Community College Leadership Commons^™

Increasing Volunteer Engagement In The Oip's Study Abroad Ambassador Program, Angelica Quintana

Capstone Projects 2015-Present

The Study Abroad Ambassador Program is one of the most recent initiatives from the Office of International Programs (OIP) that offers returning students a space to complete their intercultural learning by becoming a peer advisor and assisting the study abroad office in the recruitment of prospective students. The Ambassador Program, opens a direct dialogue among students who share similar study abroad experiences. Ambassadors work to encourage their peers on campus to participate in study abroad programs. Currently, the program accepts 15 participants for each academic school year. While the program is a form of participation for students post study abroad …

Community College Basic Skills Math Instructors" Experiences With Universal Design For Learning, Sunny Greene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Multiple approaches have been used in U.S. community colleges to address the learning needs of postsecondary students who are underprepared in basic skills math. The purpose of this exploratory interview study was to gain a deeper understanding of community college basic skills math learning through instructors' lived experiences using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach and its technology tool, a computerized pen. The conceptual framework for this study used Knowles's adult learning and Kolb's experiential learning theories with UDL principles. The central research questions investigated the professional development and teaching experiences of community college basic skills math instructors in …

An Exploration Of The Impostor Phenomenon And Its Impact On Black Women Administrators In Higher Education In The South, Marian Muldrow

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Numerous studies document Black student and faculty underrepresentation in higher education and the obstacles blocking their access to the classroom either as students or as instructors. As Black women students work toward graduate degrees, Black women administrators are needed so these students can see their identity reflected in their academic leaders.

As a result, this study focused on the particular challenges that limit upward mobility to senior-level administrative positions and highlighted some of the obstacles and conflicts that arise when Black women pursue leadership positions at institutions of higher education. The highlighted historical events related to education, as well as …

Student Impressions Of Community College Presidents, Megan Julia Corder

Masters Theses

This qualitative study explores student impressions of community college presidents. Through conducting interviews with six involved leaders in parallel roles at two community colleges, the study investigated what shapes student impressions of college presidents. Nearly half of all undergraduate students in the United States attend a community college. These students all hold their own unique perspective, but each impression is shaped by different factors. The study explored what shaped and influenced student understanding of the presidency, what influenced student impressions of the president, how the president impacted individual experience at the institution, how students evaluated the presidency. It was found …

Community College Faculty Dispositions Towards Blended Learning, Robin A. Hill

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

Community colleges are being encouraged to find and provide access to higher education by offering more flexible course delivery methods to meet the needs of their diverse student body. At the same time, these institutions must retain their quality of instruction, accountability for learning outcomes, and institutional obligations. Blended learning, where students attend class both on campus and online, is promoted as one solution for attaining such goals. Among the four-year undergraduate population, blended learning has been shown to support student success, meet diverse learning styles, and meet institutional obligations; however, research within the community college population is limited. In …

A Tale Of Two Placements: Influences Of Esl Designation On The Identities Of Two Linguistic Minority Community College Students, Jennifer Maloy

Publications and Research

This article draws upon interviews with two Generation 1.5 students at an urban community college with a large multilingual student population, demonstrating the ways in which ESL designation and writing placement affect students’ constructions of identity. It compares and contrasts the experiences of one student who is placed into an ESL-­‐designated developmental writing course and one student who is placed into a developmental writing course for native English speakers (NES), exploring the extent to which this placement validates and/or challenges their self-­‐conceptions as students and writers. It also promotes investigation of placement procedures that perpetuate divisions between ESL and NES …

Perceptions Of Community College Students And Faculty On Persistence In Developmental Reading, Lisa H. Aofrate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition for entry-level, non-traditional college students taking developmental reading courses is a concern for higher education institutions. Students need to complete basic developmental reading courses in order to progress in their vocational or collegiate studies. This phenomenological study followed a social constructivist approach to attempt to understand what developmental reading students and faculty experience regarding persistence. The key research question examined the perceptions and understandings of college students and faculty involved in college entry level, non-traditional developmental reading classes regarding the factors impacting student persistence at a local community college. Using interviews, surveys, and participant journals, data were collected from …

