Objective: In an effort to break away from the stale classifications of community college students that stem from the hegemonic perspective of previous literature, this work utilizes the perceptions of community college practitioners to demonstrate new ways of understanding the identities of community college students. Method: By utilizing Gee’s identity theory and Grillo’s theory of intersectionality, we analyze interviews with community college practitioners from three different community colleges on the West coast of the United States to answer these questions: What identities (i.e., natural, institutional, and discursive) do faculty and administrators recognize in community college students? In what ways do community college faculty and administrators describe and conceptualize community college students? Findings: First, community college student identities are intricate and have changed with time; there are two different institutional views held by organizational members—the educational view and the managerial view—which both shape the construction of student identities and play a prominent role in determining which students are disadvantaged. Second, organizational members constructed meanings of student achievement and value (i.e., attributes or outcomes of the ideal student, or what policy makers and institutions refer to as success) according to organizational priorities and perspectives. Conclusion: This investigation encapsulates and elucidates the portrayals and understandings of community college students held by community college administrators and faculty as a means to acknowledge the diverse identities among these students. Scholars and practitioners are encouraged to acknowledge the polymorphic identities of this diverse population to improve scholarship and practice.
Objective: Recent studies have shown that community college transfer students are just as likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree as students who directly enroll in a 4-year institution. However, these studies do not typically examine whether there is a penalty for community college students in terms of the length of time it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree. In this study, we seek to determine whether there are differences between community college transfer students and direct 4-year college entrants regarding the likelihood of bachelor’s degree completion as a function of time. Method: Propensity score matching with a posttreatment adjustment was used to create observationally equivalent groups of community college transfer students and rising 4-year college juniors. Propensity scores were calculated using a multilevel model with students nested within high schools to account for pretreatment contextual differences. Descriptive survival analysis was applied to ascertain whether differences existed in the cumulative rate of bachelor’s degree completion throughout a 7-year tracking period. Results: Several significant prematch differences between the two groups—community college transfers and 4-year college juniors—were established. It was then demonstrated how the matching process created adequate balance between the two groups on all observed covariates. Although community college students experienced an initial penalty with respect to degree completion until 125% of normal time, the penalty was no longer evident 6 years after initial enrollment in college. Contributions: Given this finding, we discuss the need for policies that help community college transfer students achieve timely bachelor’s degree completion.
Objective: Remedial mathematics courses are widely considered a barrier to student success in community college, and there has been a significant amount of work recently to reform them. Yet, there is little research that explicitly examines whether increasing learning in remedial classes improves grades or completion rates. This study examines the relationship between procedural and conceptual learning in developmental math and measures of progress toward a degree, such as grades. Method: A mathematical skills assessment was given to all intermediate algebra students at a large, urban community college, and to students in the following college-level class at the beginning of the next term. Assessment scores were compared with student characteristics, grades in intermediate algebra, grades in college-level math, and whether the student earned a credential. Results: After controlling for grades in previous classes, procedural algebra skills were not associated with higher grades in college-level math. Conceptual mathematics proficiency was associated with higher grades in general education math but not in precalculus. In developmental classes, however, learning gains were primarily procedural, which were correlated with grades. In addition, students who took at least one term off of math had significantly lower procedural skills but not conceptual skills. Contributions: The findings challenge the assumption in community college research that increased student learning in remedial mathematics will improve student outcomes. The results suggest that the type of mathematics taught in developmental classes can have an effect on student outcomes. Instruction focused on procedural skills may not be preparing students for college mathematics.
