This study aimed to understand the barriers that two-year college students face that prevent graduation and the possible intervention program to assist them with overcoming these barriers. The perceptions of academic advisors working at a two-year college were gained in the areas of barriers related to environmental factors, social integration,…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the proven strategies used by faculty to increase retention and recruitment at two-year colleges. The theory guiding this study is van Manen's theory on hermeneutical phenomenology, as it focuses on the lived experiences of the participants and interpreting their told stories. The setting…

Using data from students and academic advisors at one of the nation's largest community colleges, our qualitative study examined the cost-related implications of efforts to increase full-time enrollment rates. Findings pinpoint several key interrelated financial factors that heavily influence students' assessment of the risk and rewards of…

Introduction: While a considerable amount of extant scholarship describes the importance of and strategies for improving the postsecondary pathways of Black engineering students, most literature is contextualized within 4-year institutions. Objectives: The purpose of this article is to illuminate Black engineering students' experiences at…

There have been an increasing number of intervention programs at colleges targeting African American students who are low-income, first-generation, and/or require remedial coursework (MHEC, 2019). Using a qualitative research design, this study sought to understand if African American students that participated in a proactive advising intervention…

Objective: Students' enrollment intensity during their first academic semester and year are highly influential in their success and decisions to persist in community college. Limited research, however, has focused on understanding how students navigate the decision-making process of determining their credit load or how institutional support…

As the wages of high school graduates plummet, postsecondary education and training has become critical to obtaining a living-wage job. Obtaining an associate's degree or higher has the greatest potential to produce long-lasting increases in individual earnings. However, recent studies have shown that shorter-term credentials, which may take only…

This chapter examines the role of advisors of student-run LGBTQ+ organizations within community colleges as well as offers important recommendations for practice.

The "college for all" ethos pervasive in American education, combined with open admission policies at community colleges, has allowed academically underprepared students to persist from high school to college. We ask: how do college advisors help academically underprepared students navigate decisions about their careers and upcoming…

This study examines the structure of an enhanced advising program (EAP) through the perspectives of academic advisors. Utilizing a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with 12 primary-role academic advisors employed within an EAP at a large, urban community college in Texas. Thematic analysis of the interviews identified the…

Broad higher education contexts shape how community college students and postsecondary personnel approach transfer from community colleges to baccalaureate-granting institutions. We leverage the concept of strategic action fields, an organizational theory illuminating processes that play out as actors determine "who gets what" in an…

To build back enrollments after a decade of downward trends, community colleges need to substantially increase retention as well as recruitment, particularly among students from underserved groups, who represent a growing share of prospective college students. Community College Research Center (CCRC) has developed a framework called…

Studies show a link between students' expectations for advising and their level of satisfaction with advising depending on whether or not their expectations have been met. Previous studies have found that students whose expectations were in alignment with the advising they received reported high levels of satisfaction with their experiences. Most…

Objective/Research Question: The purpose of this research is to explore the way use of student services can mediate engagement among first-generation and transfer students who use disability services at community colleges. The following research questions guided the current study: (1) At community colleges, how does frequency of use of student…

In 2017, there were 941 public community colleges enrolling 7 million credit students and 5 million noncredit students accounting for 41% of all undergraduates enrolled in higher education (American Association of Community Colleges, 2019). While enrollment has increased, the complexity of the mission of two-year colleges has also increased. Part…