Objective: The study assesses the impact of dual enrollment participation on remediation and completion for traditional first time, full-time freshmen at a community college in Northeast Tennessee. Method: This study began with the full population of 1,232 students who enrolled between 2008 and 2012 at a community college in northeast Tennessee the fall semester after finishing high school. The population was required to have American College Testing (ACT) scores, completely fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), enroll full-time as a degree-seeking student, and complete the first fall semester. Propensity score matching was utilized to eliminate self-selection bias and enable parametric comparisons using optimal matching of dual enrollment participants and non-participants while controlling for a range of covariates. Results: The analyses showed that community college students who participated in dual enrollment were (a) 9% or nearly 3.4 times less likely to take remediation, (b) 26% or nearly 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years, and (c) 28% or nearly 1.5 times more likely to graduate in 3 years. Contributions: This study contributes to the literature showing that dual enrollment reduces remediation rates and assists in timely completions for community college students. Policy recommendations are to increase equitable participation, normalize dual enrollment for students academically able to do college coursework, align state terminology with the nation, and improve data for future research.

Excerpt:The purpose of this study was to determine a student’s computer knowledge upon course entry and if there was a difference in college students’ improvement scores as measured by the difference in pretest and post‐test scores of new or novice users, moderate users, and expert users at the end of a college level introductory computing class.

Despite holding a majority of lower and middle management positions in public two-year institutions, women still hold only one-third of current community college presidencies. This study explored the gendered phenomenon of navigating the career pipeline in higher education to reach the office of community college president. The purpose of the study was to examine the educational backgrounds and career paths of recently-appointed female community college presidents, as well as the barriers and sources of support they encountered while navigating the career pipeline. A phenomenological approach was utilized for this qualitative study. Data was primarily collected using semi-structured interviews. Additional sources for data collection include reflection logs, memos, and document analysis. A modified van Kaam method of data analysis was used to code participant data and identify recurring thematic elements. These recurring thematic elements provided the foundation for individual descriptions of the phenomenon, which were later synthesized to create a composite description. Results suggest that study participants encountered three types of barriers while navigating the career pipeline in higher education: institutional, birdcage, and internal. The term “birdcage barriers” was coined here to describe scenarios in which aspiring female leaders could identify opportunities for professional growth or advancement, but were unable to access these opportunities because of situational boundaries. Findings also suggest study participants benefited from three sources of support: institutional, personal, and individual traits/strategies. Additional findings include: participants were reluctant to label gender a barrier; most of the institutional bias encountered by participants was second-generation; and, as aspiring leaders in higher education, participants required intrusive recruitment.

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 analyzed through inductive analysis. Data were hand-coded and a constant comparative method was used to categorize data into common themes. Findings indicated that non-traditional students play a positive role in community college classrooms. They serve as mentors to their traditional classmates, building relationships and sharing life and work experiences, as well as positive behaviors that contribute to traditional students' overall success. The positive influences the data revealed from interactions between nontraditional and traditional students included improvement in learning, retention, engagement, and confidence. Findings contributed to social change as nontraditional students' influence on traditional students could serve as a catalyst for practices that will benefit all community college students.

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 their basic skills math curriculum in the California Community College system using a Smartpen. Interviews were conducted with 4 instructors, 2 of whom also participated in the 2011-2012 community college pilot project of the approach. The analysis consisted of coding and theme development in relation to the experiential learning process and the instructors' andragogy practices. This study identified 4 themes for use in understanding the instructors' experiences teaching with a Smartpen: instructor preparation, technology use and savvy, student needs, and instructor flexibility/adaptability. The study findings are of interest to community college basic math skills instructors, who can use these findings to inform their teaching preparation and teaching approaches, improving pedagogy and helping their students successfully complete their math courses.

Nontraditional students are an untapped population for American higher education institutions. Private baccalaureate-granting universities have taken the lead on creating programs for this population’s needs. These programs typically include combinations of online instruction, cohorts, compressed or accelerated courses, and prior learning assessment. Similarly constructed programs for nontraditional students at public community colleges are less common. A review of the Council for Accelerated Programs’ website reveals only twelve of the 98-member institutions are community or technical colleges, and only one is in California (Council for Accelerated Programs, n.d.). In 2016, Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District in California created the Accelerated College Education (ACE) program specifically for working adults. ACE utilizes a cohort model, compressed courses, structured scheduling, and dedicated staff and faculty. However, little research exists that evaluates the combination of these elements for correlation to course success or student feelings of connectedness at a community college. This study uses Tinto’s framework of academic and social integration, including criticisms of its applicability to nontraditional students, to evaluate academic and social integration of Shasta College students who completed ACE compressed courses between June 2016 and December 2017. Course grade data showed higher participation by nontraditional students in these courses, and the ACE-cohort students’ course success rate was significantly higher than non-ACE-cohort students’ course success rate. Survey results demonstrated that ACE-cohort students had significantly more interactions with and feelings of connectedness to program/student support staff and other students than non-ACE-cohort students, and that these connections may have contributed to the success of their overall academics.

