The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a freshman orientation course on the academic performance and retention of new community college students. This study was designed to obtain quantitative as well as qualitative data. In part one, a survey was distributed to students, who attended Coral College from the fall of 1996 through the fall of 1999, completed Guidance 10 and scored no higher than a level one or a level two on 2 out of 3 of the assessment tests. Survey data was used to frame interview questions for the qualitative part of the study. In part two, 12 students, who completed Guidance 10 and returned a survey, were interviewed to investigate in greater depth how the course did or did not influence them to stay enrolled in college. Interviews were used to give students the opportunity to share their stories and how their experiences in Guidance 10 influenced them to stay enrolled in college. Data from the interviews suggested that a relationship between the course objectives and the respondents' grade point averages does not exist. However, the data from the interviews indicated that there is a relationship between the course objectives and retention. Respondents identified particular aspects of the orientation course that influenced them to stay enrolled in college. Meeting with a counselor, going on a campus tour, learning time management, learning to speak in front of others, and learning about the potential earnings of a college graduate were aspects of the course that influenced students to persist in college. Counselors and faculty are encouraged to continue to recommend this course to new students, and administrators are advised to ensure that there are a sufficient number of sections available for new students trying to enroll in the course. Finally, the institution must make a commitment to retention and investigate various methods to retain students through some type of orientation. Recommendations are made for educators, who can make a difference in their educational institutions and influence change, which will affect the retention of new community college students.

The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency and outcomes of Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act Office for Civil Rights rulings as a result of complaints initiated by students with disabilities against community colleges from 2016-2018. The secondary purpose of this study was to analyze corresponding Office for Civil Rights Letters of Findings to provide guidance. The research questions that guided this study included: Research Question 1: What is the frequency of Office for Civil Rights Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act complaints including case issue, location, disability type, and year filed by students with disabilities against community colleges for the years 2016-2018? Research Question 2: Are the outcomes of Office for Civil Rights Letters of Findings dependent upon the independent variables: case issue, location, disability type, or year? Research Question 3: What themes can be noted in the Office for Civil Rights Letters of Findings? This study utilized Office for Civil Rights case issue summary data and accessed Letters of Findings via the U.S. Department of Education, OCR’s official database. The outcomes of this study revealed that among the 3 years, the highest reported cases were in 2017. The study also revealed that there was a statistically significant association between outcomes for case issue and outcomes for year. The qualitative analysis of Letters of Findings revealed the emergence of 5 themes: blanket policy, accommodations, undue burden, procedure, and accessible technology. The implications of this study provide guidance that includes common issues affecting students with disabilities at community colleges.

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Community college students are often excluded from persistence studies due to the unique characteristics of community colleges and its students. Recent studies have heavily relied on retention models that do not adequately account for the role individual and campus culture plays in students’ persistence decisions. Using Museus’ (2014) Culturally Engaging Campus Environment (CECE) model, this cross-sectional, correlational study examined the impact of campus environment perceptions and sense of belonging on the persistence decisions of students at a rural community college in the southeastern part of the U.S. Correlation analyses were conducted to investigate the relationships between two independent variables, campus environment perceptions and sense of belonging, and one dependent variable, students’ persistence decisions. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine if differences in campus environment perceptions and sense of belonging existed between racial and gender identity groups. Lastly, a t-test was conducted to examine differences between residential and commuter students. Utilizing the CECE Survey for Community Colleges (Museus et al., 2017), a total of 234 responses were analyzed. The results revealed that students are more likely to persist when they have a positive perception of the campus environment. It also revealed that students were more likely to persist when they possessed a strong sense of belonging. Upon examining differences of campus environment perceptions, the results showed that gender identity influenced campus environment perceptions and race influenced sense of belonging among students. There was insufficient evidence to establish differences of campus environment perceptions and sense of belonging among residential and commuter students. Limitations regarding this study included its generalizability due to the low number of survey responses and the physical aspect of campus environment and campus culture. Recommendations for policymakers and practitioners include consideration for community memberships, increase campus support for underrepresented groups, and cultural competency for training. Recommendations for future research include the use of different theoretical frameworks to understand student persistence, continued studies involving community colleges, inclusive campus environment perceptions and sense of belonging studies, and qualitative studies on campus environment perceptions and sense of belong of community college students.

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.

A study was conducted at Valencia Community College to determine whether an improved student performance and retention. An orientation, based on the expressed needs of students, was provided to first-time, full-time students. The orientation consisted of an introduction to the institution and its resources, academic skill training, and personal resources management training. There were 22 students who participated for one day, 25 students who participated for two days of orientation, and a control group of 72 students. Although the behavioral outcomes were not generally statistically significant, the trends of all of the dependent measures, i.e., enrollment and withdrawal, were in a positive direction, favoring greater amounts of orientation. The orientation treatment was substantially more effective for students who had a 2.0 GPA or less, than those who had a GPA above 2.0. All of the dependent measures improved for the lower GPA students as the amount of orientation increased, but remained relatively constant for the higher GPA students. Apparently, the orientation is most effective for those students most in need of the improvement.