Higher Education System Governance: An Exploratory Study Of Presidential Decision Making In The Kentucky Community And Technical College System, Sarah Jill Page

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

There are more than 40 higher education systems across the United States enrolling more than 5.6 million students. Literature on higher education systems is well-documented; however, variations in system structures and governance are apparent. The limited research on governance in community college systems merits examination. This study explored presidential decision making in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System using quantitative and qualitative procedures. As a two-phase, sequential exploratory study using surveys, interviews, and documents, this study considers decision making from an organizational and environmental perspective to understand how presidents share academic, administrative, and personnel decision making. This study extends …

Pipelines To Leadership: Aspirations Of Executive-Level Community College Leaders To Ascend To The Presidency, Reneau Waggoner

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

One of the challenges facing community colleges in the United States is the looming retirements of executive/senior-level leadership, particularly the president, on a wide scale. This study explored the career aspirations of executive-level leaders within the community college using Social Cognitive Career Theory as the conceptual framework. Within the context of a three-person collaborative dissertation project, a mixed methods case study approach was utilized for the research design. It first examined the perceived and preferred organizational culture(s) by administering the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). Building upon results of the OCAI, interviews with executive-level leaders explored how personal and institutional …

Perceptions Of Career And Technical Education Held By High School Career Counselors, Marlon Thornburg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current enrollment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the United States and in the state of Kansas is lagging behind the future demand for skilled workers. With millions of skilled labor positions unfilled and the pending retirement of the baby boomer generation, the United States is at a critical juncture to compete in the global marketplace. High school career counselors are the primary resource for CTE program recruitment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether high school career counselors' educational backgrounds, knowledge levels of CTE initiatives and programs in Kansas, and available counseling time were associated …

Supporting Student Veterans Utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development, Bryce A. Doehne

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An organizational level program utilizing Participatory Curriculum Development (PCD) (Taylor, 2003) is presented to assist postsecondary institutions with development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to support student veterans. Postsecondary institutions are provided with a “how to” program manual that includes literature-based core and supplemental programs, trauma-informed theory, and a methodological framework to implement programs. Practical program evaluation measures are offered to assist postsecondary institutions with evaluating the outcomes of their efforts to support student veterans. The electronic version of this dissertation is at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLink ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu

Outcomes Of Professional Development For Rural Community College Leaders, William Thompson Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To mitigate the loss of experienced administrators, community college leaders create internal grow-your-own (GYO) leadership development programs. Although the purpose of these programs is to ensure institutional efficacy by developing a pipeline of administrative and faculty leaders, little attention has been given to learning about the participants' post-program career advancement over time. Consequently, the value of GYO leadership training for participants is not well known. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the post-program professional development of a group of participants 2 years after completing a rural community college GYO leadership program. The conceptual framework was guided …

Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support …

Grit, Student Engagement, And Academic Performance At A Historically Black Community College, Sharonica Marie Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obtaining a college degree benefits individuals and society, yet only 20% of students are graduating from community colleges. At many institutions, graduation rates have decreased over the last 5 years, including one historically Black community college in the southern United States. To explore possible causes of low graduation rates at this unique and understudied type of college, this correlational study examined the relationships among student engagement, academic performance, and grit-persistence and passion toward long-term goals. Tinto's theory of student persistence served as the theoretical framework for this study. The convenience sample included 116 college students who already had a first-year …

Exploring Mentoring And Career Advancement: A Community College Case Study, Latonya Steele

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Senior administrators' retirement rates between 2012 and 2022 will create a shortage of community college leaders. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore how the mentoring programs at community colleges may contribute to the career advancement of potential academic leaders for senior leadership positions. Kram's mentor role theory grounded the study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with a purposeful sample of 3 academic, senior administrative leaders from 3 North Carolina community colleges who have participated in leadership mentoring programs, a review of organizational documents, and a review of the literature. Using Yin's 5 step analytic …

“We’Re Still Here … We’Re Not Giving Up”: Black And Latino Men’S Narratives Of Transition To Community College, Beth E. Bukoski, Deryl K. Hatch

