As the cost of higher education has continued to rise, public interest in the proportional economic return on investment in higher education has also grown. While research associating the quality of education and institutional attributes with graduate earning potentials exists in the university sector, fewer studies have focused on earning…

Recent media attention concerning the escalation of crime on college campuses has created a sense of urgency to address how crime will impact the largest community college system in the United States, California Community Colleges. Crime can deter academic success and social engagement. This study utilizes social disorganization theory to examine…

Objective: An increasing number of states are adopting performance-based funding (PBF) systems for their public colleges, but there are concerns that PBF dissuades colleges from recruiting and enrolling students with a lower likelihood of success. Some states have attempted to address this concern by providing additional funds for successfully…

Objective: Increasing rural community college degree attainment is very important to foster rural areas' economic and social well-being. Rural community colleges differ greatly from their suburban and urban counterparts in financial aid patterns and student bodies. However, existing literature is vacant with respect to student financial aid and…

Over 40% of undergraduates in the United States attend a community college; however, fewer than 50% complete a degree or certificate within 6 years. As a result, national and state leaders have endorsed completion agenda initiatives, including performance-based funding (PBF). Texas implemented a form of PBF for the 2014-2015 Academic Year (AY)…

This quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group study compared the impact of Ennis's (1989) mixed instructional methodology to the immersion methodology on the development of critical thinking in a multicultural, undergraduate senior-year learning community. A convenience sample of students (n =171) were selected from four sections of a…

This study explored relationships between placement decisions in English and reading courses and measures of college achievement and persistence for first-time degree- and certificate-seeking community college students enrolled at a large, public, suburban-serving community college in Maryland. Archived records were examined for students who had…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" looks at three-year enrollment and attainment outcomes of students who persist through their first year. Additionally, first-year persisters (FYPs) were grouped based on the interaction of several student characteristics; analysis was conducted to…

Nearly one-quarter of students in community colleges leave school during the first year of enrollment for reasons other than transfer or credential completion. Generally, nontraditional community college students drop out within their first year at higher rates than do traditional students. Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges…