The transitional period of attending college marks a shift towards personal independence for students. The management of conversational topics requires students to determine how they share information. Management of mental health information is a critical topic that cannot be overlooked during these re-negotiation periods. The goal of this study was to examine how the five privacy rule development criteria (culture, context, motivation, risk/benefit gender) of Communication Privacy Management Theory predict a college student’s likelihood to reveal a mental health problem to their instructor. Using multiple regression, bivariate linear regression, and factorial ANOVA, this study revealed that the CPM rule development criteria variables (culture, context, motivation, and gender) are predictors of college students disclosing a mental health problem to their instructors. Findings suggest that predictors of privacy management center on communication and relational factors between students and instructors as well as perceptions of an open conversation-oriented classroom culture, and gender.

This quantitative study explored the obstacles African American male students face that can hinder their academic progress at community colleges within the rural regions of Louisiana. This study viewed the collective experiences of African American males in community colleges in order to improve their academic outcomes, completion, and retention rates. This study also explored the African American male’s educational experiences and the personal and academic obstacles they faced as students in the community college environment. This study used a research design that collected data from African American male students in two rural Louisiana community colleges. This study utilized a survey as the means to collect data. The dependent variables in this study were age, first-generation college student status, academic goal, and full-time or part-time job status. The independent variables were institutional factors that affect students’ completion rates, role of relationships with instructors, and impediments to social engagement in the community college environment. There were 100 African American male students who participated in the survey. The survey included 25 questions. There were 4 questions that measure participants’ demographics. The demographics being measured were age range, first-generation college student status, academic goal, and job status. There were 7 questions that measured the institutional factors that may affect completion rates. There were 9 questions that measured the experiences with faculty. There were 5 questions that measured student engagement socially and academically on campus. Answers were given based on a Likert scale or a list of responses from which to choose. Data analyses used to address the research questions include descriptive statistics for Research Questions 1-3 and one-way ANOVA for Research Question 4. Results from this study showed a statistically significant relationship between the African American male students’ demographics and institutional factors, relationship with instructors, and social engagement as a predictor for retention and graduation rates. This study provided data for community college administrators, state and federal-level policy makers, and faculty to help improve degree, diploma, and certificate attainment of African American males in community colleges.