcadoo, Danielle A. Harrison

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this article was to provide potential solutions for teacher education programs with regard to assisting minority students with Praxis Core, a standardized test that’s mandatory for many teacher preparation students throughout the United States. The article not only examined solutions for minority students, especially African American students, but also it highlights the disparities between Caucasian and African American test takers in regard to Praxis Core. A major portion of the article discussed a three point systems that has proven to be effective in helping minority students to successfully pass Praxis Core, and the article explains the structures …

Exploring The Opportunities Of Minority Senior Executive U.S. Federal Government Agency Leaders: A Qualitative Analysis, Crystal Gathers-Whatley, Tyrone Chase

Journal of Research Initiatives

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the opportunities and challenges minority senior executive U.S. federal government agency leaders (MSELs) faced on their path to leadership, and their strategies to manage and overcome these challenges. The phrase minority senior executive leaders refer to individuals who lead U.S. executive departments; individual federal agencies, departments, or commissions; and those that report under the direct leadership of majority or minority leaders. This study explored how MSELs gained entry into leadership positions typically held by majority leaders; how MSELs take advantage of the opportunities presented to them; and what had the most …

The Industrial Revolution Of Higher Education, Adriel Adon Hilton, Kevin Mcclain, Donavan L. Outten

Journal of Research Initiatives

For generations, higher education has accommodated its scholars through analog forms of instruction akin to blackboards and textbooks. As society blossomed into a globalized marketplace with information readily available at the stroke of a button, higher education has had to meet the needs of an evolving student population. Through the use of business models like Six Sigma, higher education has attempted to adapt and keep up with the times. This article will highlight the key impacts Six Sigma has had on higher education and supplementary improvements needed within the marketplace.

A Case Study Of The Umpqua Community College Shooting, Timothy P. Wilson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the deadliest shooting that has happened on a community college campus. The following research questions guided this dissertation study: (1) What was the law enforcement response to the deadliest community college campus shooting in history? (2) Did previous mass shootings inform the law enforcement response to the deadliest community college campus shooting? (3) What implications for practice can be derived by studying the deadliest of these shootings? This case study utilized multiple sources of information, from official police reports, official institutional reports, archives of publications, and participant interviews from some of the …

Initial Evidence Of Construct Validity Of Data From A Self-Assessment Instrument Of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (Tpack) In 2-Year Public College Faculty In Texas, Kristin C. Scott

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) has been studied in K-12 faculty in the U.S. and around the world using survey methodology. Very few studies of TPACK in post-secondary faculty have been conducted and no peer-reviewed studies in U.S. post-secondary faculty have been published to date. The present study is the first reliability and validity of data from a TPACK survey to be conducted with a large sample of U.S. post-secondary faculty. The professorate of 2-year public college faculty in Texas will help their institutions meet the goals of the state’s higher education strategic plan, 60x30TX. In order to do …

Early Alert Systems, Karen Reynolds

Instructional Leadership Abstracts

Early alert reports are when faculty identify students at a midpoint in a college term to communicate unsatisfactory progress in order to intervene and aid in student success. The purpose of Dr. Reynolds' study below was to explore the perceptions of faculty at one community college in regard to their early alert system. The case study includes interviews of both administration and faculty on their use and opinions of the early alert system at the community college, as well as their suggestions for changes. Not only do faculty share why they use the early alert report, but also share why …

Community College Presidents And The Role Of Conversational Leadership, Jennifer K. Labounty

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to describe the behaviors that exemplary community college presidents practice to lead their organizations through conversation as depicted by Groysberg and Slind’s (2012) four elements of conversational leadership: intimacy, interactivity, inclusion, and intentionality.

Methodology: This qualitative, phenomenological study described the lived experiences of exemplary community college presidents as they lead their organizations through the use of conversational leadership. The sample population for this study was community college presidents who met the criteria of exemplary from single-college districts in Southern California. Data were gathered and triangulated from semistructured, in-depth interviews, participant observations, …

Education Institutions Creation Of Partnerships, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This issue is embracing the creation of partnerships with establishments worldwide for the provisions of life embodiments to graduates. At moment, there may be lack of friendship or partnership with establishments to create incentives for newly graduates of so many colleges and universities (Hirsh & Weber, 1999). Partnership with external companies will surely bring enormous grants to the colleges and universities and it will also encourage friendly establishments to provide incentives and perks to colleges, universities and alumni. It may be concluded that the advantages of creating rapport with external congruences is the comraderies and also compromises that will be …

Developing And Implementing A Participatory Action Research Assistantship Program At The Community College, Mia Ocean, Kelli Tigertail, James Keller, Kathleen Woods

