Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Neglected Minority: Interviews With Successful Community College Students From Poverty, Heather Hollifield-Hoyle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is middle- and upper- income students. Low-income students are less likely than their more affluent peers to enroll in college or graduate. Employing qualitative narrative methods, this dissertation explores the factors that contributed to the persistence and success of 18, low-income, community college students. This study addresses …

Efficacy Of A Basic Public Speaking Course Delivered Via A Virtual Community College, Stephen Bradley Bailey

Dissertations

The purposes of this study were to: (a) determine if taking the basic public speaking course in face-to-face, hybrid, and online format statistically significantly reduces public speaking anxiety; (b) determine which course format, if any, reduces public speaking anxiety to the greatest extent; (c) determine if students’ satisfaction with learning is statistically significantly different in the three course formats; (d) determine faculty’s perceptions of students learning in the basic public speaking in the three course formats.

Pre- and post-data were collected from 263 participants taking the basic public speaking course in a virtual community college in January 2012 and in …

Motivating Factors For Young Adults In The Brattleboro Area To Start In Organic Agriculture For Their Career, Tomokazu Utsugi

Capstone Collection

Despite a worldwide push for the conversion of conventional agriculture to organic agriculture, organic farming itself is not a very popular vocational choice for young people. Brattleboro, one of the towns in Vermont, is no exception. Although several local organizations are promoting local agriculture and food security, in reality, not many young people in Brattleboro want to choose organic agriculture as their career.

With a total of 17 in-depth qualitative interviews with young adults in the Brattleboro area, this inquiry sought to identify a range of factors that would motivate them to choose organic agriculture as their career. The results …

Adult Student Retention: Important To Your Institution’S Bottom Line, Andree Robinson-Neal

Andree Robinson-Neal

This article is in response to EvoLLLution's May Panel discussion entitled "Adult student retention: Why devote special resources to this group?" and focuses on the value that adult students add to higher education institutions.

Amesbury Early College Program: Second-Year Outcomes, John E. Leonard, Sue Grolnic, Roy Hamond

Office of Community Partnerships Posters

This program involves creating five-year longitudinal community-based program evaluation reports annually based on outcomes for early college program for academically average students in grades 10-12, in a suburban high school partnership with MA community college. The Mixed methodology employed uses surveys and interviews and quantitative student data to illuminate program design, measure student outcomes, investigate changes in teaching practice and examine effective leadership practices. The two-year results show impressive credit accumulation and improved college readiness skills in students. It also shows that strong support mechanisms promote student success. This Program is now being replicated in other communities.

University College Connection Spring 2012, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Striking A Balance: Managing Blogs In Loosely Coupled Systems, Troy A. Swanson, Dennis E. Gregory, Edward E. Raspiller

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

As the oldest implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, blogs present an opportunity to understand how community college administrators are addressing two conundrums: conundrum of control and the conundrum of adaptability. These problems arise from the need of leaders to put organizational controls in place even as these controls limit the tool's usefulness and the adaptability of the technology. The purpose of this study using a multiple case study method is (1) to further the understanding of how community college administrators and blog authors strike a balance between organizational control and adaptability when implementing and using blog technologies and (2) to …

Alpha Phi Omega Section 50 Conference, Katherine Klindworth

A with Honors Projects

The following is an assessment of my work as Conference Chair of the Alpha Phi Omega Section 50 Fall conference hosted by the Alpha Zeta Omega chapter right here at Parkland College. In addition to a reflection on the conference I have included photos from the event and the handout provided to conference attendees.

University College Connection Winter 2012, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Emancipation From Affluenza: Leading Social Change In The Classroom, Merri Mattison

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if one's level of affluenza could be reduced through education and awareness. In particular, this study measured whether or not exposure to the benefits of community involvement, and the harm of overconsumption could alter the intentions that college students have regarding their behavior, as it pertains to materialism, consumption, and civic responsibility. The data were collected from college students in the form of pre-tests and post-tests utilizing an affluenza scale created for this research. Over the course of a semester, information and activities that elucidated the benefits of community involvement and …

A Role For Policymakers In Improving The Status Of Black Male Students In U.S. Higher Education, Shaun R. Harper, Frank Harris Iii

Frank Harris III

No abstract provided.