The purpose of this research was to determine if there was a significant relationship between scores on the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) scale of effective managerial communication and scores on the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) scale of job satisfaction for non-faculty staff members at the participating community college. A total of 75 non-faculty staff members from three separate community colleges in East Tennessee participated in the study. A modified version of the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) developed by Downs and Hazen (1977) was used to collect data. The instrument used a Likert-type scale with a 7-point scale with eight dimensions (personal feedback, relationship to supervisors, horizontal and informal communication, organizational integration, organizational perspective, communication climate, media quality, and job satisfaction). The statistical analyses of the data from eleven research questions revealed some significant relationships and differences. Results found a strong positive relationship between communication and job satisfaction. This indicates that when staff members feel satisfied with organizational communication, they tend to be satisfied with their job. Results indicated that gender, number of years of service, degree attained, and job classification do not tend to make a significant difference among staff members’ level of satisfaction in communication or job satisfaction. The results found Millennials produced a significantly higher mean score than Generation X, but no significant difference among the other generations. There was no significant difference on JDI among the generations.

More than 24,000 U.S. high school students drop out each year, contributing to the approximate 1.1 million U.S. adults who have not earned the high school diploma or General Education Development. This failure in educational attainment contributes significantly to the lack of economic and workforce development opportunities as well as the standard of living for more than 10% of the statewide population of a midwestern state. In response to this problem, the state entered into model programming in 2015 with 2 new approaches for adult education to diploma programs. The purpose of this basic qualitative interpretive research study was to better understand the experiences of 9 adult learners who successfully completed 1 of 2 high school diploma completion programs. The conceptual framework for this study integrated the learning theory perspectives of Bruner and Bandura and the aspects of lifelong learning and its influence on the motivations and values of the adult learner. The codes and themes that emerged from the analysis of the interview process were the participants' connection to the program, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, challenges that were experienced through the program, strategies for success that fostered the completion process, suggestions for program improvements, and the advice the participants would give to prospective students who are considering an adult diploma option. These results may contribute to a better understanding of success factors for adult students enrolled in diploma completion programs and support positive change and program effectiveness in the future.

The purpose of this to determine the perceptions of senior North Carolina community college administrators regarding retention efforts in place on their campuses for at-risk students. The term "at-risk" was used to identify a student who was considered likely to perform academically at a level below that of average students and who was more likely to drop out than was an average student. One-hundred-forty-four of 177 senior administrators (chief executive officers, chief academic officers, chief student development officers) in North Carolina community colleges completedthe survey instrument that provided the data for this study. The percentage of surveys returnedwas 81.4%. The SAS Institute program procedures were used for the analysis of data. An alphalevel of .05 was used for all statistical tests. Results indicated that a variety of programs and strategies were being used by communitycolleges in North Carolina on efforts to retain at-risk students. Statistically significant differences in perceptions among senior administrators regarding the effectiveness of the retention strategies were found on six of the 34 strategies listed on the survey instrument. The study also identified the four strongest and the four weakest retention strategies as perceived by the senior administrators. Conclusions of the study emphasized the difficulty of teaching, training, and retaining an increasing number of at-risk students accepted to North Carolina community colleges under an open-admissions policy. The study also determined that for community colleges in North Carolina to fulfill their egalitarian role in the state's educational efforts, at-risk students must be accepted, taught, and retained until their goals have been met. Eight recommendations for improving the retention of at-risk students, and three recommendations for further research were presented by the study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the variety and level of wellness practices of community college presidents and the relationship of these practices to the stress levels of this group. Additionally, relaxation activities and the feelings, characteristics, and symptoms associated with stress were considered. Items measuring each of these variables, isolated from the literature and tested in a pilot sample, were combined into an electronic instrument, Stress Levels and Wellness Practices Measurement for Community College Presidents. The design of the study was ex post facto/correlational. The population of the study was American community college presidents. A stratified random sampling of these presidents was drawn from three distinct locales: 240 urban, 147 suburban, and 199 rural community colleges. The electronic instrument was distributed to 587 presidents through email. There were 296 (50.4%) usable returns. For the variables of interest, descriptive statistics were computed including frequencies and measures of central tendency. Correlation coefficients were used to determine relationships between variables. ANOVA and t-tests were used to identify differences in group means. Significant positive associations were found between the management of stress and the balance of wellness practices for community college presidents. A significant difference in stress levels regarding gender and years of presidential tenure were found: female presidents were more stressed than their male counterparts, and presidents with more experience (years' presidential tenure) were less stressed. No difference was found in the stress levels of presidents by locale (urban, suburban, and rural). Furthermore, it was determined there was a significant negative correlation between the balance in wellness practices and stress symptoms. Engagement in the physical practices of wellness was related to a reduction of stress levels. Overall, it was concluded that while presidents showed significant control in stressful events and issues, continued efforts are needed to promote wellness practices into their busy lives.

