Community College Leadership Commons^™

A Correlational Analysis Of Course Retention And Faculty Status In A Community College Setting, Pamela Hutto

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Colleges are under pressure to educate a growing student population, while economic resources in higher education are diminishing. One measure of success for colleges is the ability to retain students. Due to the varied nature of the community college population, measuring student retention is particularly challenging. One facet of student retention is course retention, defined as the successful completion of a course with a grade of C or higher. Course retention is associated with the likelihood of degree completion; therefore, it served as the measure of student retention used in this study. Theoretical models, supported by research, show a link …

Improving Assessment Practice At The Course And Programmatic-Levels In Community Colleges: Developing The Guidebook For Student Learning Outcomes & The Assessment Loop, Steven George Beining

Dissertations and Theses

This project-based dissertation described, in detail, a seven-step research and development (R&D) process used to create, and bring to operational use, an educational tool that supported the academic use of the assessment loop: the Guidebook For Student Learning Outcomes & The Assessment Loop. The dissertation established the problem that this product solved, provided relevant research, including a literature review, and the process and methods that led to the development of this useful product. It described the purpose of this specific guidebook and for guidebooks in general.

This project was informed by research of instructional design of text-based teaching materials, R&D-focused …

Online Attrition At A Community College In Rural Appalachia: A Phenomenological Approach, Victoria Sue Ratliff

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The education attainment level of residents in rural Appalachia has consistently ranked below the remaining populous of the United States. Although distance education initiatives have attempted to bridge the disparities between rural Appalachia and the rest of the nation, online community college students in this region are likely to drop out or fail their classes. To understand the phenomenon of online attrition in rural Appalachia, a phenomenological study was conducted to determine what students experienced from the time they chose to enroll in online classes through the point of failure or withdrawal from their courses. This triangulated study utilized surveys, …

Perceptions Of Political, Academic, And Corporate Leaders: Higher Education Accountability In Georgia, Leslie Gene Fout

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Georgia political, academic, and corporate leaders’ perceptions of higher education accountability. A case study design was used to gain in-depth information. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants.

The findings of the study included the following:

1. Nearly every participant believed the mission and purpose higher education involved providing students with the skills and abilities needed to obtain gainful employment, and thereby make a positive impact on the economic development of the state of Georgia.
2. Approximately half of the participants believed higher education should cultivate an engaged citizenry.
3. No consensus was …

Dissertation: An Examination Of Community College Black Male Student Athletes’ Perceptions Of Student Support Services And Identifying Methods For Improving Service Delivery, Dr. Charles Richburg

Dr. Charles W. Richburg III

Abstract Black male student athletes' enrolled in community colleges are a vastly understudied population. Statistically, the success rate of earning an associate degree and transferring to a four year institution of higher education is dismal. The focus of this study was to capture the perceptions of Black male student athletes and student support services providers as they pertained to access, use, and delivery of services. Another focus of this study was to identify ways in which Black male student athletes and student support services providers could help to improve delivery of those services. Participants for this study included three Black …