Because of their open enrollment policies, community colleges serve large numbers of students whose K-12 education has left them unready to succeed in college-level courses. Colleges typically use test scores such as the ACT to place students into appropriate course levels. However, the use of test-based measures alone has been criticized as being…

This study informs the field of education of the importance of providing a wide variety of extracurricular activities for students and its effect on students' community leadership development. Data were collected from college students (N = 705) and analyzed using quantitative methodology. Results indicate that high involvement level students…

The problem of a prepared workforce is perennial. Part of the challenge is one of supply and demand, as education systems attempt to produce graduates with the technical competencies required for the current jobs available. In the new service- and knowledge-based economy, however, soft skills are cited as a greater need by today's employers.…

Mathematics is the most common subject area of remedial need and the majority of remedial math students never pass a college-level credit-bearing math class. The majorities of studies that investigate this phenomenon are conducted at community colleges and use some type of regression model; however, none have used a continuation ratio model. The…

The present study investigated whether an integrative behavior for one student success outcome could be applied to another student success outcome. Braxton and colleagues (2013) state that student perception of the institution's commitment to student welfare influences the level of social integration by the student, which affects student…

In 2010, McCracken County, Kentucky implemented the Community Scholarship Program (CSP) to provide graduates of high schools in the county an opportunity to receive a tuition-free community college education. Quantitative data was collected throughout the various stages of student progress through the program. As the first cohort of CSP students…

Today, community colleges are challenged to maintain their historical identity of open access while increasing student success. This challenge is particularly salient in the context of performance-based funding models. These models create student achievements, which determine institutional levels of state funding. Therefore, these new student…

At two-year public community colleges, the 2011 three-year persistence rate was 23.9%. From 1988 to 2006, between 40% and 60% of all first-time community college students were referred to and enrolled in at least one developmental education course. More students begin college underprepared in mathematics than any other subject area, and only about…

This quantitative study of degree-seeking students in community college examines whether there are age-related differences in transfer intent, research on selection of a transfer destination, use of transfer-related services, and concerns about the transfer process, all of which are key aspects of the concept of transfer student capital. Students…

Young adults with disabilities face multiple challenges in obtaining successful post-school outcomes. In a National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 report, Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, and Levine (2005) found that for former students with disabilities, 70% had engaged in paid employment since leaving high school, though only 40% were employed at…

Too few community college students who intend to transfer and earn a baccalaureate degree actually do. Further, low-income and first-generation college students are overrepresented at community colleges. Education is considered a means of social and economic mobility for low-income, first-generation students; therefore, retaining this population…

The purpose of this study was to investigate--by utilizing data obtained from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) PeopleSoft database-- whether the American College Testing (ACT) assessment was a predictor of student success for students who had graduated from respiratory, radiography, and nursing programs at Southeast…

This dissertation is a study of factors that contribute to dropout from distance learning classes in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It is divided into five chapters. Chapter One gives a history of distance learning through in KCTCS. It includes the background of the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the…

The landmark Civic Mission of Schools report of 2003 laid out an argument for the role of schools in promoting youth civic engagement and presented a range of promising ideas and practices to accomplish that. In this study we describe the civic engagement outcomes that Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Louisville, KY, has chosen to promote…

This study evaluated the degree and quality of program implementation and educational outcomes associated with Kentucky's Family Resource and Youth Service Center, a school-based family resource and support program which emphasized increased involvement of families of special needs students and the community with their schools. Twenty centers…