Purpose: America’s College Promise (ACP) is a legislative initiative introduced by President Obama to increase access to higher education, to build the economy, and to support his earlier American Graduation Initiative. This legislation has the potential to settle among the ranks of the most influential federal higher education aid and access legislation passed in the 20th century, and influence the next administration’s higher education agenda. The purpose of this article is to situate ACP in that historical hierarchy and position the initiative within the literature regarding federal policy directed toward student aid and access. Particular attention is given to federal policies relevant to community colleges and the dependence of this initiative on community colleges as this research may help multiple constituencies shape the direction of this policy as it unfolds, and offer a framework for implementation. Proposed model: Through historical analyses of federal policies, scholarly critiques, and public presidential speeches and the impact of these policies and documents on the community college specifically, scholars and practitioners are provided a work that places ACP in context and may offer a better understanding of how this policy may affect the institution, students, and business and industry partners. Conclusion: Considering these relationships and the potential impact of ACP, it is determined that this policy has the potential to have an equally profound impact on higher education to that of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 but warns of ideological influences on its execution.
Objective: This study probes the reasons for high attrition rates and sense of community among students enrolled at a technical institution serving low-income students in Bogotá, Colombia. Although sense of community on campus is the strongest predictor of a student’s thriving, scholars in higher education have studied mainly minority students’ sense of belonging, which is just one of the four elements of sense of community. In contrast, this study examines the sense of community among students who are marginalized from the broader social context but who are not a numerical minority at their institution. Method: We developed an ecological retention model for students in technical careers to identify factors unique to the study’s context. We used an embedded and descriptive case study where students were the unit of analysis and multiple sources of data including interviews with administrators, instructors, and students as well as focus groups with students, institutional documentation, and field notes. Results: The broader socioeconomic conditions of Bogotá have deep consequences for students and shape the institutional culture and climate. We also found that students are not thriving and are at risk of leaving the institution, due in part to a weak sense of community. Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of student retention through sense of community and in contexts foreign to most of the previous research on student retention. This knowledge is significant for guiding policies and practices for the retention of students worldwide.
Objective: Some have hypothesized that community college programs are not sufficiently structured to support student success and that students would benefit from more highly structured programs. This study examines the specific ways that structure is expressed in policy and practice at representative community colleges. Method: Using data obtained from interviews and program websites at Washington State community and technical colleges, we examine the structure of community college career-technical programs along four dimensions: program prescription, program alignment, access to information, and active advising and support. Results: We find high levels of structure on all dimensions in the allied health, computer and information science, and mechanics and repair programs. There are moderate levels of structure in the business and marketing programs. Contributions: This study documents the specific ways that community college career-technical programs are structured to support student success, and it provides a framework for examining structure to inform practice and guide future research efforts.
Objective: Changing how community colleges deliver developmental education has become a key policy lever to increase student achievement. Alternative development education models reduce the amount of time a student spends in remediation, provide students with supplemental instruction and support, and contextualize content to align with student academic and career interests. While some states mandate the use of alternative delivery models, other states, such as California, give discretion to colleges over how developmental education should be delivered. We investigated how community colleges from one California district with particularly high remediation rates have responded to external pressures to revamp the traditional delivery model for developmental math. We did so by studying which delivery models they used, where they allocated alternative delivery models in the math sequence, and the extent that they adopted alternative delivery models over time. Method: We employed content and descriptive analytic methods to examine descriptions of developmental math courses sections. Results: First, colleges employed commonly known alternative models but also utilized unfamiliar ones, such as extending the developmental math sequence. Second, more academically prepared students had greater access to course sections offering alternative approaches in contrast to less academically prepared students. Third, despite the push for alternative approaches, the traditional model prevailed in the delivery of developmental math over time. Contributions: We provide hypotheses to explain why community colleges failed to adopt alternative models at scale, and argue that inequitable access to these approaches is a missed opportunity to alter the educational experiences of the least prepared.
