An increasing number of community colleges have expanded their programmatic offerings to include baccalaureate degrees. In this national, mixed methods study, we examined how and to what extent the implementation of baccalaureate degree programs has impacted academic advising policies and practices across U.S. community colleges. Survey and…

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand how a new two-year college was designed and implemented within the context of and as a response to the completion agenda by focusing on the decisions and actions of the Administrative Leadership Team (ALT). The research was framed around the completion agenda themes of access, affordability, and…

In 2013, the state of Florida passed Senate Bill 1720, which reformed developmental education and gateway courses across the state of Florida. There was a gap in the research regarding how the institutions planned and implemented the changes necessary to comply with the bill. This basic qualitative study examined the strategies used by leaders to…

Despite research pointing to the crucial role nonacademic staff play in student success in higher education, large-scale reform efforts at community colleges and elsewhere typically focus little direct attention on interpersonal interactions between students and staff. Caring Campus is a program developed and administered by the Institute for…

High enrollment in developmental education, low completion, transfer, and graduation rates, led to the enactment of P.A. 12-40 (An Act Concerning College Readiness and Completion) by Connecticut policymakers. The purpose of this single case exploratory study with embedded units was to investigate how Connecticut State Colleges and Universities…

Improving the success of academically underprepared students who are in need of developmental (or remedial) education is a key challenge facing community colleges today. Many of these students enter college with little awareness of these institutions' expectations or a clear model for how to make effective decisions about their academic careers.…

Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) represents the only chance for many Baltimore City residents to obtain a post-secondary education, find a job with a career path, and earn a sufficient income to support a family. BCCC is also a critical linchpin in Baltimore's ability to build a competitive workforce. Yet the college, with 7,300 credit…