The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative analysis of service learning. This analysis was performed to collect data on student perceptions of service learning and to understand the importance of service learning on community college students in their own words. Data were collected through interviews with 24 community college participants from Virginia Highlands Community College and Mountain Empire Community College, both in Southwest Virginia. I used a nonstandard interview because it is less abrupt, remote and arbitrary than the structured interview. I wanted to tap into the experiences of these students to learn what they thought, how they felt, and how service learning benefited or did not benefit them. Permission to conduct this study was granted by the Institutional Review Board. Personal contact was made with school officials. Interviews were conducted in phases depending upon the availability and convenience of the participant. Findings showed that students involved in service learning experience many outcomes. These ranged from hands-on experience, social benefits, academic benefits especially in the area of accounting, civic responsibility, personal efficacy, civic mindedness and community building, developing a meaningful philosophy on life, appreciation for diversity, altruism and student autonomy. Findings did show that time and family or job responsibilities seemed to be the reason more students do not get involved. Students were concerned about the lack of enthusiasm from the instructors. They also said there would be more student participation if lab time, like a biology or science lab, were built into the service hours.

The purpose of this study was to determine how public two-year colleges in Tennessee internally budgeted and expended their unrestricted educational and general (E&G) funds from fiscal years 1988-89 through 1997-98. The primary focus was on the 14 Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) community colleges and the internal allocation of expenditures by function from 1988-89 through 1997-98. A limited functional expenditure comparison was made with data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers' (NACUBO) comparative financial analysis for fiscal years 1993-94 and 1994-95 as well as with the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey for the 1996-97 fiscal year. The study examined whether the TBR community colleges were apportioning a larger percentage of their budgets for direct instruction and less for administrative support services in 1997-98 versus 1988-89. The analysis also examined staffing patterns relative to FTE enrollment, changes in revenue patterns for the four major sources of unrestricted E&G funds, and tuition increases. A portion of the analysis included comparisons between current and constant dollars to measure the real gain or loss in financial resources after allowing for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). A primary research question underlying this study sought to determine if the public two-year colleges in Tennessee were operating more efficiently at the end of the research period regarding the internal allocation of budgeted funds. It was assumed that efficiency could be measured in terms of an increase in the percentage allocation of funds to direct instruction and a decrease in the percentage allocated to institutional support for general administration. In spite of a reduction in the share of state appropriations provided to higher education during the past decade, the TBR community colleges apportioned a larger percentage of their budgets for instructional cost in 1997-98 than in 1988-89. Conversely, these colleges expended a smaller portion of their budgets for administration at the end of the ten-year period. In conclusion to this study, recommendations are made to more effectively inform public policymakers and the general public as to the efficiency of Tennessee's public community colleges regarding the allocation of financial resources. Comparisons with national and Southern Regional Education Board data are also desirable. Public policymakers are encouraged to more critically examine the long-range benefits of an educated population and the forecast for technical skills required of the workforce in the 21st century.

The increase of non-traditional students in higher education has been a topic of discussion and examination for over a decade. This study compared the non-traditional student with the traditional student in radiography programs in Virginia's community colleges. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences exist between traditional and non-traditional student performance in a structured radiography program. The study hypothesized that there were no differences in academic performance, national board examination scores, and program completion. Focus-group interviews examined themes related to success factors. t-Test analysis indicated significant differences in academic success between traditional and non-traditional learners. Non-traditional learners experienced greater success. Chi-square analysis did not show a significant difference between the traditional and non-traditional students in graduation rate and scores on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologist (ARRT) national examination. Findings in this study could serve as a baseline for further study regarding non-traditional and traditional student success in radiography programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of academic and administrative community college leaders regarding the relationship between select external mandates and associated institutional effectiveness practices, institutional performance, and the use of assessment results for institutional improvement in Tennessee community colleges. Tennessee community colleges were selected for this study due to their decades long history with institutional assessments through the performance funding program. A primary assumption underlying this study was that Tennessee community colleges provide a historically unique assessment context for this study. The researcher developed a specific survey instrument for this study. The design of the survey provided for the measurement of the perceptions of academic and administrative community college leaders with regard to: (1) knowledge of external mandates; (2) assessment of compliance with regional accreditation mandates of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as planning requirements of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR); (3) the perceived impact of these mandates on institutional practices; (4) the overall associated performance of their institutions on selected performance assessments; and (5) use of assessment results for institutional improvement. Leaders were grouped into categories representing academic, administrative, and joint academic and administrative job duties. Several findings were derived from this study. First, Tennessee community college leaders tend to be knowledgeable. of external mandates. Second, SACS institutional effectiveness mandates have tended to have a moderate to strong influence on Tennessee community colleges, followed by the influence of SACS institutional research mandates. The influence of state planning mandates received a mixed evaluation, with planned-changed mandates, (i.e. progress toward key system goals) perceived as having less of an impact as a mandate compared to the others considered. On the positive side, Tennessee community colleges do tend to follow state planning mandates promoting assessment of the external environment as an integral part of the institutional planning process. Further, a moderate correlation was found between compliance with SACS institutional effectiveness mandates and both dependent study variables: (1) institutional performance; and (2) the use of assessment results for institutional improvement. Other study variables had weak to somewhat moderate relationships with the dependent variables. Several recommendations were offered for institutional practitioners as well as future community college researchers.

