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Roughly 60% of first-year community college students attending a community college in Idaho need to take remedial courses. Such a high percentage of first-year community college students in remedial courses indicates that students are not being properly prepared for collegiate studies. The purpose of this study was to understand college readiness through the perception of first-year community college students who were taking remedial courses. The framework for this study builds on Conley's multidimensional model of college readiness. Data from 10 semi structured interviews conducted with community college students taking remedial courses provided information about the opinions and ideas about college readiness, in addition to evaluations regarding what was missing in their K-12 education to prepare them for collegiate studies. Through open-ended data coding, interrelated themes were analyzed, and the interpreted meaning was shared through a qualitative narrative. The findings from this study suggest that college readiness is more than academic knowledge and understanding. The K-12 education system shall help students to focus on specific skills such as time management and note taking and to seek out their passions and goals. The findings also suggest that the K-12 education system within the United States needs to be restructured to incorporate a system that encourages and supports student success through more individualized learning that places focus on student passions. When students are given the opportunity to seek after their passions, they gain more interest and motivation to learn and build a strong sense of self-efficacy.

In Chile, 50% of students who enroll in Chilean colleges do not graduate, negatively impacting their families' economic situations as well as national development. The purpose of this qualitative bounded case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions held by math, English, and general education professors regarding the support provided to freshman students in a program at 1 campus of a private Chilean university. Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory emphasizing internal and external motivations and social constructivism theory emphasizing development as a process comprised the conceptual framework. Both theories provide meaningful understanding of the drivers that support students in their learning process. The research questions focused on understanding the support that math, English, and general education professors and directors might provide to freshman students. A purposeful homogeneous sampling was used to identify 9 professors and 3 directors. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, peer debriefing, and member checks to triangulate the data. The findings revealed that the university could benefit from implementing a seminar program to acclimate conditionally admitted students to university studies. A 1-week seminar was developed. This study may contribute to positive social change by influencing professors' and directors' perceptions regarding possibilities for supporting students in improving their academic performance, thereby raising student passing and graduation rates to positively impact national development in Chile.

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