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Objective: This study examines masculinity in a manner commensurate with established feminist frameworks to deconstruct a patriarchal system that ill-serves both men and women. Method: We utilized standpoint theory and narrative analysis to examine longitudinal, qualitative data from first-year Black and Latino males as they transition into community college through their second semester. Findings: Positionality is critical to understanding the success of Black and Latino males and their response to institutional structures. In many instances, men leveraged normative constructions of masculinity as aids to their success, and their resilience and confidence were filtered through their perceived development into adults. Conclusion: …

Influence Of Nontraditional Students On Traditionals In The Community College Classroom, Angela J. Richart-Mayfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An increase in nontraditional student enrollment continues in community colleges nationwide. Little is known about the interactions between mixed-age groups of students. This qualitative collective case study explored the academic and social influences of non-traditional students on their traditional peers in the community college classroom at a large, midwestern 2-year college. Tinto's interactionalist theory framed the study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 30 participants (13 traditional students, 13 non-traditional students, and 4 instructors) who represented the college population in terms of gender and racial and ethnic diversity. Interview questions were guided by the research questions, and data were also …

Increasing College Opportunity: School Counselors And Fafsa Completion, Laura Owen, Erik Westlund

Journal of College Access

Closing postsecondary opportunity gaps has become a national, state and local educational priority. To help eliminate these gaps, the US Department of Education initiated a project that provided real time student level Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion status to large urban school districts. Leveraging this information, school counselors identified and supported students and families as they navigated the financial aid process, resulting in statistically significant impacts on FAFSA completion and college attendance.

Type Of First Term Course Failure And Community College Degree Completion, Jill Stearns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community colleges are the largest segment of higher education institutions in the United States providing access to historically underserved populations and growing numbers of first generation college students. Increasing college degree attainment is a national priority with new expectations of accountability. Despite decades of educational research, community colleges have startling low completion rates. Within the framework of Tinto's theory of retention, a predictive analytics model could provide community colleges the opportunity to drive custom intervention and support services to students. The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of Biglan's taxonomy for categorizing courses for potential use in …

Instructor's Employment-Level, Instructor-Efficacy, And Knowledge Of Effective Classroom Strategies For Emotional Disorders, Andrea Karen Haglin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community college instructors are responsible for creating learning opportunities for all students, including adult students affected by emotional disorders (ED). Concerns in the literature have grown over how invested part-time instructors are in their teaching; however, limited data were available regarding instructor knowledge of ED, instructor-efficacy, and the impact of employment status. The purpose of this study was to address the gap in the literature and analyze relationships between instructor knowledge of ED strategies (as assessed by Teaching Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders scale) and instructors' efficacy beliefs (as assessed by the Ohio State Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale). It also evaluated …

Preparing Faculty To Teach Online: Promoting Success In The Online Classroom, Julia Babcock Hamilton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Distance learning students at a community college in the southeast United States were not completing their coursework as well as were students enrolled in traditional courses. This disparity was negatively affecting the institution's state performance measures, putting at risk the institution's state-based funding under the state's performance model. The purpose of this qualitative, bounded case study was to explore faculty experiences with online course professional development and faculty's teaching practices related to successful student online course completion. Chickering and Gamson's 'Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education' served as the study's conceptual foundation. Distance learning faculty (n = 10), …

Community Based Participatory Research: The Application And Lessons Learned From A Study With Lgb College Students, Caitlin M. Stover

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals are members of a vulnerable group where health disparities have been identified. To gain a better understanding of the LGB college student healthcare experience and its contribution to the healthcare disparities found in LGB population, a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach was used to fill the gap. This paper will outline the CBPR process with an emphasis on how the principle investigator applied the tenets of CBPR when working with a local LGB college community. Several lessons learned from the research process are also shared in this paper.

Understanding How Components Of Black Racial Identity And Racial Realities May Impact Healthcare Utilization: A Randomized Study, Alexander M. Chaitoff, Thomas Wickizer, Ismail White

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Purpose: Studies have suggested that even when minority groups have potential access to healthcare, they may have inadequate utilization (realized access). This study explores the application of a theory from the social psychology and political science literatures concerning how racial centrality and racial realities, specifically amongst Blacks, may influence patients’ healthcare utilization preferences.

