This study is based on survey responses of 224 general chemistry instructors at United States (U.S.) community colleges and universities representing 46 states. The mean values of General Chemistry Topic Coverage (GCTC) score, developed by this researcher specifically for this dissertation study as a measure of course content, were statistically analyzed. The aim of this study is to answer five research questions: (a) Is there a difference in mean GCTC scores between U.S. community colleges and four-year colleges and universities? (b) If there is a difference in mean GCTC score between the two study groups, what are the observed differences in subtopics covered between community colleges and four-year colleges and universities? (c) Considering both community colleges and universities, is there a difference in mean GCTC score between the different designated U.S. regions? (d) Considering both community college and university professors, is there a difference in GCTC score for professors with a master's degree compared to those with a doctorate?, and (e) Is there a correlation between GCTC score and the percentage of students that major in science? Results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in course content between community colleges and universities, there is a statistically significant difference between different U.S. regions, there is no statistically significant difference between professors with an earned master's versus those with an earned doctorate degree, and there is no statistically significant correlation between general chemistry course content and the percentage of a professor's students majoring in science. Details of the observed differences between community college and university course content are discussed, and recommendations for future research are presented.

Kenneth H. Cooper is considered to be a noted scholar in the field of wellness and fitness. This study explored his contributions to the preventive medicine and wellness movement in community college physical education programs in the United States. It examined Cooper's influence on the development of preventive medicine and wellness from its inception and growth to its impact on changes and factors affecting curriculum in community college programs. A random sample of436 physical education division directors from the nation's 1,400 community colleges yielded a 62% survey response. For purposes of comparison, the sample was stratified into two regions taken fromeast and west of the Mississippi River. Chi-square analysis at the .01 level of significance found no difference between variables due to geographic region. The findings of this study indicate that Kenneth Cooper's contributions to preventive medicine and wellness in community college physical education curriculum are overshadowed by state and local governing bodies that are the force behind curricular development in the nation's 2-year community colleges. However, as an individual contributor, Cooper ranks highly in influencing the wellness and physical education curriculum primarily in the areas of aerobic exercise, physical fitness, and cardiovascular disease. The extent of Cooper's impact on community college physical education programs is recognized by the wide utilization of the 1.5 mile run test and 12-minute run test developed by Cooper. Two areas of Cooper's research—antioxidants and spiritual fitness—are not priorities in physical education programming. Changes in physical education programs in the past 10 years show an increased emphasis and popularity in aerobic fitness courses. It was also found that 40% of the community colleges responding to the present study indicated no physical education programming and that credit hours for physical education are decreasing.

Community college and higher education doctoral programs which prepare individuals for the two-year college administrative labor market were analyzed for regional orientation by studying the career experience of administrators, with earned doctorates in community college/ higher education, who were employed in 1990 by two-year colleges in the United States. Employment location relative to location of the doctoral-granting institution was considered at three points in time: three months prior to beginning doctoral study, three months after completing doctoral study, and the current (1990) employment. Contingency tables show strong regional orientation based on four US regions (North, South, Midwest, and West). The in-region association exists independently of in-state associations and may be found for two-year college administrators with both recent (five or less years since earning the doctorate) and for long-standing (fifteen or more years since earning the doctorate) doctoral degrees in community college or higher education. Analysis of individual institutions, however, shows variation in the extent of state, regional, and national orientation. Maps for the top ten doctoral-granting institutions (determined by total cumulative production of community college/higher education doctorates in the two-year college administrative labor market as of 1990) are presented for each of the three points in time. The range of in-state employment among these ten institutions is approximately 15% to 92% at pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, and current (1990) employment locations. The range of in-region employment is narrower (approximately 48% to 100%). In addition, all states in which the individual held a postdoctoral administrative position of at least six months duration were cumulated and mapped by doctoral-granting institution. Two of these top ten institutions, Nova University and the University of Texas at Austin, show the pre- and post-doctoral locations of their community college/higher education doctorates dispersed in the largest number of states; while North Carolina State University, UCLA and University of Southern California have the fewest states reported. / Ed. D.

The United States is in the middle of a gripping nursing shortage; a shortage that is putting patients' lives in danger. This study determined the impact community and tribal colleges in severely economically distressed counties of the United States have on the nursing shortage faced by health care facilities serving these areas. The initial sample of 24 institutions selected in the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) (1995-2000). Data were collected from the Fall 1998 National Study of Post Secondary Faculty to obtain characteristics of faculty and from the 2003 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to obtain characteristics of students, both at all publicly-controlled community colleges, all tribal colleges, and the 24 RCCI colleges that included 18 community and six tribal colleges. A survey was sent to the directors/deans/chairs of the nursing programs to ascertain issues related to the nursing program, nursing faculty, and nursing students. Respondents were asked to identify the healthcare facilities used for students' clinical experiences. A survey was then sent to each of these facilities asking about rural health, and source of nursing staff. Findings: 1) 87% of these these rural healthcare facilities are experiencing a significant shortage of nurses, and they are challenged to recruit and retain nursing staff; 2) Nursing programs, including both Licensed Practical Nursing and Associate's Degree Nursing are important to these rural community and tribal colleges, have seen growth over the past 5 years and expect to continue growth (86%); 3) Financial aid for nursing students is critically important; 4) Students are predominantly white and female; minorities are significantly under-represented; 5) Lack of subsidized public transportation and child care for nursing students even at tribal colleges are barriers that impact program completion; and 6) A shortage of nursing faculty exists at rural community and tribal colleges that negatively impacts student enrollment in these programs, thus reducing the rural nursing workforce pipeline. It is the rural community and tribal college nursing programs help provide severely economically distressed counties of the United States with the nursing workforce needed to decrease the nurse to patient ratio.

In this thesis, I address the dichotomy between liberal arts education and terminal vocational training in the American community college. The need is for reform in the community college in relation to philosophical instruction in order to empower citizens, support justice and create more sustainable communities. My call for reform involves a multicultural integration of philosophy into terminal/vocational programs as well as evolving the traditional liberal arts course to exist in a multicultural setting. Special attention is focused on liberating the oppressed, social and economic justice and philosophy of education.

Despite declining community college funding being allocated increasingly on the basis of student success, U.S. community college student retention and completion rates over the past decade have either remained steady or decreased, especially for Latino students. Using descriptive statistics and multiple regression models with secondary data procured from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I analyzed student success rates—full time student retention and completion rates—based on community college financial allocations and Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) status. To equitably analyze community colleges in the sample (n = 909), I separated them into four groups based on institutional size as defined by the Carnegie Classification. Descriptive results indicated that instructional divisions spent an average of 43% of the college's total allocated budget—often more than three times the allocated budget of any other division. Regression results indicated that instructional expenditures had the most consistent impact on student success regardless of college size and that scholarship expenditures and academic support expenditures generally had a negative impact on student retention and completion rates. Regarding Latino student success in particular, findings indicated that the manner in which colleges allocated their funds impacted only small and medium-sized community colleges. Of the nine different types of institutional expenditures, only student services expenditures and public services expenditures had a statistically significant impact on Latino student success. Additionally regression analysis indicated that community college HSI status did not have a large impact on overall full-time student retention and completion rates but did have a significant impact on full-time Hispanic student retention and completion rates for all institution sizes. Findings of this study confirmed that HSI status does impact Latino student success in public community colleges. This finding is consistent with prior studies on the positive impact of instructional expenditures on student success rates. Further research on the specific elements within these expenditure areas is needed to capture how or why they are having this impact on student success. Current and prospective Latino students and their parents seeking to identify higher education institutions conducive to students' academic success should be aware of such findings as they conduct the college search process.