Objective: This study explores the relationship between online social network involvement and academic outcomes among community college students. Prior theory hypothesizes that socio-academic moments are especially important for the integration of students into community colleges and that integration is related to academic outcomes. Online social networks offer a forum for socio-academic contact and integration on 2-year campuses. Is involvement with online social networks positively related to academic outcomes? Method: This study draws on institutional and online network data. We qualitatively code text from the network (N = 8,749) to examine the extent of socio-academic interaction. Using logistic and multiple regression, we examine the relationships between socio-academic exchanges, other forms of online network involvement, and student academic outcomes in a large sample of students (N = 27,040). Results: Participation in socio-academic exchange is associated with higher grade point average. In addition, the prior academic outcomes of a student’s online friends are predictive of the student’s own outcomes after joining the network, suggesting the possibility of peer effects. Other network behaviors are not significantly related to the academic outcomes we study. Contributions: This study is the first to consider online social networks as a forum for socio-academic integration at a community college. Our study fills a gap in the research literature with respect to understanding the socio-academic integration of community college students and the potential of social media to foster integration. Through our findings, this study offers strategic ways for practitioners to think about implementing social media to benefit students academically.
Objective: Statway is a community college pathways initiative developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching designed to accelerate students’ progress through their developmental math sequence to acquiring college math credit in statistics. Statway is a multifaceted change initiative designed to address the complex problems that impede student success. Specifically, it is a one-year pathway program through which students acquire college math credit. Instructors use research-based learning principles to improve the content and pedagogy for student learning and incorporate social-psychological interventions to sustain student engagement and persistence. In addition, language supports for students’ accessibility to mathematics learning are integrated into the curriculum. Professional development resources assist faculty as they teach new content utilizing unfamiliar pedagogies. Statway is organized as a networked improvement community intending to accelerate educators’ efforts to continuously improve. This study was aimed to assess the effectiveness of Statway during its first two years of implementation. Method: We applied a multilevel model with propensity score matching to control for possible selection bias and increase the validity of causal inference. Results: We found large effects of Statway on students attaining college math credit with persisting effects into the following year as Statway students also accumulated more college-level credits. These improved outcomes emerged for each gender and race/ethnicity groups and for students with different math placement levels. Conclusion: This study provided robust evidence that Statway increases student success in acquiring college math credit and enhances equity in student outcomes. Directions for future work are suggested.
Efforts to increase the number of women who pursue and complete advanced degrees in computer and information sciences (CIS) have been limited, in part, by a lack of research on pathways into and out of community college CIS classes. This longitudinal study tests three widely held beliefs about how to increase the number of CIS majors at 4-year universities, particularly among females. Data were collected from 741 women and men from 15 community colleges in California who enrolled in an introductory programming class. The results highlight the importance of preparation and interactions with professors for male students, and of motivational, relational, and behavioral factors for female students, specifically peer support, expectations for success in computinge, and computer gaming.
This study explores community college student mental health by comparing the responses of California community college and traditional university students on the American College Health Association–National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA II). Using MANOVA, we compared community college and traditional university students, examining overall group differences on four multicomponent questions; pairwise comparisons also were used to examine individual survey items. This study found significant differences in reported mental health issues and needs between the students. More specifically, a pattern of difference in psychological concerns, available resources, and resource utilization emerged, with community college students having more severe psychological concerns and less institutional mental health resources than traditional university students. Findings suggest that both community colleges and traditional universities would benefit from increased mental health resources, though community colleges are particularly in need.
As one of the few qualitative studies on this topic, this phenomenological study examined how parolees experience participation in a community college reentry program. One-on-one interviews were conducted with 11 parolee college students. Major themes found that parolees enjoy the college environment and that they have become role models for their families as a result of their college experiences. Most participants also believe that taking community college classes has improved their parole experiences and will decrease their chances of returning to prison. This research reveals a potential role for more community colleges to serve such parolee populations as part of their public good mission.
