The study sought acceptance of an inventory of program objectives for a community college mental health technology program within the social and behavioral science structure. It adapted a set of program objectives, using an inventory from the Southern Regional Education Board, and provided composite list stated in competency or performance levels and a list of academic requirements showing what fundamental areas of competency or performance would be most germane for a mental health technology candidate.

<p>The California community college system is the largest in the country and is a crucial part of the higher education system. The ESL population within that system is a significant one in terms of size and needs. In order to successfully educate this population, the language-learning instruction must be appropriate, current, and effective. In today&rsquo;s technological world, that means it must incorporate the technologies of the modern world in which these community college ESL students live and work. While technology use in language learning and teaching has been the subject of many studies, the use of technologies by community college ESL faculty in credit courses has been less investigated. </p><p> The purpose of this study was to investigate technology use within community college credit ESL classes in three areas: (a) the best and most frequently used technologies, (b) the way technologies are used, and (c) the barriers to technology use. The methodology for the study was a modified electronic Delphi survey. Two rounds of the survey were conducted with a panel of experts in order to reach consensus on the areas under investigation. </p><p> The study revealed that: (a) the most frequently used technologies in the community college ESL classroom are desktop computers, ESL websites, the Internet, and smartphones; (b) technologies are being used in traditional ways; (c) technologies are being used to teach independent learning and collaboration, and to teach technological skills; (d) technologies are being used to support and enhance the learning environment; (e) the primary barriers to technology use in community college credit ESL courses are training, funding, and time, the State, students&rsquo; language abilities, and students&rsquo; technology abilities. These findings add to Dobransky&rsquo;s (2015) recent research on ESL in community colleges and the broader work of Kessler (2013) and Fuchs and Akbar (2013). </p><p> The findings of this study may be utilized as a call to further investigation on the practical applications of technology use that is or is not happening in community college ESL classrooms. It may also be utilized to inform and inspire new leadership at all levels within the community college system to set priorities and policies to eliminate barriers to technology use and to broaden technology use to go beyond on-site traditional uses. </p>

The challenge of underprepared students' entering America's colleges and universities is not new. Because of their "open door" policies, community colleges are more likely to enroll students who are not college prepared. This retrospective study focused on the performance of students who had completed required developmental education courses compared to the performance of students without developmental requirements. The study examined developmental education success measures for five cohorts of first-time degree-seeking freshmen each tracked for a six-year period enrolled at Walters State Community College located in Tennessee. The success measures compared included grade point averages earned in college-level mathematics and English courses, cumulative college-level credit hours earned, cumulative college-level grade point averages earned, and number of graduates. Existing data, gathered from the college's student information database, were analyzed through the application of two univariate approaches--the t-test for independent samples and the chi-square. The study found that nondevelopmental students earned statistically higher grade point averages in college-level mathematics and statistically higher cumulative college-level grade point averages. The study found that significant statistical differences did not exist between the two student groups in grade point averages earned in college-level composition and in graduation rates. The study's findings relative to the comparison of average cumulative college-level credit hours earned by the two student groups were mixed. Although statistically significant differences were found for some performance variables, they were not so large as to conclude that the college's developmental education program was ineffective. For this study to be useful for future decision making, it must be compared with results of future studies designed to measure performance and effectiveness. Therefore, it is recommended that the analysis be updated annually. Practitioners at other state colleges should undertake research directed at establishing the level of overall effectiveness of developmental education across the state.

This study was a correlational investigation of the effect of student demographic characteristics, prior academic performance, college academic performance, and college status on general education achievement at a rural community college in Tennessee. The criterion variable in this study was student performance on the Academic Profile examination, a nationally normed standardized test published by the Educational Testing Service that is designed to measure academic skills in general education subject areas. The population for this study included students at Walters State Community College located in Morristown, Tennessee, who had completed or were nearing completion of a minimum of 60 semester hours required for an associate degree and who had applied for graduation during the academic year 2003. All students in this study sat for the Academic Profile examination as a final requirement for graduation and their scores were posted in the college's student information system. Other data extracted from the student information system and used in this study include race, age, gender, evidence of financial need, zip code of permanent residence, type of degree earned, ACT composite score, placement test requirement, undergraduate grade point average, general education credit hours, grades earned in general education courses, evidence of college preparatory course participation, transfer status, and the dates of first and last terms graded. Variables were analyzed using descriptive techniques appropriate to the level of measurement of each variable including t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson's r, and stepwise multiple regression. The statistical analyses indicated that race, age, ACT composite score, placement test requirement, undergraduate and general education GPA, college preparatory course participation, and length of time between first and last semesters had a relationship to student performance on the Academic Profile examination. The ACT composite score was the strongest predictor of student performance on the examination. Although this study addressed only a small number of variables affecting achievement in general education, it contributes to the literature by identifying interesting relationships among student variables that could be explored. The study also indicates that standardized tests that measure student general education achievement may not be the best assessment measures for public community colleges with open admission policies.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of dual enrollment course participation by comparing first-time, full-time traditional community college students who participated in dual enrollment (N=246) to peers (N=986) that did not participate. Dual enrollment participation was defined as taking one or more dual enrollment courses. The population for this study (N=1,232) included first-time, full-time students who graduated from public high schools in the service area of Northeast State Community College over a five year span from 2008 through 2012. Propensity score matching eliminated self-selection bias by controlling for confounding covariates such as parental education, high school GPA, and ACT scores. The major findings of the study included the following: dual enrollment participants (a) were nearly four times less likely to take remediation than non-participants, (b) earned approximately 1 extra credit hour in the first semesters of college, (c) earned higher first semester GPAs, (d) were 2.5 times more likely to graduate in 2 years (100% of degree time) and, (e) were 1.68 times more likely to graduate in 3 years (150% of degree time). The study concluded that dual enrollment benefits community college students in Tennessee, both at the beginning and completion of college. This is a significant justification for the current investment in dual enrollment by the State of Tennessee and for further increasing access to dual enrollment for all students, especially for students that live in rural areas, experience poverty, or are underrepresented in higher education.

