<p>SHARPLES, RUSSELL HORTON. The Importance of Leadership Competencies: Perceptions of North Carolina Community College Presidents. (Under the direction of George A. Baker III) This research investigated the relationship between certain institutional characteristics and perceptions of North Carolina community college presidents about the importance of leadership roles, values and emotions, and skills. Those characteristics were the size of the institution, the growth rate of the institution, and the geographic setting of the institution. The perceptions of three groups of presidents were studied. One group consisted of the presidents of large community colleges and the presidents of small community colleges. The second group consisted of the presidents of high enrollment growth colleges and the presidents of low enrollment growth colleges. The final group was comprised of presidents of urban community colleges and rural community colleges. Fifty-one of the 58 presidents participated in the study, a participation rate of 87.93 percent. The participants completed the Leadership Competencies Assessment Instrument, responding to 30 specific leadership competencies by estimating the degree of energy they expended in addressing each competency, and by estimating their effectiveness in addressing that competency. The means of responses from the first set of presidents in each group was compared to the means of responses from the second set of presidents in each group using the t-test for the difference between means. It was hypothesized that, for each of the three groups, there were no differences in perceptions about the importance of leadership roles, leadership values and emotions, or leadership skills. The results of the tests indicated that there were no differences in perceptions in any of three groups about which leadership roles, values and emotions, and skills were most important. It was recommended that future research address expanding the study population to include other community college systems; conducting future studies using different methodologies in order to increase validity; and additional study of individual leadership competencies and how they affect presidential leadership perceptions.<P>

<p> <p> From the evolution of the first colleges, residence halls have been viewed as more than a place to eat and sleep. The Oxford and Cambridge models offered residential settings where students and faculty lived, ate, and studied together (Rowe, 1981). The living-learning residential model emerged from the present day American university?s desire to practice learning as a part of living. <p> The Educational Resources Information Center defines living-learning programs as "Residential facilities of higher education institutions designed to enhance students ' educational experiences by enabling them to integrate their academic activities with their ordinary living activities "(ERIC, 1982, p. 143). Riker (1965) and Rowe (1981) created eight components that give living-learning program administrators a broad based foundation on which to build living-learning program curricula.<p> Twenty living-learning program administrators listed how their programs incorporate Riker (1965) and Rowe's (1981) components and then prioritized the curricula on these lists. A three round Delphi surveying technique was used to structure this process. In the first round of the process administrators generated lists of program curricula that exist at established programs across the country. Rounds two and three of the process were a tool for building consensus on the most heavily valued living-learning program curricula. <p> Results indicate that curricula providing opportunities for students to pursue an academic life style were most valued by the group of twenty administrators. Specific curricula that were valued include active learning experiences, student involvement and participation in programs, student accessibility to faculty, and spaces that facilitate discussion and study. <p> <P>

<p> Although the number of community college Latina/o students is steadily growing, their completion and transfer rates lag behind other groups. Because the majority of Latina/o students begin their postsecondary education in community colleges only to transfer at very low rates, the long-storied promise of community colleges serving as "democracy's colleges" is more rhetoric than reality. Drawing upon Stanton-Salazar's (2004, 2011) work on the potential roles that institutional agents can play in working against the forces of educational stratification by lending their social capital to minority students, the purpose of this convergent mixed methods research was to examine the differences Latina/o and White potential transfer students report about the ways that faculty have facilitated or impeded their negotiation of the transfer process and the roles institutional agents filled in facilitating students' transfer progress.</p><p> The study followed a convergent mixed methods design, whereby 233 potential students completed an original survey concerning their interactions with faculty, and 14 potential transfer students participated in semi-structured interviews concerning their interactions with faculty while negotiating the transfer process. Analysis of the quantitative data collected through the survey revealed that students are generally pleased with their interactions with HCC faculty; and furthermore that Latina/o students rate their interactions with faculty more highly than White students do. From the qualitative data collected through the interviews eight themes emerged, including the importance of community colleges, social capital, developing goals, accepting responsibility for one's decisions, and caring faculty. Three convergences arose from combining the findings of the two separate modes of inquiry: (a) students are generally pleased with HCC faculty; (b) the importance of caring faculty; and (c) faculty serving institutional agents for students.</p><p> After the interpretations of these findings were discussed, as well as their implications for policy, theory, practice, and future research, three recommendations for action were offered.</p>

<p> The relationship between intercollegiate athletics and academic achievement has been conflicted in the literature that largely focuses on sizable universities participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, a dearth of literature illustrates this relationship at the community college level. This study sought to investigate the changes in access to community college athletics surrounding the "Great Recession," as well as whether participation in intercollegiate athletics can predict academic success. Results indicated that access was indeed reduced following the Great Recession based on the number of sports offered and participants, moreover, institutional setting (rural, suburban and urban) did appear to play a role in these changes.</p><p> Academic achievement findings indicated that student-athletes entered community college far less prepared for college level work, yet achieved basic skills success at far greater rates than their comparison group peer. However, results from binary logistic regression analyses indicated that participation in intercollegiate athletics may reduce the likelihood of completing several academic success measures. Additionally, differences were also noted based on gender and ethnicity, lending to the narrative that student-athletes, as a whole, should not be studied as one homogeneous group.</p>

