The Colorado Re-Engaged (CORE) initiative, created under House Bill 21-1330, allows a four-year institution of higher education (IHE) to award an associate degree to former students who meet eligibility requirements -- including having already earned at least 70 credit hours before stopping-out of a bachelor's program. Under HB21-1330, each…

As community colleges continue to face challenges in serving an ever-changing student population and a wave of presidential retirements, the next generation of senior community college leaders is surfacing. To prepare these top-level administrators, doctoral-level community college leadership (CCL) programs often serve as a viable mechanism for…

The robust body of literature on the benefits of tutoring services clearly indicates a strong correlation between tutoring and student success. The students who most need tutoring, however, are least likely to utilize it. Because of this challenge, a writing center serving a medium-sized Midwestern community college explored how implementing…

This dissertation was a multiple case study research project designed to identify whether the "Men of Merit Program" (MOMP) met its goal of increasing persistence, retention, and graduation rates of African American male students at a Western New York Community College. Earlier statistics reported that other American colleges had shown a…

CCRC recently conducted two major studies to shed light on the feasibility of implementing guided pathways reforms at scale and on the association between implementation and improvements in student outcomes. The first is an evaluation of the AACC Pathways Project, which involved 30 colleges from around the country that were committed to making…

Teaching-focused professional development (PD) programs offered at institutions of higher education (IHEs) are uniquely positioned to be levers of change that improve the quality of undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in ways that broaden participation in STEM education, workforce development, and…

This dissertation conducts an evaluative case study on a community college's Career-Technical Education (CTE) Cultural Resource Management (CRM) technical certificate program to bridge the CRM workforce gap. The study assesses the program's design and development quality by aligning the program theory with stakeholders' needs, including…

Adjuncts continue to be an integral part of higher education; however, they are rarely onboarded at higher education institutions. Onboarding involves systematically introducing a new employee to an organization's values, processes, and procedures. For adjuncts, they also need formalized training in pedagogy. Without onboarding adjuncts, higher…

We evaluate whether the Bennett Hypothesis applies to local-level, single-institution promise programs and account for whether colleges have the authority to raise tuition, versus an external entity holding such authority. Using a sample of 29 community colleges affected by promise programs, we analyze changes in tuition across years 2001-02 to…

Many public workforce training programs lead to industry-recognized, third-party awarded credentials, but little research has been conducted on the economic benefits of these credentials in the labor market. This paper provides quasi-experimental evidence on the labor market returns to industry-recognized credentials connected to community college…

CUNY ASAP is a three-year program offering comprehensive student support, financial aid, and structured pathways. The program has served over 100,000 students since 2007 and been replicated across seven states. ASAP's primary goal is to increase the completion of college associate degrees. Specifically, the comprehensive intervention is expected…

In this essay, we explore program reviews as important sites for the tension Peter Ewell defines at the core of outcomes assessment practices: that is, between assessing for accountability and assessing for improvement. We address this tension through the example of our Industrial Design program on our urban campus in New York City. In exploring…

A mismatch remains between the skills employers seek in new hires and the skills applicants possess. This study encompassed an evaluation of the impacts of the Quality Enhancement Program on students' work readiness competencies, including oral, written, and digital communication skills, at Nunez Community College. The Quality Enhancement Program…

The role of leadership in education is to serve the student's best interest in preparation for a rewarding career and life. Accordingly, this study presented the perceptions of Institution of Higher Education (IHE) faculty regarding the roles and responsibilities of faculty, administrators, and students in achieving program success. The study was…

The Columbus Promise, a place-based tuition-free college program for graduates of Columbus City Schools, was created in 2021 and began granting scholarships to the high school graduating class of 2022. The initial phase of the Columbus Promise is a three-year pilot covering the high school graduating classes of 2022, 2023, and 2024. The overriding…