Community colleges play a key role in educating the large number of non-traditional, low-income, and under-prepared students who have entered higher education in the past several decades. Despite increased access, community colleges are struggling to graduate students. Most, if not all, strategies provided by scholars to improve college completion rates assume increased student engagement will enhance persistence and success. Existing theories of persistence overlook the dynamic influence of job markets for the students community colleges serve. Using National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, this article draws on Tinto’s theory of persistence and proposes a new framework that acknowledges the role of job opportunities and of work–family–schooling quandaries in community college students’ choices about persistence. Our model builds on the following relevant notions: (a) human capital theory, (b) social integration, and (c) socio-academic integration. Our model has important implications for leaders who aim to better align students’ college experiences with their desired careers and available jobs.
Lower division preparation for the university has been an important mission of community colleges since their inception, creating an essential pathway to baccalaureate degree attainment for many students who may not have access to higher education. The transfer pathway is complex and often difficult for students to navigate. This study examined the decisions students make after being denied transfer admission to a public university and the extent to which the difficulty with transfer is rooted in insufficient capacity to meet the growing demand for postsecondary education at many public universities in California.
This longitudinal, qualitative study explores developmental English students’ experience of remediation in the context of a first-semester learning community (LC). Conducted at an urban community college in the Northeast, data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted over a 3-year period with a cohort of 15 students who were placed into a first-semester LC that linked the lowest level of developmental English with Introduction to Psychology and a student development course. Findings shed light on students’ changing perceptions of their placement in remedial English, their insights into LC participation, and reveal implications for community college research and practice. Developmental students’ experiences, voices, and perspectives are the focus of this study and are analyzed in the context of the highly contentious debate over college remediation.
This study investigates how the impact of developmental education is moderated by classroom composition. Drawing on a regression discontinuity design, we used data from 3,429 community college students, nested within 223 classrooms, to explore the extent to which classroom and instructor characteristics moderated the effect of developmental English students’ performance in a successive, college-level English course. Our results suggest developmental English students’ college-level course performance benefited from developmental education but was modified by classroom and instructor characteristics. On average, the impact of participating in the developmental English program was greater when developmental students were enrolled in classrooms that contained a higher proportion of developmental students. Achievement for developmental students was also enhanced when developmental students enrolled in classrooms taught by full-time instructors. Findings suggest that after underprepared students completed developmental English, classroom composition in the first, college-level English course had significant influence on developmental students’ performance.
Nationwide, low percentages of community college students graduate. Although community colleges’ higher percentages of low income, academically underprepared, non-traditional, and minority students are often cited as the reason for low graduation rates, this study sought to examine common characteristics of community college students who do graduate. The qualitative study included interviews of community college graduates from a large, public community college in the Southeastern United States, as well as interviews of faculty and staff members at the institution. The students in this study were found to have the following characteristics in common: clear goals, strong motivation and a drive to succeed, ability to manage external demands, and self-empowerment.
Community colleges enroll nearly half of the students enrolled in public undergraduate programs and a disproportionate number of first-generation, low-income, underprepared and minority students. The new national completion agenda has brought both visibility and pressure to these open-access institutions, which have completion rates of less than 25% for first-time full-time students and even lower rates for part-time students. While interventions to improve success tend to be focused on the first year, a surprisingly large number of students successfully complete more than 1 year of college credits yet leave without completing a credential or transferring. This study focuses on these "nearbies," successful students close to completion who leave higher education. Results indicate students have varied reasons for departing, demonstrate behaviors at odds with their espoused value of earning a certificate or degree, and need support and encouragement throughout their time at the college. Personal relationships are particularly important in fostering a sense of connection.
Transfer students are a distinct population. Their characteristics lead to a qualitatively different student experience. Drawing on interviews with a cross-sectional sample of transfer students at George Mason University (GMU), this study focused on the ways transfer students perceived their social and academic engagement, on the ways they engaged academically and socially at GMU, and on the ways in which their perceptions of engagement and their actual patterns of engagement affected their sense of belonging at GMU. Most notably, transfer students viewed social engagement in the context of family and community rather than college life. The findings have implications for how campuses support transfer students and question assumptions about some engagement theories.