The purpose of this study is to determine if differences exist between tenured faculty members perceptions about what actually occurs during the post-tenure review process and what they believe should occur in the twelve community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents System. This study presents the status of higher education tenure from a historical and legal basis nationally and in Tennessee. The study also presents various models of faculty evaluation and post-tenure review practices in higher education nationwide, as well as in Tennessee. The data in this study are analyzed through descriptive statistics and presented the demographic data including campus location, age, years of teaching experience, ethnicity, highest degree obtained, faculty rank, and gender. Further demographic data analysis, ANOVA and t-tests, finds no significant differences among tenured faculty concerning the post-tenure review process. The review of literature and data presented in this study implies that post-tenure review is most accepted when administrators effectively communicate the purpose of post-tenure review, routinely provide an orientation to the process, generally familiarize themselves with the concerns and perceptions of those undergoing the post-tenure review, and clearly ensure that the concept of academic freedom is not undermined.

A qualitative investigation was conducted to explore the phenomenon of communication apprehension among a purposeful sample of five community college students with high levels of communication apprehension. The phenomenon of Communication Apprehension (CA) is “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Beatty, McCroskey, & Heisel, 1998, p. 197; McCroskey, 1970, p. 269). All individuals experience some level of CA, and between 30% and 40% of individuals are estimated to experience high levels of CA. For the community college student with high levels of CA, the introductory communication course can be difficult, causing significant emotional and physical distress. For the high CA student, the experienced anxiety has academic, social, and emotional implications. A phenomenological qualitative methodology was selected to give voice to the high CA student and to understand the lived experience of high CA during the introductory communication course. This study provides a rich, thick description of the lived experience of the high CA community college student. A purposeful sample of five high CA community college students enrolled in the introductory communication course was selected. Participants were identified as high CA using the Personal Report of Public Speaking Apprehension (PRPSA) (McCroskey, 2017). Study participants were selected as follows: those with high levels of CA as determined by the PRPSA instrument, and who were willing to offer insight into the lived experience of high CA. Data were gathered in two 50-minute interviews with each participant and from participatory action research (PAR) personal diaries created by study participants. Data were also gathered from field observations by the primary investigator. The lived experience of high CA is comprised of seven themes: (1) ongoing and pervasive difficulty, (2) ongoing curricular and co-curricular difficulty, (3) no division exists between real and imagined CA, (4) high CA students frequently avoid anxiety-inducing scenarios, and (5) high CA students have not been effectively equipped with mitigating techniques and in turn, use self-developed mitigation. The study is significant because it contributes to the body of knowledge related to CA for the high CA community college student.

African Americans are underrepresented in full-time faculty and administrative positions at Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) institutions. This study examined the perceptions of 11 Maxine Smith Fellows on the underrepresentation at TBR institutions and provides recommendations that could assist in increasing representation of African Americans in full-time faculty and administrative positions. A qualitative method was used for the study. Each participant was required to participate in a recorded SKYPE interview. The researcher transcribed the interviews and analyzed the data using coding to derive overarching themes that provided findings based upon the research questions. Based upon the analysis of data, the researcher found that participants perceived a lack of intentional efforts, lack of recruitment, racism, and the devaluing of diversity in the workforce to be contributing factors to the underrepresentation. The researcher further determined that participants perceived the trainings and the program’s ability to prepare individuals for future positions as two factors that separated their success from individuals who did not participate in the program.

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support services were more successful in college than students who did not. The study was a quantitative comparative design using archival data to evaluate if there were differences between students who visited a CAS and students who did not visit a CAS in terms of course success rates (percentage of courses passed) as well as persistence (continued enrollment) from Spring 2014 to Spring 2015. Group comparisons by independent samples t tests resulted in significantly higher course success (p = .027) among students who visited a CAS (n = 2,059) compared to students who did not visit a CAS (n = 33,414). There were no significant differences in the annual persistence rates between groups of students. The results guided the development of a training program for college employees to entice students to visit the CAS while the college leadership discusses other opportunities to increase persistence. The project may support social change by helping more students pass their courses, therefore benefitting the students, the college, and the community.

Students intending to enter a Junior College in Kentucky can learn of the admission requirements from the catalog published by that college. However, admission requirements vary between colleges. Each admission requirement of Kentucky's Junior Colleges was ranked in terms of its importance to the admission process by admission counselors. It was found that the high school transcript was felt by a majority of the admission counselors to be the most important admission requirement presently used. The partial high school transcript and recommendation form or letter were deemed to be the least important criteria. The results of the evaluation further indicated that within the next decade the final high school transcript will increase in importance. The admission counselors felt that ACT scores and SAT scores will decrease in importance. It appears that Junior Colleges could benefit from a reevaluation of their admission requirements.

Background: Latina/o/x students who persist to college are likely to enter through community college (Contreras & Contreras, 2018) and until the enactment of California Assembly Bill 705, would have been susceptible to placement in developmental education courses (Rodriguez, Cuellar Mejia, & Johnson, 2018). The implementation of AB 705 shifted the requirements for new student placement in all 115 California Community Colleges. With compliance mandated by Fall 2019, the law required colleges to "maximize the probability" that entering students enroll and complete transfer-level English or mathematics within a one-year timeframe and within a three-year timeframe for students enrolled in English as a Second Language courses (A. B. 705, 2017, para. 2). Purpose: This study examined organizational changes related to developmental education reform, AB 705, at a Hispanic Serving Community College. Methodology: This instrumental case study, at a Hispanic Serving Community College, employed various data collection methods including semi-structured interviews, document collection and analysis, physical artifact collection, and observations. Primarily, the enquiry focused on learning from eleven participants (faculty, staff, and administration) who were strategically involved in reform efforts. Conclusions: The findings identified structural and procedural changes to the placement process as well as existing supplemental supports and curriculum at the research site. Barriers and supports for faculty, staff, and administration influenced the change process and the perceived implications for equitable student outcomes of students. As all community colleges throughout the state are required to comply with AB 705, this study may be of interest to those invested in similar change processes.