It has been established that prior academic achievement influences persistence in college and that poorly prepared students are less likely to persist. The effect of counseling on underprepared students was investigated because this form of active involvement was considered a key element in the retention of developmental studies students in open-access community colleges. Since standard instructional efforts to remedy basic skill deficiencies have yielded inconsistent results, an integrated teaching model was introduced. It was believed that the academic challenges experienced by basic writing students could be moderated by structured counseling support available in the classroom throughout the transition to college composition. This research investigated the relationship between successful completion of a developmental writing course and student GPA in college composition. Since students in both treatments were considered to be lacking prerequisite skills for college composition, a median computed from placement test scores was used to categorize levels of underpreparedness. The subjects were 118 students enrolled in developmental English courses. The typical student was a young, white, male, enrolled for the first time at his local community college. After placement testing he was considered moderately underprepared for college composition. The relationship between basic writing treatment sections and grades, and between levels of underpreparedness and grades were analyzed using three Chi-Square tests of independence. These data revealed no significant relationship between grades in English 001 and teaching models, or levels of underpreparedness. It was noteworthy that 75% of the basic writing students from either treatment were successful in English 001 reflecting the overall quality of developmental instruction. Of the students categorized extremely underprepared, 69% succeeded, compared to 79% of the moderately underprepared students. This non-significant finding might suggest a need to reconsider placement test categories. Of 118 students, 89 were prepared to enter English 111 but only 71 registered for the course. A Chi-Square test of independence comparing English 001 teaching models and future enrollment in English 111 showed that there was not enough evidence to suggest that students were more likely to register because of the counselor’s influence in the classroom. A t-test comparing teaching models and future grades in English 111 revealed that the integrated teaching model did not significantly influence student GPA. In summary, 66% of the with counselor (WC) students versus 46% of the teacher-only (TO) students succeeded in developmental studies and persisted through registration for college composition. Despite the absence of a statistically significant finding, community college counselors might consider more classroom-based roles if these activities can help strengthen the visibility and image of student development services. / Ed. D.

In California community colleges, students of color reach educational milestones and culminating outcomes disproportionately less often than their peers. In the past decade, the state has committed renewed energy to refining student equity plan regulations requiring individual colleges to identify and develop strategies to close such gaps. This dissertation sought to focus on the intended beneficiaries of these efforts, asking how students themselves define and experience equity. Using semistructured, narrative interviews to explore the experiences of nine students of color at a California community college, this qualitative case was supported by institutional documents, participant observation, and interviews with college personnel. This inquiry was conceptually framed by Dowd and Bensimon’s (2015) insights on equity’s meaning as a standard of justice, California student equity plan success indicators, and Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth. Students’ stories wove tapestries of struggles and triumphs. Their engagement with the college and coursework was often mediated by the external circumstances and internal tumult of their lived experiences and hurdles that derived from college’s personnel or processes. Alternately, students found informational, material, social, and motivational resources in their home networks, college programs, relationships with personnel, and their own recognition of personal growth. Students’ experiences with the college denoted equity by its presence and its absence. While affirmatively identifying instances of caring, validation, and growth, less positive experiences revealed the extent to which equity remains aspirational. These findings give voice to the asymmetries between policy/regulatory efforts to redress entrenched educational inequities and the realities of students’ lived experience.

Educators long ago recognized that a variety of factors contribute to academic success. High school grades, college entrance scores, personal motivation, and self esteem are among the traditional indicators or factors commonly identified with academic success. As community colleges open the doors of higher education to ever expanding segments of the population, the need for knowledge of the myriad factors contributing to academic success increases. The purpose of this study was to address a portion of that need via the examination of stress appraisal and coping strategies among community college students. The framework for the research in this study follows a process-centered theory of stress and coping developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1985). Specifically, this study was an exploration of how stress and coping strategies change over time and what relationship that change may have to academic achievement. Data for the study was collected from Virginia community college students currently enrolled in math classes. Students in these classes completed three stress and coping instruments centered around the focal point of their first major math test. Course grades served as a measure of academic achievement for comparison to stress and coping scores. Comparisons were also made among the student variables of age, gender, and level of academic preparedness. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that might be contributing to the high academic success (GPA 3.0 or greater) of certain community college transfer students at a research university. The data for this study were collected in the Spring of 1990 using the population of Maryland community college transfer students enrolling at the University of Maryland, College Park for the Fall, 1988 semester. Discriminant function analysis was used to answer the following question, "What predicts academic success, as defined by grade-point average, of community college transfer students to a research university?" The criterion or dependent variable was group membership determined by grade-point average earned during the first semester of attendance at the University (Dl = GPA 3.0 or greater, DO = GPA less than 3.0). / Ed. D.