The problem investigated in this study was the trend of decreasing student retention of first-year, degree-seeking college students at an independent community college located in northeastern New Mexico. The purpose of the study was to examine the association between student retention and program utilization. The research question was to determine…

College completion is an important focus for policy and practice and is impacted by student academic and non-academic factors. Participation in non-classroom activities is well documented to extend positive intellectual, social, and psychosocial outcomes associated with college completion, yet this association is understudied for community college…

This dissertation examines the impacts of a last-dollar promise program on high school-to-college enrollments at a very large community college (VLCC) district in Texas. The research intends to add to the current literature on the growing popularity of promise programs at two-year community colleges. Specifically, this quantitative study examines…

One of the present challenges confronting American society is the need for more equitable access to education and career opportunities. Every year, many first-year college students need more academic skills. Community colleges' open admission processes and low tuition rates offer viable choices for people seeking higher education (Dougherty &…

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study was to provide a profile of preservice music educators who chose to attend community college and a description of factors that led to this choice. The study was framed by Perna's college choice model and focused on participants' experiences and the socioeconomic and educational…

This study aimed to explore the connections between student persistence and retention and students who participated in a First Year Seminar (FYS) called the First-Year Experience Course at a Mississippi community college during the 2022 fall semester and students who were enrolled at the college in the fall of 2018 and took the traditional…

This qualitative research study explores how students negotiate their identities as mathematics learners in a college algebra quadratics unit that implements asset-based frameworks that reframe mathematics curriculum to support student awareness of their capacities. This study adds to existing research discourse on teaching and learning…

College completion rate is a major challenge afflicting colleges and universities as well as students in the United States, particularly Hispanic students (Field, 2018). This qualitative case study investigated how Dominican students perceived their first year of college and how that perception impacted their retention in a community college in…

In higher education, a need is felt to redesign curricula to better prepare students for the evolving 'world of work'. The current exploratory study investigated first-year (N = 414) students' approaches to learning, well-being and perceptions of their learning environment in the context of an innovative educational concept: design-based…

The impact of evolving feedback ecology on students' feedback literacy development remains underexplored. This study examined the effects of transitioning from secondary to higher education on students' conceptions and practices of feedback literacy. The research involved 35 first-year associate's degree students from various disciplines at a Hong…

Title III Strengthening Institutions Program is a supplemental grant that was designed to help eligible higher education institutions improve and strengthen academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions. A community college in the Midsouth region was the focus of this quantitative study. Graduation and…

The relationship between spelling achievement and academic achievement in community college students was investigated in this quantitative study. The research questions focused on whether a brief (under 15 minutes) spelling screening assessment may or may not predict student academic achievement of course grade points earned in an entry-level…

Hurricane and galaxy tidal effect are routine teaching topics in community college first year science courses, but there is a knowledge gap without a quantitative discussion of the physics of non-inertia frame. A survey of YouTube videos posted by Education Centers and professors showed that the hand-waving conceptual explanation is the most…

The present study aims to explore the effect of using dynamic mathematics software in a distance education environment on students' understanding of trigonometric functions. The sample of the study consists of 45 first-year students enrolled in two associate degree programs of a state university. In the research, the lessons in the experimental…

This qualitative phenomenological inquiry aimed to explore the experiential dimensions of first-year, first-semester college students' perceptions of their college readiness from high school to a junior college in Belize. Employing Leedy and Ormrod's (2016) methodology for data analysis, the researcher engaged a purposeful sample of 30 first-year,…