Community College Leadership Commons^™

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 …

Breaking The Cycle For A Better Life: Understanding The Decision-Making Process That First-Generation, Community College Students Experienced When Making College Major And Career Choices, Francisco Ramirez

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Choosing a college major and career are the most critical decisions that college students make and students are expected to make these impactful decisions early in their academic careers. First-generation, community college students are a group that are especially affected by this early decision process as they require the knowledge and experience to make informed decisions. Their parents often lack the experience to guide them through this process since they are unfamiliar with being a college student and providing the necessary support in this area. These barriers cause stress among these students and inefficiencies in the decisions that they make. …

“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 …

Cultural Factors That Impact Latina/O College Student Success At Predominantly-White Institutions: Past And Current Knowledge For Educators, Ricardo Montelongo

Diversity, Social Justice, and the Educational Leader

As the new century approached in 2000, educational leaders, practitioners, and researchers were continuing to understand the educational experiences of the fastest growing student population in the United States – Latina/os. Knowledge on factors influencing outcomes for this group were produced to inform educators. However, Latina/os continue to face barriers and challenges at all levels in their pursuit of educational opportunity, especially in higher education. The significance of the demographic shifts Latina/os bring to education should give educators a sense of urgency to better understand cultural factors that impact Latina/o student success. This paper will provide an overview of the …

Failure To Launch?: Advancing The Case For Financial Literacy Interventions In Postsecondary Education, Cathleen Snyder

Dissertations, 2014-2019

For college undergraduates, the thought of managing money is often new, exciting, and terrifying in the same breath. Some students have learned well from their parental and prior academic influences, and yet others may be overwhelmed by a lack of those same resources. As postsecondary institutions endeavor to level the proverbial playing field, helping college graduates launch into meaningful, financially independent lives, it begs additional consideration on the intervention methods that might be most impactful.

This study examined a for-credit, curriculum-based intervention specific to personal finance topics. It attempted to answer several key questions: How knowledgeable are students relative to …

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 …

Dance/Movement Therapy As A Tool To Address Racism And Injustice In Service Learning, Melody Gamba

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This author developed a community engagement project within a predominately white, higher education service-learning course to explore racial identity, unrealized bias, and privilege through movement and other artistic modalities. The students explored how movement could aid in fostering community dialogue, bring awareness to their racial identity, and create a more empathetic and compassionate campus community. Through the exploration of a traditional service-learning program delivered in a primarily dominant group, this research investigates how applying a critical service-learning model in conjunction with dance/movement therapy theory may strengthen the understanding of personal and community values around racial awareness and how shared art …

Thriving, Not Surviving, Corinne Werner

First-Generation Symposium

Struggle, hardship, turmoil. These are a few words that come to mind when thinking about barriers to success that first-generation college students face. How can we help turn these three adjectives into more positive predictors? This educational workshop focuses on evidenced-based practices for supporting first-gen students, specifically focusing on two effective programs for at-risk scholars. Together, we will investigate the workings of the University of California’s (UC) Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) program and Colorado State University’s (CSU) Key Communities (Key) program. SAPEP’s programs work holistically with educational institutions, community organizations, and the business sector to improve academic …

Coordinating Resources Efficiently To Bolster Success Among Underserved College Students, Amanda Ciavarella

First-Generation Symposium

Based on a 5-year study at Montgomery County Community College (PA), during which academic support and mentorship programming was developed for student-athletes, four key pillars of support were identified as contributory to increases in completion rates, success rates and GPA among students from underserved populations (including, but not limited to, students who identify as being first generation, minority, LGBTQ, disabled, poverty-stricken, underprepared, non-traditional, international or displaced). Students participating in all four pillar programs performed 321% better than average; participation in three of the four programs resulted in a 96% better performance; and those participating in two or less of the …

First-Generation College Students And "Othering" In Undergraduate Engineering, Harriet Hartman, Stephanie Farrell, Ralph Dusseau, Kauser Jahan, Sarah Bauer, Tiago Forin, Beena Sukumaran, Stephanie Lezotte, Danilo Zeppilli, Theresa Bruckerhoff

