Rural community colleges serve as engines of economic opportunity and equity, offering students place-based programs and pathways that lead to good jobs. They also develop dynamic and responsive industry partnerships, to ensure their workforce education and training curriculum, programs, and transfer pathways meet the needs of local employers and…

Colleges implement success courses to improve student outcomes. Since expanding its curriculum to include nine success courses, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC)--a multi-college community college district in rural, southeastern Illinois--has not determined the efficacy of these courses on student success. The purpose of this study was to…

This dissertation investigates the implementation of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs in Illinois community colleges, focusing on Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) faculty perceptions. Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first conducted a survey among full-time ADN faculty across Illinois community…

Centers for undergraduate research and civic engagement are rare at the community college level. With two such Centers, both launched in 2022 and 2023 at a Midwestern Community College, we are examining how intentional mentoring efforts in undergraduate research and civic engagement at community colleges impact students' political efficacy and…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the Fiscal Year 2023 Salary Report, which derive from the ICCB Faculty, Staff, and Salary (C1) Data and Supplementary Faculty, Staff, and Salary Information, reflect the census date of October…

Public Agenda surveyed Illinois residents to learn about how they view public higher education and what would help it serve them and the state better. Three research briefs highlight key findings from the broader survey findings. This brief finds that 46% of Illinois residents do not have a post-secondary credential and are not currently enrolled…

The statewide program review process for Illinois community colleges required by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is scheduled on a five-year cycle, however, the value of program review is lost without regular opportunities for engagement and reflection on what has been learned through the process (Eggleston, 2020). Furthermore, one of…

Health Information Technology (HIT) is an in-demand occupation across Illinois and as such community colleges offer related preparation programs in the form of one-two semester Career and Technical Education (CTE) Certificates and Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees. Community college applied programs aim to meet the needs of local…

Data about compensation received by employees in Illinois' 48 public community colleges are gathered by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB). Data in the "Fiscal Year 2024 Salary Report," which derive from the ICCB Faculty, Staff, and Salary (C1) Data and Supplementary Faculty, Staff, and Salary Information, reflect the census…

This qualitative phenomenological study examines the leadership development activities of Illinois community college presidents and sought to understand not only how presidents prepare for their leadership roles, but what challenges presidents are currently facing, what advice they have for emerging leaders about effective leadership practices,…

Due to shifting funding polices for community colleges, the role of the community college foundation has changed greatly from passive fund managers for the institution into active fundraisers. With over 15,000 individuals nationally serving in the volunteer role of community college foundation board member, and managing nearly one billion dollars…

An institution of higher education will create a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) as a hub for pedagogical and professional development for its faculty. While CTLs have developed over the past fifty years, their administrators and staff have endeavored to develop, strengthen, and enhance quality pedagogical skills for anyone who teaches for…

In this interview study, I examine how student affairs administration (SAA) works at rural community colleges as well as how rural senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) function in their leadership roles. The study purports to understand student affairs in the context of "rurality," or what it means to be rural. Two primary research…

Since their inception in 1901, community colleges (CCs) have been a bastion of open-access education for everyone, serving as entryways to post-secondary education for countless students regardless of their sociodemographic and socioacademic backgrounds. On average, students from minoritized backgrounds (SFMBs) make up at least 50% of student…

City Colleges of Chicago undergo policy changes. In 2010, a reform sought to install accountability and transition City Colleges of Chicago into compliance with government funding requests through Reinvention. Reinvention, in the public view, was hailed as a necessity for a system that could not sustain on its own. It used a shock-system…