Student attrition has been a significant challenge facing higher education for decades and is particularly pronounced within community colleges. Specifically, first-time postsecondary students only experienced a 59.3 percent retention rate between Fall 2013 and Fall 2014; at two-year colleges, less than half (46.9 percent) of students were…

Many young adults enter college without the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine if 4-H helps develop life skills needed for the transition to college and overall college success. An online survey was sent to college-attending 4-H alumni and a comparison group, with a final sample size…

The learning community as a classroom structure and as a teaching technique started in the early 1900s, experienced a slow but consistent growth, and in 2010 was in use in over 500 colleges (Smith, 1991). However, as in all of higher education, the methods being used must demonstrate effectiveness. An important question is how to demonstrate…

Traditionally, modeling student retention has been done by deriving student success predictors and measuring the likelihood of success based on several background factors such as age, race, gender, and other pre-college variables, also known as the input-output model. Increasingly, however, researchers have used mediating factors of the student…

This study examines how a selected Hispanic-Serving Institution is implementing Advancement Via Individual Determination as a strategy for improving retention and time to graduation for 1st-generation Hispanic college students. A quasi-experimental design approach was used in which the retention rates and 1st-semester grade point averages of a…

Community colleges are grappling with low rates of degree completion and transfer. The City University of New York's (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) aims to improve graduation rates by providing a range of comprehensive support services to community college students in select majors. Using student-unit record data, we…

The purpose of this action research study was to determine how peer-assisted learning (PAL) could be implemented to support improved academic achievement, persistence, and attitudes toward math for community college students in an intermediate developmental algebra course. Students in two sections of an intermediate algebra course, with an…

Across the country, a growing number of recent high school graduates are participating in summer bridge programs. These programs provide accelerated and focused learning opportunities in order to help students acquire the knowledge and skills needed for college success. The state of Texas has given particular attention to summer programs as a way…