One of the traditional aims of higher education is to prepare informed citizens who are civically engaged. Although many voters are underinformed, there are multiple social benefits to having an informed electorate. Therefore, colleges should aspire to not only increase student voter turnout but to prepare informed voters. In this article, I use…

Research suggests that high-quality work-based learning (WBL) can be a promising approach to solving the leaky pipeline for undertapped demographic groups such as women and students of color, including for STEM fields Community colleges are especially important vehicles for WBL due to their diverse student populations and their partnerships with…

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate self-efficacy as a potential mediator in the relationship between the amount of time students spent during high school participating in the arts and their current science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) motivation levels. The study participants (N = 68) were between the ages of…

Nationally, men of color are graduating college at the lowest rates of all race-gender subgroups. Prior research suggests this population faces unique obstacles as it relates to race and gender and these challenges are often invisible and difficult to resolve. Academic supports can help students overcome these obstacles; however, it is not clear…

We use regression discontinuity design to examine the impact of placing into developmental math on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) participation in community colleges and whether these relationships differ for underrepresented racially minoritized (URM), women, STEM-oriented, and STEM-aspiring students. Results show that…

This study investigated the relationship learning community participation has with community college students' perceived learning gains and engagement in educationally purposeful activities. Study data were sourced from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) with a total of 694 institutions and over 107,000 participants. To…

Student writing center use has been associated with positive academic outcomes, yet less attention has been paid to what, exactly, influences their participation. The researcher surveyed 434 community college students on a range of demographic and academic variables, as well as their level of self-efficacy in writing, to predict their writing…

Objective: This study asked how faculty behaviors and course decisions best predict learning gains for students. Next, it investigated how the identified engaging practices vary based on faculty employment status, course experience, course level taught, and teaching area. Method: The sample was taken from students and faculty at one community…

A dearth of literature exists on first-year transfer student interventions, which makes it difficult to determine whether there are transfer student subgroups that struggle more than others. This study used a latent class analysis to examine whether meaningful subgroups of transfer students emerged based on their response patterns to measures of…

Internships are widely perceived as a "high-impact practice" that opens the doors of opportunity for college students, yet little is known about obstacles to participation. Instead, educators and employers too often view participation as unproblematic, with many postsecondary institutions beginning to mandate internships for graduation…

The California Community College system, as an open access institution, is tasked with helping students who possess math skills far below college-level complete math course requirements for obtaining an associate degree or transfer to a university. Colleges have created various developmental math programs to achieve this mission; this paper…

Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010), our study aims to understand how community college transfer students' STEM degree attainment behavior is shaped by their beliefs, intentions, contextual factors and social-demographic characteristics. This study drew upon data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002…

This study examined the difference in thriving levels in a sample of 346 community college students at one institution compared to the national norms and determined the degree to which peer support contributes to the variance in scores on the Thriving Quotient (Schreiner, 2012). Thriving is defined as full engagement in college experiences on an…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify demographic variables and community college experiences that influence the academic and social adjustment process of adult vertical transfer students at the university. Data collected on adult vertical transfer student demographic information and community college experiences were examined in…

Oregon has invested resources to expand access to accelerated learning programs (i.e., educational experiences that allow students to earn college credit in high school), and education leaders are committed to ensuring they are sustainable, equitable, and effective. Conducted in partnership with practitioners from secondary and postsecondary…