The Qualitative Report

Despite serving almost half of the U.S. undergraduate students, community colleges and their constituents are consistently marginalized in the research favoring external university experts to conduct research about them and on them. To counteract these top down, disempowering research practices, we piloted a Participatory Action Research Assistantship Program (PARAP). A PARAP is a modified version of a research assistantship program that is grounded in an anti-oppressive, participatory action research practice, creating change on many levels. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of practical and methodological steps to implement a PARAP at a community college including forming …

A Phenomenological Inquiry Into The Racialized Experiences Of Southeast Asian American Community College Students, Varaxy Yi Borromeo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Southeast Asian American (SEAA) (e.g., Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese) students' educational realities are often masked by assumptions that all Asian Americans are model minorities. However, SEAA students have also been racialized as deviant minorities to explain disparities faced by the community. Relatively minimal scholarship has explored how race and racism shape their experiences. In this study, AsianCrit provides a framework for exploring the racial realities of SEAA students in community college. Qualitative research methods were employed to explore in-depth the ways they experience race and racialization. Specifically, this study is a phenomenological exploration of their lived racialized experiences and …

The Next Generation Of Community College Presidents: Who They Are, How They Prepare, And How They Lead, Results From A National Study, Matthew Cooney, Kenneth Borland

Journal of Research on the College President

Community college scholars and professional organizations are preparing for the expected turnover of the current generation of community college presidents and the present study examines potential community college presidents who may fill this leadership void. The researchers present information on senior, community college administrators who indicated they are interested in pursuing the community college presidency (N=436) as part of a national study including how the potential community college presidents utilize transformational leadership and if their utilization of transformational leadership differs based upon their current position and highest degree earned. The researchers conclude with recommendations on next steps to move the …

Perspectives On Time Commitment To Fundraising By Community College Presidents, G. David Gearhart, Michael T. Miller

Journal of Research on the College President

All types of higher education institutions have come to rely on some element of revenue diversification, and fundraising from private sources has become increasingly common and popular among community college presidents. Yet despite the growth in attention to fundraising, community colleges collectively only garner 2% of all philanthropic support to higher education. With the growing demand for private funds, community college presidents must understand how they are using their time for fundraising, and ultimately, the consequence of these fundraising efforts. The current study explored the time commitment of college presidents, finding that they spend as much as 30% of their …

An Assessment Of The Financial Literacy Of Undergraduates At One Community College In Texas, Melissa J. Weathersby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a Texas community college, stakeholders wanted to strengthen the financial literacy module offered in the student development course for undergraduates. The problem was that no formative data existed on students' financial literacy, and it was not known if knowledge of financial literacy for students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in high school differed from students who had not. The purpose of this study was to obtain formative data regarding students' needs for financial literacy education and to examine whether the knowledge of financial literacy for college students who participated in a prior financial literacy class in …

Effect Of Technology On Community College Developmental Mathematics Course Completion Rates, Mandi Leigh Bradford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students who enter community colleges in need of developmental education are often at high risk of failure due to identities or perceptions of self, that do not conform to college expectations that can be problematized by age, gender, and ethnicity. Additionally, students' efficacy for using technology may affect completion rates which was examined at Midwest Community College (MCC) through observing a program shifting from teacher-directed course designs with greater teacher-student interaction to technology-directed course designs with greater technology-student interactions. The theoretical foundation of this study was Tinto's theory of student retention based on the belief that student success is facilitated …

Community College Professors' Engagement And Perceptions Of Professional Development In Remote Environments, Norma-Jean J. Nielsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research shows that consistent, supportive, and relevant professional development (PD) is an action that empowers educators to change. In the east central region of Canada, the sustainability of community colleges had been linked to program collaboration and internationalization which requires implementation of high-quality PD for its professors. Guided by Mezirow's adult transformative learning theory, the purpose of this study was to understand the PD practices of full-time professors by investigating the connections between professors' level of engagement in PD and their perceptions of the resources and processes that may improve their instructional practices. This single-phased, concurrent mixed-methods study was conducted …

Ua42/1/4 Delo Academic Outreach Community College, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the WKU Community College.

Community College Writing Program Administrators: Implementing Change Through Advocacy, Lizbett Tinoco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation, Community College WPAs: Implementing Change Through Advocacy, examines the work and role of Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) at community colleges. Defining the role and the work of WPAs is very complex, and even more so at community colleges since these institutions are very diverse places in regards to programmatic structure and student population. The scholarship of writing program administration has typically excluded community colleges; as a result, my research focuses on including these narratives. Unlike a lot of WPA narratives that often describe WPAs as "composition wives" (Schuster, 1991; Hesse, 1999) who do much of the dirty work …

