College students are failing to graduate at unacceptable rates (Camera, 2016; DeVore, 2016; Scherer & Anson, 2014; Schneider, 2008). If graduation is the goal, then retention is the means. The research study sought to understand a potential solution to the pervasive retention problem, by researching a new strategy, compassionate enrollment.…

The focus of this research is to provide a framework for community colleges and community-based organizations to partner in a manner that improves student outcomes in persistence and graduation rates. The proposed framework encourages digital student engagement that assists students with their non-academic needs, such as hunger or homelessness.…

This dissertation investigated the effects of the intervention of the Just One Mentoring Program on student persistence in completing their career programs. The population for this study consisted of a heterogeneous group of students enrolled in the Just One Mentoring Program during summer 2003 through fall 2006 at a community college located in…

Designing effective student retention programs is of critical importance from both a completion and a monetary standpoint. However, oftentimes colleges attempt to use nationally developed models rather than institutional-specific data to identify potential factors involved in student attrition. At a Midwestern community college, research…

At a community college in Florida, the associate of science in nursing (ASN) program has experienced low persistence rates especially after the first semester of study. Framed by Jeffreys's nursing undergraduate retention and success model, a mixed-method approach was used to investigate first-semester and final-year ASN students' perceptions of…

Despite a great increase in the numbers of students enrolling in higher education, specifically at community colleges, the successful completion rates for these students has remained static since the 1970s. When reviewing strategies to increase student retention and successful completion, the Student Success Course (SSC) has emerged as a promising…

This article reports two studies undertaken at The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, a vocational distance education (DE) provider, where course completion rates have risen to match those of face-to-face technical institutions. A simple model of student engagement is presented, which reflects the triality between the student, institution, and…

Disparities exist among minorities in educational attainment. The gap widens when examining access to higher education and persistence rates among minority males as compared to their white counterparts and minority females. The purpose of this action research study was to explore the impact of a reciprocal mentoring model between faculty and…

Nearly all young people in the United States aspire to a college degree, but many fail to complete college in a timely manner. Does this lack of attainment reflect abandoned college plans? I analyze mixed-methods data from a five-year study of 700 low-income mothers at two Louisiana community colleges. Hurricane Katrina displaced respondents and…

United States community college students face numerous barriers both externally and internally that impede overall success. There are noted interventions that when employed by the college, have a greater chance of leading students to increased persistence (finishing the term) and completion (finishing their academic/professional program).…

Based on a mixed methods case study design, the current study reports on a Promise Scholarship program offered by a community college and its affiliated foundation to graduating students at a nearby high school located in a low-income neighborhood of a large city and with a high proportion of African American and other students of color. Using a…

The purpose of this non-experimental, descriptive, quantitative study was to describe the impact high school dual enrollment coursework has had on initial enrollment of women with STEM majors in Montana two-year colleges. The study was designed to find whether or not differences existed for access (initial enrollment), persistence (to third…

A mixed-methods study was conducted to examine the effects of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy training on learners' achievement, motivation and strategy use in a web-enhanced College Success course at a community college in southeast US. It was found that training assisted with students' overall course performance and accomplishment of…

There are a large number of students entering college underprepared for college-level mathematics (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2011). While this problem is not new, it has become the focus of national attention because of the impact it has on college completion and workforce development. There is much written in the…

Approximately 30% of students who persist to the end of their courses at two-year colleges do not do so with a passing grade, yet research on the educational experiences of these unsuccessful community college persisters remains limited. The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was threefold. First, this study attempted to identify…