The purpose of this descriptive and correlational study was to examine factors to determine if a faculty-centered student advisement program, which was implemented at a rural community college, affects student retention in a positive manner. The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) was incorporated, and data collected by this group provided the basis for the study. The study was a comparative study of quantitative parameters looking at five benchmarks. The five benchmarks included active/collaborative learning, student effort, academic challenge, student faculty interaction, and support for learners based on teaching, learning and retention in community colleges with regards to personal characteristics of age, gender, ethnicity, and enrollment status. Analysis of variance provided information between the benchmarks and personal characteristics and the quality of advising, and correlations were run using the various benchmarks and personal characteristics in order to determine any connections between the benchmarks themselves and quality of advising. In addition, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), created by this rural community college, was analyzed from 2004 to 2006 to determine any inferred connection with the benchmarks and the quality of advising because of the implementation of the QEP. Findings show that, even though the survey CCSSE instrument used to determine student engagement and its function in student retention may not provide the most accurate results in general for Navarro College, the implementation of the faculty-centered student advisement program has coincided with an increase in graduation rates, an increase in fall to first fall persistence, and an increase in GPAs as evident at Navarro College.

This study investigated the factors that influence community college students' attitudes toward technology, particularly in teaching and learning experiences. Studies on post-secondary students' attitudes reported in the literature are limited. Factors cited previously as having an effect on attitudes towards technology and toward computers included: gender; age; presence of a computer in the home; completion of a formal technology course; and comfort with technology. The subjects in this study were 372 students in freshman level credit English classes in the five colleges of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District located in the greater metropolitan Houston area. Previous research instruments and studies to measure students' attitudes toward technology were reviewed. A modified version of the Secondary Students Attitudes' Toward Technology (SSATT) was developed for this study because of the content, reliability, and applicability to the postsecondary population. The instrument was administered in the spring of 2005. The fact that 95.4% of the participants reported having a computer at home and that 70.2% reported having had a formal technology class provided insight into the integration of technology in the lives of this community college sample. A correlation matrix of all variables and analysis of variance were performed. Factor analyses were performed to identify subcomponents of the instrument. Eight factors were identified: (1) need for technology competence, (2) technology benefits, (3) negative aspects of technology, (4) technology and the workplace, (5) impact of increased use of technology, (6) video games, (7) technology and job creation, and (8) technology and safety. A conclusion of the study was that neither age nor gender had a significant effect on the post-secondary students' attitudes toward technology, which differs from the findings in some of the previous studies. Females reported being as comfortable, if not more so, with technology in teaching and learning experiences as the males in the study. Exposure to technology, completion of a formal technology class, and the use of computers appeared to positively affect community college students' attitudes toward technology.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (D. Ed.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Steven Aragon. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-158) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-216). Available also in a digital version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Michigan, 1982. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-215).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-299). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009. / Title from title screen (site viewed February 25, 2010). PDF text: vi, 170 p. ; 1 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3387279. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.