Although research findings to date have documented that computer-mediated communication (CMC) gets students involved, a substantial gap remained in determining the impact of CMC on academic and social integration of community college students. Because computer technology, specifically CMC, has proliferated within teaching and learning in higher education and because of the importance of academic and social integration, this study was significant in documenting through quantitative data analysis the impact that CMC had on the academic and social integration of community college students. The following research question was addressed: Does computer-mediated communication have an impact on the academic and social integration of community college students as measured by the CCSEQ? The study hypothesized that data analysis will show that there will be no difference in the integrations reported by the control and experimental groups. The overall approach was to conduct a pretest-posttest control-group experimental study using CMC as the experimental treatment. The Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CCSEQ) was given to collect data that were used to measure the academic and social integration of the control and experimental groups. After an in-depth analysis of data using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and ANCOVA, the finding of this study was that there is no statistically significant difference between the control and experimental groups on their academic and social integrations as measured by the CCSEQ. In other words, CMC did not have a positive or negative impact on the integrations of community college students. This study examined for the first time the impact that CMC had on the integrations of community college students and provided an experimental methodology that future researchers might replicate or modify to further explore this topic. Because CMC will continue to increase as technology becomes more available and accessible to faculty and students and because of the importance of academic and social integration, further study on this relationship is vital to higher education research.

Community colleges are in a unique position in the hierarchy of higher education. They provide quality education at an affordable price. They are strategically located in communities to provide educational opportunities for everyone. The latest prediction is that enrollment at two-year institutions is expected to increase from 5.7 million students to 6.3 million students by 2012 (Gerald & Hussar, 2002). However, research indicates that the retention and transfer rates of community college students are low. This is problematic due to the increased calls for accountability on the national education agenda which are linked to student outcomes. This is astounding for a system with a foundational belief in self-development and an unquenchable mission to provide postsecondary access to people who would likely not attend college if such avenues did not exist. Fortunately, there is one aspect of this statistic that brings renewed optimism to the university transfer mission of community colleges. Eightyive percent of Phi Theta Kappa members transfer to a four-year institution. Currently more than 600 colleges and universities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and London offer more than $36 million in transfer scholarships to Phi Theta Kappa members (www.ptk.org). This study examined the experiences of those students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa in an effort to identify ways to recruit and retain students and increase the transfer percentage for community college students. The Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire was used to examine their community college experiences quantitatively. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlations were used to analyze the data. Results of this study indicated that the Phi Theta Kappans were attending their community college to prepare for transfer to a four-year college or university. As anticipated, the Phi Theta Kappans were more involved in activities related to their courses and computer technology. The Quality of Effort scale indicated a low level of engagement in cultural activities. An unexpected finding was that there was no statistical significant difference in student satisfaction based on age, sex, or gender. Additionally, the students were satisfied with their community college environment.