First-Generation Symposium

We have baseline data collected from a sample of all Rowan engineering students in 2015-6, and have analyzed the differences between first-generation engineering students (FGES) and non-first-generation engineering students (Non-FGES) with respect to (a) their perceptions of “otherness” in a variety of situations in engineering at Rowan (FGES do not perceive themselves as “other” in most situations); (b) their background in engineering-related subjects and extra-curricular activities in high school (FGES background differs from Non-FGES); (c) their satisfaction with various aspects of the engineering program at Rowan (there are few differences); (d) their self-confidence as engineers (there are some differences); and …

Educating The Whole Family: Best Practices For Advising First-Generation Students, Michelle Applegate, Nicolas Latorre

First-Generation Symposium

Being a first-generation student can feel like a very solitary experience. This secluded feeling can be exasperated if the student’s network of support does not feel supportive to them. In many instances family and friends, whom a first generation student may rely on for support, may actually be causing additional stress due to their own unfamiliarity with the college experience. We as advisors must create an environment that incorporates education for the whole family in order for the student to gain the autonomy needed to pursue their passions and be successful. This discussion-based session will incorporate real world examples and …

The Professionalization And Socialization Of Adjunct Instructors In A Southern California Community College, Nancy Roemi Ramirez

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the professionalization and socialization of adjunct faculty into the culture of a community college campus in Southern California. Because adjunct faculty are the majority faculty at most colleges, it is vital to orient and support them for maximum effectiveness. A review of literature revealed that well-socialized employees are more committed to organizational well-being; however, few studies examine community college English Department part-time faculty in this light. This qualitative case study does so, using the model of organizational socialization (Tierney & Bensimon, 1996) as its framework, and focusing on this research question: How are part-time English Department faculty …

Quality Enhancement Plans At Community Colleges: Caring Attitudes, Intentional Advising, And Open Communication, Anthony Strawn

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

In 2004 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools – Commission on Colleges, (SACSCOC) started requiring a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) as part of the decennial reaffirmation process. Since 2004, over one billion dollars have been spent by the 794 accredited SACSCOC institutions completing their QEPs. Fifth-Year Impact Reports must be completed by the institution at the end of the QEP as part of the Fifth-Year Compliance Report. Once that report is accepted by SACSCOC, no additional reporting on the QEP is required. This study looked at six Track A, Level I institutions in five states that started a QEP …

Navigating The Career Pipeline: Experiences Of Female Community College Presidents, Andrea Allen Deal

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Despite holding a majority of lower and middle management positions in public two-year institutions, women still hold only one-third of current community college presidencies. This study explored the gendered phenomenon of navigating the career pipeline in higher education to reach the office of community college president. The purpose of the study was to examine the educational backgrounds and career paths of recently-appointed female community college presidents, as well as the barriers and sources of support they encountered while navigating the career pipeline.

A phenomenological approach was utilized for this qualitative study. Data was primarily collected using semi-structured interviews. Additional sources …

At The Heart Of Policies And Programs: Community College Faculty Members And Peer Mentors As Human Levers Of Retention, Kimberly Russell

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Student attrition prior to the completion of a credential is an issue that has increasingly demanded the attention of stakeholders in higher education, particularly in the community college sector, in which less than half of all students complete a credential after six years. The costs of student attrition are high and widespread, ranging from the financial costs for institutions and federal and state governments to the personal and monetary costs paid by those students whose personal and professional goals are not achieved. With the ever-increasing focus on accountability for institutions of higher education and the growing movement toward performance-based funding, …

Relationship Between Non-Cognitive Skills And Gpa In A Rural Maine Community College, Rebecca A. Martin