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between selected demographic and educational variables of faculty members employed in the Alabama Community College System and their impact on job satisfaction. The variables included in the study are the demographic variables of age, gender, ethnicity, salary, and degree status, along with the institutional variables of academic ability of students, advancement in technology, faculty workload, tenure, co-worker relationship, administrative governance and support, and professional growth opportunities. This study was conducted to educate college administrators regarding faculty morale and to provide a means of communication between administrators and faculty to address faculty concerns, thus leading to a more stable learning environment for students. A survey research design was used to collect and analyze the data from faculty members at 10 community colleges within the state of Alabama. An instrument designed by the researcher entitled the Howton Community College Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey was used to collect the data using SurveyGizmo.com. The instrument was validated by a panel of experts and a pilot study determined the reliability coefficient to be .786. The data were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics, factoral analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study indicated a four scale structure for the created instrument which consisted of the following components: 1) administrative support and its affect on the personal life of faculty members; 2) obtaining tenure and the evaluation process; 3) technology in the classroom and training through professional development activities; and 4) relationship among colleagues. Results from ANOVA show that there were no between or within group differences among mean scores with regard to age, sex, ethnicity, salary, tenure status, or degree status. Examining measures of central tendencies revealed that over 20% of faculty members responded negatively with regard to satisfaction in the areas of academic ability of students, administrative support, professional development opportunities, and advancements in technology. However, 87% of faculty members responded favorably regarding their overall job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to investigate selected variables among community college transfer students with or without associate’s degrees and native students at a 4-year university to determine the impact of the articulation and transfer process on baccalaureate attainment. More specifically, the study examined the differences in demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and graduation rates among 15 community colleges and a rural land-grant university in the state of Mississippi. There were three groups reviewed: (a) community college transfer students with associate’s degrees and their graduation rate at a 4-year university, (b) community college transfer students without associate’s degrees (non-degrees) and their graduation rate at the 4-year university, and (c) native university students and their rate of graduation at the 4-year university. A comparison was made among the three groups to determine if significant differences exist in the demographic characteristics and academic preparation for baccalaureate attainment.This study utilized the causal-comparative research design. There were 5 research questions examined in this study utilizing descriptive statistics, chi-square statistical tests, and a logistic regression analysis for each of the 3 groups of students. The findings were for the demographics and academic preparation across the 3 groups that there was not a significant difference in gender or race. There was a slight tendency for all 3 groups’ programs of study to be in the College of Education, College of Arts & Sciences, or College of Business. The 2 groups of transfer students seemed to be older in age. Articulation among the Mississippi Public Community College System and the rural land-grant university is functioning because the transfer students are graduating at a higher rate. From this study, analysis shows that having an associate’s degree makes no difference in attaining a baccalaureate degree. As expected, the cumulative grade point average (GPA) and cumulative credit hours earned are higher for those who graduate than those who did not graduate among the three groups. The logistic regressions were statistically significant for all three groups with the strongest predictor being the cumulative overall GPA.

