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It is believed by many that in order to be competitive in the global economy, we must provide opportunities for the college-age population to enroll in post-secondary education and complete training in higher education. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of administrators, faculty, and student support service staff regarding retention practices and services used by the community college to retain full-time, associate degree seeking students from their 1st year to 2nd year of enrollment. A descriptive research design was used in this study, and data analysis included frequencies, means, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA. A survey was distributed to a sample of 349 participants who were employed in a community college requesting their perceptions regarding the importance of 22 advising center's practices and services. The study served to increase knowledge of retention practices and services provided by a community college with 6 campus locations. Findings from the study revealed that 5 of the 22 advising practices and services had a significant difference while the other 17 practices/ services had no significant difference. Significant differences were found in the perceptions of administrators, faculty, and support staff in the following areas: (a) the practice /service extended freshman seminar or orientation credit course, (b) the practice/service policies for advising of students by faculty, (c) the practice/service of academic accommodations for students with learning disabilities, (d) the practice/service early warning system for academically at risk students, and (e) the practice/service special support programs for racial/ethnic minorities. The results of this study revealed that the role of administrators, faculty, and support staff is a fundamental component in the retention of students.

The aim of this study was to investigate the question of whether or not the gap between rural and urban workforce outcomes is reduced with investment in human capital and training conducted by community colleges. In this study, rural and urban differences in employment rate, employment retention, and wage gain after receiving training were examined to determine the extent to which the gap between rural and urban workforce outcomes is reduced by investment in human capital and training conducted by community colleges. Three research questions were examined. 1. Are Mississippians in rural and urban settings equally able to secure employment after receiving specialized and advanced training? 2. Are Mississippians in rural and urban settings engaging in specialized- and advanced-skill development equally able to retain employment over time? 3. Do Mississippians in rural and urban settings experience the same wage increase after receiving specialized and advanced training? The researcher hypothesized that investment in skill development would reduce the gap between rural and urban workforce outcomes, controlling for individual and local factors. The results of this study have several implications. First, training is a critical component to gaining and retaining employment. On average, 80% of those who receive training from community colleges are able to gain employment. Of those, 54% are able to retain their jobs for the remainder of the year and training generates an annual increase of $4,633 in wages, on average. Second, the results show that there are urban and rural differences in workforce outcomes. Third, individual characteristics matter and, in all cases, those who benefit the most from training are those with 2-year degrees, confirming that community colleges play a fundamental role in providing the knowledge and skills for our workforce. Fourth, local conditions cannot be dismissed in addressing differential workforce outcomes.

This case study examined how participating in a short-term education abroad program fostered transformative learning for a small group of community college students. As a participant-observer, I utilized ethnographic methods, including interviews, observations, and document analysis, to understand students' perceptions of their experiences studying in Peru for two weeks. The following questions guided the research: How do participants describe their perceptions of their experiences studying abroad? How do participants' biographies impact their perceptions of their experiences? How do programmatic features influence participants' perceptions of studying abroad? To investigate these questions, I utilized Glaser and Strauss' (1973) constant comparative method, in which I systematically and simultaneously collected and analyzed the data. Kiely's (2005) transformative learning model for service-learning served as a frame through which I analyzed participants' experiences. Four key themes concerning learning processes and outcomes emerged from this analysis. The new relationships that students forged and the intensive language classes provided the most impactful learning experiences. As a result of studying abroad, the participants reflected on and reassessed their own lives and expressed a desire to engage in future international travel. This study's findings illustrate the transformative potential of short-term study abroad programs for community college students. Previous short-term study abroad research has primarily investigated the outcomes of students' participation in four- to eight-week programs at four-year institutions; few studies have documented community college students' learning processes in very short education programs. The insights gained from this study contribute to the extant study abroad literature and inform community college administrators and faculty as they design and implement education abroad programs at their institutions. / Urban Education

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah J. Fishback / A growing body of literature suggested that students who come from poverty have potential risk factors that included: being the first in the family to attend a college, being poorly prepared for the academic rigors of college and requiring remedial developmental coursework. Students from poverty who accessed the rural community college also struggled with rising tuition and fees, as well as the cost of books. Students from poverty had greater struggles with social and personal issues and experienced lower completion rates. Limited research has been conducted with this segment of rural students from poverty backgrounds attending community college in the rural setting. This dissertation described a phenomenological case study approach to identify the impact of poverty on the achievement and persistence of rural students who access the rural community college. A small community college in the Midwest representing a rural population and a high percentage of poverty students was selected as the site for the study. The goal of this research was to explore perceived factors by students receiving Pell Grants and in developmental courses while in attendance at a rural community college in order to identify possible strategies to ameliorate barriers in their rural community college experience. The research found this student population to be at high risk with multiple risk factors. In addition to being developmental and receiving Pell Grants, other scholarships combined with working part-time and often full-time were needed to supplement student finances; poor high school academic preparation and counseling; lacked the computer skills necessary for college coursework; being non-traditional; lack of consistency in tutoring services; and being food short and hungry. These additional risk factors made this segment of the student population fragile.