Methods: We created a survey with two (pseudo) randomized, controlled experimental treatments designed to assess whether racialized hospital and physician characteristics elicited a preference from Black or White respondents, as well as questions aimed at understanding participants’ different beliefs and levels of knowledge about past and current …

How To Cultivate Compassion As A Tool For Everyday Leadership, Paula Webster

Mindfulness Studies Theses

In this two-party thesis study, the need for compassion in our world is presented up front. Upon this foundation of the need for compassion, the building blocks that together comprise compassionate everyday leader are placed: leaders and leadership, mindful leadership, defining the everyday leader, mindfulness, compassion, and how to cultivate compassion. The evolution of broad concepts of leadership are reviewed, from a control-based approach to a more mindful leadership, social-intelligence based approach. In a mindful leadership approach, qualities of self-awareness are cultivated within and then manifest in relation to the leadership process. Everyday leadership is a more expansive and inclusive …

Beyond Access To Education: Using Collaborative Learning To Promote Agency In Unauthorized Latinos Entering Community College, Amanda C. Price

Master's Projects and Capstones

The US is widely recognized as a nation of immigrants; however, when an estimated 70,000 unaccompanied child migrants arrived from Central America in 2014, unauthorized immigration became a full-blown humanitarian crisis. Unauthorized immigrants, 71% of whom come from Mexico and Central America, make up an increasingly significant portion of the population. This is particularly true in California, where 28% of unauthorized immigrants reside. However, despite the overwhelming consensus that command of English is paramount to a successful life in the US, an alarming 51% of unauthorized immigrants speak English “not well” or “not at all”.

Unauthorized immigrants face unique challenges …

College Senate Minutes December 10, 2015, Bronx Community College Senate

BCC Governance Archives

Minutes for the meeting of the College Senate on December 10, 2015.

Senate Executive Committee Minutes December 7, 2015, Bronx Community College Senate Executive Committee

BCC Governance Archives

Minutes for the meeting of the Senate Executive Committee on December 7, 2015.

A Fiscal Model Program Theory Proposal For Training Reentry Citizen Ex-Convicts To Remodel Abandoned Houses, James A. Hanson

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to develop and examine a fiscal program theory model and proposal for training reentry citizen ex-convicts to remodel abandoned houses. A sustainable program theory model describes ways that training and employing these citizens to remodel abandoned houses may be expected to have benefits to a community. The recently released ex-convicts will learn a construction trade, earn a sustainable wage, and the once-abandoned houses will be returned to the city tax rolls. Vocational education and workforce training are key to this program. The literature indicates that national jobless rates for recently released inmates is well …

Use Of Preponderance Of Evidence In Campus Adjudication Of Sexual Misconduct, Elizabeth Sommer

All NMU Master's Theses

How higher education institutions (HEI) handled sexual misconduct cases matters. It matters for survivors, accused, administrators, parents, HEI leaders, regulatory bodies (such as the Office for Civil Rights), and the general public. The 2011 Dear Colleague Letter published by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights mandated the use of preponderance of evidence in all sexual misconduct cases (Ali, 2011). The change to utilize a low burden of proof, preponderance of evidence, was and is controversial. Despite a large literature base of legal opinions on the use of preponderance of evidence in the campus adjudication process, there are few …

An Exploration Of Strategic Planning Perspectives And Processes Within Community Colleges Identified As Being Distinctive In Their Strategic Planning Practices, Lisa J. Augustyniak

Dissertations

Community college leaders face unprecedented change, and some have begun reexamining their institutional strategic planning processes. Yet, studies in higher education strategic planning spend little time examining how community colleges formulate their strategic plans. This mixed-method qualitative study used an expert sampling method to identify three AQIP-accredited community colleges in one Midwestern state that were viewed as leaders in strategic planning. Using their AQIP Systems Portfolios and interviews with their senior leadership, this study examined these colleges’ strategic planning perspectives (i.e., the “point of view” that an organization has chosen to use as a basis for formulating their strategic plan) …