This study addressed low graduation rates at Midwest Community College (MCC; a pseudonym) and explored factors affecting student success. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to delve into nontraditional students' perceptions of the influence of compressed courses and the effect the courses had on their academic success at MCC. Over the…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to gain insight into the experience of low SES community college students in intensive courses. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data from one community college, the researcher conducted this study of if, how, and to what extent, intensive courses contribute to low SES student success. Three…

This work examines what appears to be the most effective comprehensive learning support program ever available for underprepared college students. The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs initiative was designed and implemented at the City University of New York Community Colleges. It offers a wide range of integrated college acclimation,…

California legislation (AB705, signed 2017) mandated accelerated community college writing education and implementation to begin just before the COVID-19 pandemic. This study captures faculty experiences with mandated pandemic-era acceleration via analysis of 131 open-ended faculty survey responses representing 60 of the 116 California community…

This study used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to compare student experience and academic performance in an asynchronous online community college course delivered in three formats: accelerated (5-week) cohort, accelerated (5-week) non-cohort, and non-accelerated (16-week) non-cohort. Quantitative results showed no significant…

An increasing body of robust evidence concludes that corequisite remediation in math and English is a cost-effective alternative to traditional developmental education, offering improved immediate course progression and potentially better persistence and completion. This is the first study to disentangle the impacts of the two main elements of the…

Short-term certificate (STC) programs at community colleges represent a longstanding policy priority to align accelerated postsecondary credentials with job opportunities in local labor markets. Despite large investments in developing STCs, little evidence exists about where and when STCs are opened and whether community colleges open new programs…

Early colleges are high schools that blend the high school and college experiences. They have been shown to increase college enrollment and completion; however less is known about the costs of the early college model relative to traditional high schools. We leverage randomized assignment of North Carolina students to early colleges to estimate the…

The federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program, which provided nearly $2 billion over four years to help community colleges meet employers' needs more effectively was a response to the 2008 recession. Distributed by the U.S. Department of Labor, the original TAACCCT funding brought colleges…

Early colleges can play a key role in bridging the gap between high school and higher education. In addition to allowing students to earn transferrable college credits for free, these schools boost students' chances of applying to and earning a college degree. This pertains especially to students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher…

Offering 8-week courses in a traditional 16-week semester schedule supports degree completion; however, traditional-age students, who belonged to Generation Z, at a Southwest community college indicated a preference for 16-week courses. The problem investigated in this study was that traditional-age college students experienced barriers to…

People often do not have sufficient time or resources to attend a training that could help them become successful or implement a career change. Community colleges require a lengthy and substantial time commitment away from work and family while attending class. To best help those with limited incomes gain necessary skills that can improve their…

Early college high school (ECHS) and dual enrollment programs offer opportunities for students to work toward their 2-year degree while still in high school. The problem for this study was that the ECHS and dual enrollment programs had not been compared to see if they facilitated 2-year college degree completion compared to one another and to a…

This mixed methods study explored the use of time-compressed instruction in English, math, and accounting courses at Florence-Darlington Technical College, a mid-sized institution located in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina. The researcher compared compressed and non-compressed sections of identical courses offered at the college to determine…

This article examines the alienated labor of ALP writing instructors, who are being held accountable for a community college completion agenda that might not be best serving students. Discussing some of the larger historical forces and local institutional contexts impacting ALP teachers at CUNY, and drawing on recent studies of CUNY faculty, it…