The problem of this study is to describe and analyze faculty attitudes toward administrators in an urban junior college district. The purposes of this study are to ascertain the attitudes of junior college faculty toward campus-level administrative positions and to determine what relationship existed between general and specific measures of faculty attitude.

This study evaluated the attributes, teaching effectiveness and educational commitment of part-time faculty in enrollment-funded community colleges. The Student Instructional Rating instrument was used to measure student perceptions of instructors in the community college. Twenty four community colleges were randomly selected from North Carolina. Within each college, four full-time and four part-time faculty were randomly selected to participate in the study. Attributes of part-time faculty were compared to attributes of full-time faculty. Teaching effectiveness was assessed from dimensions on the Student Instructional Rating instrument. Various dimensions on the SIR including Faculty/Student Interaction, Overall Quality of the Course, Course Difficulty, and Lectures were used to evaluate instructional effectiveness. A regression model was used to evaluate the attributes of teaching effectiveness for both full-time and part-time faculty and the slopes of regression coefficients were evaluated to determine how effective part-time instruction differed from effective full-time instruction. Part-time faculty were perceived as effective when compared to their full-time counterpart on the dimensions of Faculty/Student Interaction. Other demographic attributes of part-time faculty were evaluated with no significant difference between full-time and part-time faculty. However, full-time faculty were perceived more effective on Overall Quality of the Course, Lectures, Textbooks, and Reading Assignments. Part-time faculty commitment to non-instructional tasks was assessed and the implications for teaching effectiveness were examined. This study also discussed the shift in instructional workloads from part-time to full-time faculty as the number of part-time faculty increase.

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of general education and occupational program articulation efforts and practices as they existed between community colleges and the public secondary and vocational schools in Virginia. The problem was to also determine if a positive climate existed which was necessary for the planning of articulated programs between the secondary, vocational, and community college systems. The climate was determined by the perceptions reported by administrators toward articulation activities. The population studied included the academic deans from 10 Virginia community colleges and the principals of representative public secondary and vocational schools from each of the selected college service areas. Paired questionnaires were utilized to assess the status of articulation activities and to determine the attitudes of administrators toward articulation activities. Chi square statistics were used to analyze the data. Seven null hypotheses were tested in the study. Comparisons were made based on the responses of the three administrative groups as related to the type of institution, the geographical setting (rural or urban), the geographical location, and the size of the community college. It was concluded that community college administrators, secondary school principals, and vocational school principals indicated overall positive attitudes toward articulation activities. Overall participation of secondary and vocational schools in articulation activities with community colleges was well below the 50% level. Administrators involved in articulation activities felt very positive about the overall benefits of such involvement. Administrators not involved in articulation activities tended to hold positive feelings toward the initiation of most articulation practices. Significant attitudinal differences were identified in administrators' opinions concerning college level courses being offered in the high schools, the sharing of educational resources, and the utilization of college faculty in the high school. Significant differences in the participation of adminstrators in articulation activities were identified in the areas of cooperative program development, the offering of college level classes in high schools, sharing of educational resources, the formulation of written articulation guidelines and policies, and attendance at articulation meetings. Nearly all administrators felt the high school programs were providing the type of preparation needed by students to succeed in community college programs, and they felt positively that high school vocational programs should be designed to allow students to continue in their specialty area at the community college as well as to enter the labor market.

A local community college is experiencing low level student retention. . The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of administrators, faculty and students regarding the low student retention rate. The participants for this qualitative case study included 6 former students who withdrew from the local community college before completing their degrees, 2 faculty members, and 2 administrators. The conceptual framework was constructivism. Research questions were designed to elicit perceptions of understanding retention issues in terms of adult learning and documenting the problem of retention. Data were collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and document review to answer the research questions. Interview data were coded, and 10 themes were identified. Themes included lack of socialization, cost of tuition, lack of online options, class scheduling, student self-discipline, quality of faculty, institutional support, high schools not preparing students for college, 2 year degree implications, and parental pressure. Document review showed that minimal efforts were present to track students or educate faculty regarding adult learning through the 2 year degree process. The key results showed that student retention was a problem that needed to be addressed at both the faculty and administrative levels. The themes resulting from data analysis served as the basis for creation of a 3-day professional development training project for faculty and administrators at the college. This study and resulting project might encourage positive social change for the students, faculty, administration, and college by improving retention rates and graduating more students into the workforce.