<p> Facility managers have the challenge of adhering to community college policies and procedures while fulfilling requirements of administration, students, and teachers concerning specific needs of classroom aesthetics. The role of facility manager and how specific entities affect perceptions of the design and implementation of classroom aesthetics were presented in this study in an attempt to further clarify present classroom design practices and future aesthetic possibilities. The purpose of this study was to explore and compare a facility manager&rsquo;s perceptions of classroom learning environments, and a student&rsquo;s learning environment aesthetic needs. A qualitative research design was utilized within the theoretical framework of the human ecological theory. Six research participants were selected from Missouri community colleges to participate in this study based on job description. Interviews were conducted and four themes emerged: (1) finance, (2) flexibility, (3) foundational belief, and (4) focus. The findings revealed were reinforced by research previously performed on facility manage-ment. Implications for the study include community college facility managers researching and collaborating to increase their knowledge of aesthetics in college classrooms. In fu-ture research, the insight of college presidents, students, and teachers could be explored. Students may be asked about their perceptions of building facilities in regards to their learning, wellness, comfort and the desire to stay and complete their courses of study. Controlled variables such as participant areas in different classrooms settings may also be considered as a quantitative research study (Fraenkel, Wallen, &amp; Hyun, 2015; Maxwell, 2013).</p><p>

No description available.

Educational attrition rates are viewed by the Federal government and other external agencies as reliable indicators of institutional performance. The high attrition rates of community colleges may lead to drastic funding cuts. Both the community college and its attrition statistics are misunderstood. The peculiarly American 'open door' of the community college was designed to bring both education and training to students with a variety of backgrounds and goals. The evolution of the community college mission is described through a historic summary of the social forces involved in its development. A particular community college is used to illustrate this history. Attrition is shown to be a natural consequence of the mission of the institution. Over time, three major types of programs have been developed by community colleges in response to perceived social needs. Success for students in those programs is often independent of graduation. Community colleges thus have multiple missions. In order to make useful judgments of failure and success of the community college and of its major programs, the overall mission and the three separate missions must be understood. Critics of the community college either do not understand or do not approve of its mission. Analysis of significant community college retention projects demonstrates the community college practitioners' grasp of the institution's unique mission and of its particular students. The philosophical gap between the critics and the practitioners, not attrition, is the problem.

The study investigated the perceptions and practices of nanny training school officials, employed nannies and nanny employers in New England, New York, and New Jersey. It was specifically focused on whether the training received is sufficient for the jobs the nannies perform and the responsibilities they are given. Additionally, it examined the issue of "professionalism" with the nanny industry. The study was based upon an ex post facto research methodology and involved both quantitative and qualitative method of inquiry. Data collection was accomplished through mailed questionnaires and in-person interviews. As a result of the research, it was discovered that: (1) While most nanny schools are affiliated with community colleges, no degrees nor college credits are awarded. (2) There was a major discrepancy between the number of classroom hours said to be "required" for graduation and those which could be accounted for by nanny school officials. (3) Unsubstantiated classroom hours accounted for between 17% and 69% of the total "required" hours. (4) While nanny schools profess the demand to supply ratio is 100 to 1, only 65% of nanny school graduates are currently employed. (5) Employed nannies disagree with nanny school officials on whether "special skills" are needed to perform their jobs. (6) Most employers are not seeking "professionals" when hiring nannies. They would prefer to train nannies according to their own expectations. (7) The most crucial problem to be overcome in a nanny-employer relationship is that of "privacy," according to both employed nannies and nanny employers.

<p> Since 2010, there has been a measurable difference between online course completion, hybrid course completion, and classroom-based instruction course completion rates. It has not changed from 2010 to 2015 in spite of the awareness of the issue, the research that has been conducted, and the studies that have acted upon past recommendations. This qualitative single case study explored the reasons why students from a large Southwestern community college were not successful in an introductory computer information systems course. One of the Southwestern community colleges was selected for this study. The participants were students who had taken the introductory computer information systems course, did not successfully complete the course, and was currently in the same course. Research findings in this study were consistent with the existing literature that related to online course completion. The seven theme findings were online instructor interaction was important, students&rsquo; believed computer literacy meant they could succeed in an online course, and the instructor was an often-cited factor for the students non-completion of their online course. There are three recommendations for future research. There were three recommendations for future considerations. The first recommendation is the community college administrators should ensure the adoption of a robust early alert system. The second recommendation is online faculty need a careful and methodical training and education review to ensure the faculty have the right skill sets to teach online. The third recommendation is a systemic, repeatable methodology to identify dates, and times students will be available to take a course may give faculty, and administration guidelines on increasing online course completion.</p>

<p> Nearly half of all college students in the United States begin at community colleges, including higher numbers of students coming from backgrounds which have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Despite record numbers of new students enrolling at community colleges, the number of students who are retained at the institution long enough to be deemed successful, either through transferring or graduating remains largely unchanged and is inadequate to reduce the achievement gap. One theory is that some students enter college with little confidence in their ability to be successful and faculty members are in a unique position to impact student self-efficacy, which ultimately may impact student success. A literature review explores the different ways self-efficacy is tied to college student success and ways the classroom can be used before quantitatively assessing whether a relationship exists between confirmation behaviors employed by faculty members in the classroom and changes in reported academic self-efficacy of students. The research was conducted through a causal comparative matched pair design with Midwestern community college students during their first semester. The results support a relationship between change in self-efficacy and perceived faculty confirmation (r_s= .212, n=70, p=.039^*), particularly for female students (r_s=.331, n=35, p=.026^*) and for those students where neither parent completed a degree higher than high school (r_s=.316, n=46, p=.016^*).</p>