Rates of in-coming college students in need of academic remediation are on the rise, for both community college and four-year colleges. Consequently, many of these students will be required to enroll in some level of academic remediation in reading, writing and/or math to develop the basic skills necessary for student success in college-level courses. Poor completion rates in remedial courses and the limited progression by remedial students to enter advanced college-level study make these students more "at-risk" for course failure and subsequent college drop-out. This study is designed to help educators and college administrators understand the cognitive and non-cognitive factors of academic achievement as they develop educational programs that that involve community college students in remediation. This study examines the various factors most associated with academic achievement for community college students in remedial English classes. The predictor variables were categorized into three groups: demographic, psychological and academic aptitude. The relationship between academic achievement and the predictor variables was investigated through self-reported data provided by 395 remedial-level students from a community college in the Northeastern United States. The self-report data were gathered through a questionnaire that contained a combination of sub-scales from standardized instruments. Additional data, such as, official final course grade and Accuplacer pre and post-test scores, matriculation status and degree program were provided by the community college involved in this study. To determine which variables are most predictive of academic success, independent-samples-t-tests and binary logistic regressions were conducted on all the significant demographic, achievement and psychological predictor variables. Results of this study suggest that the Accuplacer reading pre-test scores are the only predictor of academic success in remedial-level College writing, whereas, decreased levels of school engagement and self-doubt, student-predicted final course grade, race and Accuplacer pre-test reading scores predict academic success for remedial reading students. Additionally, this study revealed that students who completed the remedial-course had increased Accuplacer reading scores which demonstrated significant improvement in reading comprehension. However, African-American students performed lower than all other racial groups on this assessment and illustrated the Matthew effect, or a widening of the achievement gap. It is important to acknowledge that this sample deviates significantly from what is expected at both the traditional four-year and community college. This study captured a very large sample of African American students (48%) and other minority groups (32%) in remedial education at a community college. It is likely that the factors that affect academic achievement in this group are very different from what has been previously investigated among a more traditional college population. In light of the evidence presented in this research, higher education administrators, educators and researchers must be aware of the differences that exist between remedial-level students in reading and writing courses. Results from this study can inform students, parents, educators and higher education administrators about the factors most associated with academic success in remedial-English courses at community colleges. These findings could also be used to inform, and provide support for, the development of new student services procedures designed to help incoming and at-risk students achieve success. / Educational Psychology

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine if differences exist in academic achievement based on student SES as measured by grade point average (GPA), credit hours earned, and completion of the academic year for rural community college students enrolled during the 2018-19 academic year. The study used existing data from a multi-campus rural community college located in the Southeastern region of the United States. To answer the research questions, existing data were collected from this community college. The independent variable collected was SES, as measured by Pell grant eligibility. The dependent variables collected included GPA, credit hours, and completion. T-tests were conducted to answer research questions 1 (GPA) and 2 (credit hours earned). A Chi-Square Test for Independence was used to answer research question 3 (completion). Results for research question 1 indicated no statistically significant difference in GPA based on SES. Results for research question 2 indicated a statistically significant difference for credit hours earned based on SES, but not in the way literature supported since low SES students had higher credit hours earned. Results for research question 3 indicated no statistically significant relationship between completion of the 2018-19 academic year and SES. As a result of the study, recommendations to the leadership of the community college were given in hopes that it will lead to the betterment of the college.

<p> Since 2010, there has been a measurable difference between online course completion, hybrid course completion, and classroom-based instruction course completion rates. It has not changed from 2010 to 2015 in spite of the awareness of the issue, the research that has been conducted, and the studies that have acted upon past recommendations. This qualitative single case study explored the reasons why students from a large Southwestern community college were not successful in an introductory computer information systems course. One of the Southwestern community colleges was selected for this study. The participants were students who had taken the introductory computer information systems course, did not successfully complete the course, and was currently in the same course. Research findings in this study were consistent with the existing literature that related to online course completion. The seven theme findings were online instructor interaction was important, students&rsquo; believed computer literacy meant they could succeed in an online course, and the instructor was an often-cited factor for the students non-completion of their online course. There are three recommendations for future research. There were three recommendations for future considerations. The first recommendation is the community college administrators should ensure the adoption of a robust early alert system. The second recommendation is online faculty need a careful and methodical training and education review to ensure the faculty have the right skill sets to teach online. The third recommendation is a systemic, repeatable methodology to identify dates, and times students will be available to take a course may give faculty, and administration guidelines on increasing online course completion.</p>