The purpose of this study was to determine the availability of internet access for students attending a community college in east Tennessee during the spring semester 2010. In particular, it is unknown to what degree broadband internet access is available in the counties that the college considers its service area. The research was conducted during the spring semester 2010 including the months February, March, and April of 2010. Data were gathered by surveying currently enrolled students of the college. Twelve percent of the population responded to the study. The survey instrument covered the areas of demographics, internet connection type from home, and usage of that internet service for coursework. The results of the data analysis gave insight into what degree‐seeking students of the college had access to highspeed internet from their homes. For example, over 20% of the respondents did not have an internet connection at all or have only dial‐up available at their home. Thirty percent were dissatisfied with their current high‐speed internet service. Approximately 64% thought high‐speed internet was very important in completing coursework. The study provided an increase in the body of knowledge on internet access for students and increased the body of knowledge for internet availability in the surrounding counties of the institution.

Learning from faillure is especially important for innovators, who often have to take risks and fail many times in order to generate innovative and effective ideas and practices to make classrooms and institutions better places to learn and work.

The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the attitudes and perceptions of faculty, staff and administrators within a California community college system on what promotes academic success for former foster youth enrolled in courses at that college campus. Participants for this study were contacted via the college’s email list serve in which they were asked for consent to participate in the study’s electronic survey. A total of 41 respondents participated in the study and provided responses to the self-administered questionnaire that was sent campus wide to the college’s faculty, staff and administrators. This research study was conducted in support of the college’s Guardian Scholars (GS) program and was aimed at identifying ways in which the campus community supports former foster youth students in navigating the college pathway process. The outcomes of this study highlighted respondents top two most identified factors that promote academic success for former foster youth based upon order of importance. Survey respondent of this research study ranked access to stable housing the number one most important factor followed by financial aid as the second most important factor to the academic success for former foster youth enrolled in college courses in the California Community College system.

Currently, the California Community College system is graduating 2.83% of its first-time freshmen from these two-year institutions in a two-year period of time (CCCCO, 2017). In addition, less than 40% of this same group are graduating in a six-year period of time. This study sought to find commonalities between the students who were in the 2.83%, as well as to learn if these thriving students’ experiences centered on possessing the skill sets of grit (Duckworth, 2007), growth mindset (Dweck, 2006), and vulnerability (Brown, 2006). For this study, thriving students were defined as first-time college students during the fall of 2017, who had a GPA equal to or greater than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and who had obtained a minimum of 30 units towards graduation and/or transferring at the time of the study. A sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was used to identify skill sets obtained by thriving community college students who were on track to graduate and transfer in a two-year period of time. First, a 58-question quantitative survey was sent to thriving community college students in a three-college district in southern California. The survey combined questions on the topic of grit, growth mindset, and vulnerability. Three weeks after the online survey closed, 10 students participated in a three-hour focus group based on the same topics. The goal for the focus group was to better understand from the thriving students’ perspective the primary skill sets they possess for academic success. In addition, the participants were asked if these skills could be learned by other students. The results from the survey revealed that grit, growth mindset, and vulnerability were non-significant skill sets in the students’ journey towards graduation and transferring to a four-year school. Conversely, the focus group revealed that all three were major factors in contributing to the academic success of the participants. While the quantitative data was not statistically significant, there were four key elements within the survey which did reveal significance. These key elements aligned with the findings of the qualitative data from the focus group, which revealed eight additional elements thriving students consider significant. The contradictory results were interpreted by the researcher to mean more research on grit, growth mindset, and vulnerability needs to be done at the community college level. However, it is clear that there are key elements embedded within grit, growth mindset, and vulnerability, which could positively impact students towards achieving higher graduation and transfer rates.

In recent years, institutions of higher education have dramatically increased the number of online courses and degree programs offered to students, and yet it remains unclear what factors determine student satisfaction with online course and instructor effectiveness. Accordingly, the purpose of this exploratory correlation study was to examine how factors related to courses and instructors contributed to student perceptions of course quality (CQ) and instructor effectiveness (IE). Six stepwise regression procedures assessed the effects of specific course and instructor characteristics on perceptions of CQ and IE across one year of course evaluation data collected in a northeastern 2-year college. Results revealed that IE, quality of readings and assignments, and quality of threaded discussions had significant effects on CQ. In turn, student ratings of CQ, instructor-inspired interest in course material, and instructor availability and helpfulness had significant effects on IE. The results of the study can allow higher education administrators to make more effective decisions regarding online instruction and course structure, thus leading to increases in student persistence and success within online courses and programs.