All Theses And Dissertations

The 21st century has altered the workscape, emphasizing non-cognitive skills required for success in the workforce. Community colleges that profess workforce readiness in their workreadiness programs use primarily cognitive assessment to ensure content and curricular learning. This quantitative study of rural Maine community college graduates examined non-cognitive workforce skills from this workforce readiness institution, correlating non-cognitive instrument scores to the standard cognitive score, cumulative grade point average (GPA). The Social-Emotional Health Survey-Higher Education (SEHS-HE) and the Review of Personal Experience with Locus of Control (ROPELOC) data were examined in relation to cumulative grade point average (GPA) to assess for the …

Faculty Adaptation To Emerging Instructional Technologies In Higher Education, Marilyn Murrillo

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how and why faculty adopt podcasting as an instructional technology tool in their teaching. Podcasting is an instructional technology tool being used for teaching and learning in higher education. Faculty may record lectures with audio, video, and/or PowerPoint slides to instruct students on class material. Students may access podcasts at their convenience through various devices, including mobile devices and computers. Research has shown that students who use podcasts to study for tests tend to perform more successfully on tests. This study was a qualitative multiple case study of seven California community college faculty using podcasting as an …

Critical Bicultural Masculinities: Reframing Community College Success Among Latino Immigrant Male Students, Rene Lozano Esquivel

LMU Theses and Dissertations

By employing critical narratives, this qualitative study examined the lives of Latino male immigrants and their educational experiences in the California community college system. Seven Latino male immigrants matriculated at a community college participated in the study. The study utilized Critical Bicultural Theory and Latino Masculinity Theory frameworks to analyze the male students’ narratives. Findings speak of their unique racialized and gendered experiences as they navigate their community college educational experiences. This study contributes to the field by identifying what Latino immigrants need to co-construct their own educational success in a way that employs their strong familial and cultural knowledge. …

What Is Your Social Justice Iq: Leading Social Justice In Higher Education, Janice M. Garnett, Germaine W. Huber

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article describes an experience originating in the College of Education to explore a process for the college’s social justice efforts to lead and guide administration, faculty, and staff in their day-to-day decision-making. This educational process examined in the article was introduced through the College of Education’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee to engage administration, faculty, and staff in using their various perspectives focused on social justice to help them shift the college's current paradigm from understanding to action. The authors incorporated a conceptual framework as the foundation to develop the collaborative process to engage education professionals in gaining a greater …

Gearing Up For College, Beatriz Amy Huerta

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Sadly, in the Greenfield community, there are exceedingly high rates of individuals who lack post-secondary education. The Census (2010), states that only 4.8% of persons age 25 years and older in Greenfield, CA obtain a bachelor’s degree. At Greenfield High School over the past five years, an average of 16 students enrolled at a CSU campus (The California State University, 2018). In efforts to promote higher education, Gear Up (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) empowers students and families of the Monterey County by fostering equitable access to postsecondary education and career readiness through relevant rigorous academic and …

Understanding Why Students Take Industry-Based Credentialing Examinations: Instrument Development And Pilot Study, Jennifer H. Lawrence

Doctoral Dissertations

Educational credentialing is complicated for students with the addition of industry-based credentialing (IBC) in traditional academic and career and technical fields (Bahr, 2015; Lumina Foundation, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). Human Capital Theory and Cognitive Engagement Theory framed this study which looked at IBC training from the student point of view (Grisham, 2013; Saldana, 2016; Walters, 2004). The body of literature on credential training is sparse and largely focused on institutional policy rather than student perception and participation (Bahr, 2015; Xu & Ran, 2015). There is evidence that salaries are positively correlated with IBCs and studies show that employers pay …

Full Issue Summer 2018 Volume 13, Issue 2

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Fall 2008 Volume 3, Issue 3

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Spring 2009 Volume 4, Issue 2

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Winter 2009 Volume 4, Issue 1

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Spring 2010 Volume 5, Issue 2

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Summer 2016 Volume 11, Issue 2

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Winter 2016 Volume 11, Issue 1

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Summer 2015 Volume 10, Issue 2

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue Winter 2015 Volume 10, Issue 1

School Leadership Review

No abstract provided.