Understanding the practical implications of work-based learning opportunities (WBLOs) is complex. Although WBLOs are not new learning environments, understanding and clearly defining them is increasingly necessary. In Kentucky, WBLOs are part of the political discourse in post-secondary education. The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and local/regional economic and workforce development agencies have incorporated strengthening and growing WBLOs into their strategic plans. By interviewing students that have completed WBLOs at three colleges in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), this study intended to explore student perspectives of WBLOs by asking the following research questions: 1) What role do WBLOs play in transmitting dominant workplace cultural capital and how has that transmission impacted student career pathway decisions? 2) What impact do WBLOs have in developing workplace expectations post-graduation? The dissertation is produced in three manuscripts, including a companion piece written in collaboration with Lauren McCrary, examining faculty perspectives of WBLOs in Kentucky. The second manuscript is an essay addressing the concept of workforce mis-alignment between the skills possessed by post-secondary graduates and the need of industry. The third manuscript is a review of the research, which was conducted to explore student perspectives of WBLOs in relation to the research questions.

Student attrition prior to the completion of a credential is an issue that has increasingly demanded the attention of stakeholders in higher education, particularly in the community college sector, in which less than half of all students complete a credential after six years. The costs of student attrition are high and widespread, ranging from the financial costs for institutions and federal and state governments to the personal and monetary costs paid by those students whose personal and professional goals are not achieved. With the ever-increasing focus on accountability for institutions of higher education and the growing movement toward performance-based funding, institutions are seeking to find ways to support all students on the path to completion of a credential. Building upon Braxton’s theory of powerful institutional levers that serve to promote student completion, Rendon's validation theory, and Schlossberg's theory of marginality versus mattering, this two-part companion dissertation seeks to progress conversation beyond levers of retention as programmatic approaches to increasing student success. Through interviews with community college students serving as peer mentors in a student ambassador program and community college faculty identified by peers and supervisors as high performing in the area of student retention, the researchers seek to identify common characteristics, behaviors, backgrounds, conditions, and values possessed by effective human levers of retention. In doing so, the researchers hope to identify common characteristics among successful human levers of retention in the form of peer mentors and faculty members. This work is in part a collaborative piece that should be read with Kim Russell’s At the Heart of Policies and Programs: Community College Faculty Member and Peer Mentors as Human Levers of Retention.

Currently, Latinas are the fastest growing population in the United States and comprise one-fifth of the female population (Roach, 2015). It is estimated that by the year 2060 Latinas will make up one-third of the females in the US (Roach, 2015). Gandara (2015) suggests there are several potential barriers that are holding back Latinas from academic and professional success. There are several critical factors that could explain why Latinas are underachieving: family obligations, work obligations, affordability, systemic barriers, lack of information and lack of role models and mentors (Espinoza, 2015, Gandara, 2008; Nunez & Murakami-Ramalho, 2012). This narrative inquiry examined the personal and professional lived experiences of Latina administrative leaders in higher education to gain a deeper understanding of how they navigated their educational and leadership trajectories. The primary conclusion of this study is the need to continue diversifying leadership roles in higher education. The participants in this study support previous findings that suggest that their firsthand experience and their support networks serve as catalysts along their educational and leadership trajectories (Espinoza, 2015; Gándara, 2015; González, 2007). In addition, their stories can provide critical information to not only serve the Latina student population and other under-served students in higher education, but can also help propel and influence women in non-leadership roles to new heights.

Choosing a college major and career are the most critical decisions that college students make and students are expected to make these impactful decisions early in their academic careers. First-generation, community college students are a group that are especially affected by this early decision process as they require the knowledge and experience to make informed decisions. Their parents often lack the experience to guide them through this process since they are unfamiliar with being a college student and providing the necessary support in this area. These barriers cause stress among these students and inefficiencies in the decisions that they make. Nevertheless, first-generation, community college students are a group that possess a tremendous amount of motivation and determination for reaching their goals regardless of the barriers they encounter. Community colleges and high schools are in a position to create intervention programs that help promote career development at a time when it’s most critical. The aim of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the decision-making process that first-generation, community college students experienced as they made college major and career choices. The study focused on understanding the factors that influenced students’ college major and career choices. This study found that the factors that influenced students’ college major and career choices were: a desire to break the cycle of poverty for a better life; the desire to set a good example; the desire to become something real; the exposure to knowledge, engaging instructors, and to authentic careers during their educational experience; knowing there is a future; and the support and guidance students received while pursuing their education. Furthermore, students reported that their exposure to knowledge, engaging instructors, and to their authentic careers during their educational experience, as well as the support and guidance they received, helped bolster their level of confidence about reaching their career goals, thus, providing students with a heightened sense of career self-efficacy. Results of this study indicated that having the proper support and guidance, both moral and financial, influenced the choices that they made related to their college majors and careers. Being confident about reaching a career goal gave students the determination and resiliency to keep moving forward in their academic path. Participants described their major and career choice process as confronting unclear futures with determination and resilience; encountering and overcoming financial barriers; being stressful; and as a process of searching. This new knowledge that emerged as a result of this study will assist counselors in utilizing effective counseling approaches in order to maximize the assistance provided to first-generation, community college students based on their actual career development needs. The study results will also help in directing the development of intervention programs focused on career development at community colleges and pre-collegiate institutions.