Community College Leadership Commons^™

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 …

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 …

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 …

Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction, Kimberly M. Jones-Goods

Journal of Research Initiatives

This qualitative study examined the incorporation of culturally responsive literacy instruction. The purpose was to explore teachers’ perception of effective culturally responsive literacy and instruction and ways in which the participants implemented culturally responsive literacy instruction. This study identified and explored three themes affecting three ways in which the participants incorporated culturally responsive literacy into their classrooms. The findings of this qualitative study align with literature on culturally responsive literacy instruction.

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 …

Sustainability Of Study Abroad Programs At Rural Community Colleges, Michelle Lieberman

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

In this era of increased globalization, it is important to prepare students to participate in world issues and a worldwide economy. Study abroad increases knowledge regarding international affairs, boosts access to valuable cross-cultural experiences, and promotes academic success, retention (Raby, Rhodes, & Biscarra, 2014), cultural awareness (Clarke, Flaherty, Wright, & McMillen, 2009), and professional growth (Younes & Asay, 2003). Community colleges educate nearly half of the nation’s undergraduate students, but offer disproportionately few study-abroad programs (Hardy & Katsinas, 2007). Little existing research has documented the study abroad experiences of community college students. Even fewer studies have addressed sparse community college …

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 …

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 …

Radical Solace And Young Adult Writing: Racialized Dis/Ability, Fan Fiction, And Feel(Ing)S In Composition, Jenn Polish

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Deficit-model pedagogies too often abound in our writing classrooms, in everything from punitive attendance policies to content selection and course design methodologies that inadvertently favor students whose bodies fit a white supremacist, ableist norm. I develop conceptions of fandom and consent-based pedagogical practices, and I argue that these can bring us closer to radical solace in our college writing classrooms, particularly when our classrooms are full of variously marginalized students. These students too often must endure deficit-model pedagogies that assume inexpert writing styles in both their written compositions and, indeed, in the very composition of their bodies. What happens, I …

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.

Ua41/1 University College Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by University College.

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 …

Addressing The Completion Agenda By Improving A Community College's Student Retention Rates, Emily Jo Bishop

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A local community college is experiencing low level student retention. . The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of administrators, faculty and students regarding the low student retention rate. The participants for this qualitative case study included 6 former students who withdrew from the local community college before completing their degrees, 2 faculty members, and 2 administrators. The conceptual framework was constructivism. Research questions were designed to elicit perceptions of understanding retention issues in terms of adult learning and documenting the problem of retention. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and document review to …

Ua42/3/1 Delo Extended Campuses Wku Elizabethtown/Ft. Knox, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by and about the extended campus of WKU Elizabethtown / Ft. Knox.

A Guide For Vet Teachers With A Focus On Aquaculture: Using Student Rapid Response Systems (Srrs) For Formative Assessment And For Recognition Of Prior Learning (Rpl), Anne Murphy, Aiden Kenny, Martyn Haines, Christine Dudgeon, Dag Willmann

Other resources

Introduction: This Optimal Guide is organised into 6 Parts as illustrated below. The reader is free to follow the sequence of parts or simply go to the parts of relevance.

It’S Not The Programs; It’S The People: Building Human Levers Of Retention In Community Colleges, Kyle Barron

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, …

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 …

Perspectives Of High School And Community College Instructors On College Readiness, Cynthia M. Scheuer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The preparation students need to complete college successfully is important to many stakeholders, including students, educators, and the community. Colleges struggle with enrollment and retention while high school teachers and community college instructors focus on the preparation of students to succeed in college. High school teachers and community college instructors are uniquely qualified to inform the determinants of college readiness across the continuum of education. This research study explored the perceptions of high school teachers and college instructors on the skills and behaviors required of students to be successful in college. This qualitative descriptive study was based on the conceptual …

Nidus Idearum. Scilogs, V: Joining The Dots, Florentin Smarandache

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

My lab[oratory] is a virtual facility with noncontrolled conditions in which I mostly perform scientific meditation and chats: a nest of ideas (nidus idearum, in Latin). I called the jottings herein scilogs (truncations of the words scientific, and gr. Λόγος – appealing rather to its original meanings "ground", "opinion", "expectation"), combining the welly of both science and informal (via internet) talks (in English, French, and Romanian). * In this fifth book of scilogs collected from my nest of ideas, one may find new and old questions and solutions, mostly referring to topics on NEUTROSOPHY – email messages to research colleagues, …

Community College Faculty's Attitudes And Self-Efficacy With Literacy Instruction In The Disciplines, Kristen H. Gregory, Linda Bol, Thomas Bean, Tony Perez

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

Many community college students are entering college-level courses underprepared for the literacy skills required to be successful. Faculty are considered experts in their disciplines, yet are often not trained in pedagogy and literacy instruction (Furco & Moely, 2012; Moje, 2008; Tsui, 2002). We developed a questionnaire to measure faculty's (n = 231) perceptions of their role, level of self-efficacy, and classroom practice in regard to discipline- specific literacy instruction. We analyzed data using exploratory factor analysis, t-tests, and analysis of variance. The findings show that faculty have marginally positive perceptions and self-efficacy regarding incorporating discipline-specific literacy instruction in their courses. …

Exploring The Impact Of Work-Based Learning Opportunities From The Student Perspective: The Development Of Career Pathways, Workforce Expectations, And The Transmission Of Cultural Capital, Robert Boone

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Understanding the practical implications of work-based learning opportunities (WBLOs) is complex. Although WBLOs are not new learning environments, understanding and clearly defining them is increasingly necessary. In Kentucky, WBLOs are part of the political discourse in post-secondary education. The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and local/regional economic and workforce development agencies have incorporated strengthening and growing WBLOs into their strategic plans.

By interviewing students that have completed WBLOs at three colleges in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), this study intended to explore student perspectives of WBLOs by asking the following research questions: 1) What role do WBLOs …

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, …