Beyond Teacher Knowledge: Connections Between Content Knowledge, Mindset For Learning, And Teaching In Two-Year College Mathematics Faculty, Lucy Hernandez Michal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Addressing thousands of students entering unprepared to enroll in college freshman mathematics courses is a challenge two-year college mathematics faculty face every semester. The study addresses this challenge through a mixed methods sequential nested multi-case design to investigate what faculty need, beyond teacher knowledge, to teach mathematics effectively to students. The three-part study measured the mindset learning profile and content knowledge of a sample of mathematics faculty at a two-year college. The quantitative and qualitative data provided references to select four faculty typologies to interview and observe. Interviews reflected faculty perceptions of teaching and learning. Class observations captured images of …

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume, 2018

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Best Laid Plans: How Community College Student Success Courses Work, Deryl K. Hatch, Naomi Mardock-Uman, Crystal E. Garcia, Mary Johnson

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Objective: Beyond understanding whether first-year student success interventions in community colleges are effective—for which there is mixed evidence in the literature—this study’s purpose was to uncover how they work to realize observed outcomes, including at times unanticipated undesirable outcomes.

Method: This qualitative multiple case study used cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to unpack interactions and tensions among programmatic-level features and individual-level experiences and actions. We conducted classroom observation, document analysis, and interviews with instructors and students in four student success courses across diverse contexts.

Results: Regardless of particular designs and course emphases, we found in all cases a blurring of …

Institutional Researcher Reflexivity: How Ir Professionals Can Utilize Researcher Reflexivity In Qualitative Studies Of Community College Students, Elvira Abrica

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

In this paper, I argue that researcher reflexivity, a common qualitative practice, is a specific tool that institutional research professionals endeavoring to conduct qualitative research studies involving Students of Color can use to unpack issues of power and privilege that exist between the researcher and the researched. This may be particularly useful among institutional researchers working within community colleges that serve a disproportionate number of racially minoritized populations and other vulnerable student groups. I offer a reflexive account of various experiences related to race, gender, and social class that I encountered in a qualitative research study of Black and Latino …

How To Measure Student Success? Toward Consideration Of Student Resilience As A Metric Of Success In Institutional Accountability Frameworks, Elvira Abrica

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Rates of student success—four-year transfer, degree, and certificate completion— are frequently discussed. Less frequent, however, are opportunities to reflect on how these outcomes are measured. In this paper, I reflect on how rates of success—specifically for men of color—are calculated based on two California institutional accountability frameworks. First, I compared measures of success for men of color using the methodologies outlined by each framework. Secondly, I explored enrollment data of men of color who did not transfer or complete a degree or certificate after six years, those who would not be counted by either framework. Findings indicate that some students …

Perspectives Among Successful Adult Learners In Two Diploma Completion Programs, Cheryl Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than 24,000 U.S. high school students drop out each year, contributing to the approximate 1.1 million U.S. adults who have not earned the high school diploma or General Education Development. This failure in educational attainment contributes significantly to the lack of economic and workforce development opportunities as well as the standard of living for more than 10% of the statewide population of a midwestern state. In response to this problem, the state entered into model programming in 2015 with 2 new approaches for adult education to diploma programs. The purpose of this basic qualitative interpretive research study was to …

College Instructors' Perceptions On Coteaching, Theresa Da Costa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Coteaching is a teaching strategy that requires 2-teachers to collaborate in developing a course syllabus, selecting materials, and assessing students' work. The research problem, addressed in this study, was an appeal to educate the diverse adult population whose needs could not be addressed through traditional instructions at Rex College. Because of a high number of enrolled adult students, coteaching at Rex College was used to improve student success for academically underprepared students in a Set for Success program. The purpose of this study was to examine the coteaching strategies used at Rex College so that teaching guides and/or professional training …

Students' Perceived Value Of The Community College Experience: A Mixed Methods Study, Robin A. Duncan

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore students’ perceived value of their community college experience and its relationship to other factors often related to student persistence in college, namely satisfaction, academic quality, service quality, and engagement. The research was guided by three focused questions: How do students describe and define perceived value of community college; what components emerge from exploratory factor analysis of items designed to measure perceived value; and how, if at all, is a student’s perception of the value of a community college experience different from related measures such as satisfaction, engagement, or quality? Data were collected …

A Study Of State College Faculty Trust In Immediate Supervisors, Anna Byrd

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study investigated faculty trust in their immediate supervisors (academic deans and faculty chairs) in a state college setting. A survey instrument created for this study was based on existing research on trust in schools by Bryk and Schneider (2002) and Tschannen-Moran and Hoy (1998), as well as research on trust in corporate setting. The study’s purpose was to determine the types and frequencies of interactions between community college faculty and deans/faculty chairs – i.e., faculty immediate supervisors – that are related to higher levels of faculty trust. Also investigated were the relationships between faculty trust and demographic characteristics …