Today, half of all states authorize at least one community college to offer bachelor's degree programs. In the past five years alone, eight states have authorized community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs. Given the momentum behind this movement, we sought to qualitatively explore higher education leaders' perceptions of the role of…

Anaerobic capacity is an important determinant of swimming performance, and a feasible land-based test for measuring swim-specific anaerobic capacity is lacking. This study assessed the test-retest reliability of a swim-specific modification of the Wingate anaerobic capacity test: the WAnT-Swim. Ten competitive and fitness swimmers from the local…

Nationwide, community college administrators are attempting to maintain financial stability amid extreme budget challenges. The problem that was addressed through this study is that some community college administrators at a large Northeastern state lack strategies to sustain financial stability, which threatens the 14 institutions' ability to…

Research on senior leadership in higher education systems is urgently needed, particularly in the context of system-wide transformations. This study focuses on a critical juncture in Ireland, during which Institutes of Technology (IoTs) collaborated to undergo 'redesignation' as Technological Universities (TUs). Based on interviews with the…

Employing Museus' (2014) Culturally Engaging Campus Environment framework, this mixed-method exploratory study sought to ascertain what prospective (proTSCC) and current transfer students from community colleges (TSCC) knew about nationally competitive awards and to identify factors that influenced their decision to apply. Beginning with…

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive scientific phenomenological study was to explore what it is like for a community college student to experience group dynamics in a team-based gamified learning environment in the Southwestern U.S. Although the student or "player" experience is at the center of a gamified curriculum, it is not…

Background: Due to the high incidence of running-related injuries (RRIs), there is a need to better understand factors contributing to the prevalence of RRIs in community college (CC) women's cross-country runners when research is lacking in CC intercollegiate athletics. The limited focus on CC athletics has left numerous crucial questions about…

Transferring to a prestigious university offers the possibility of opening doors to more opportunities and may attract transfer students, yet less is known about transfer students' experiences with prestigious institutions. In our qualitative study at a highly selective institution with transfer students who identified as low income, from a…

Geography of opportunity research has identified places with few or no college options: so-called "education deserts." This study extends this geography of opportunity research, exploring how geographical constraints affect students' choices, particularly the choice to attend a for-profit college. Using the Education Longitudinal Study…

Objective: In view of the values of individualism and competition embedded in neoliberalism and global capitalism, this paper seeks to illustrate empirically students' instrumentalism in higher education, and to explore how far such instrumentalism could be conceptualized as student alienation. Method: The illustration relies on experiences of…

Women now comprise the majority of the higher education workforce; yet they still experience workplace aggression at alarming rates. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate workplace aggression among women colleagues at a small, rural community college. The study also sought to create a more supportive work environment for…

This study develops a critical understanding of how democracy and neoliberalism shape community college (CC) internationalization. CCs are sites of ideological struggle as they navigate and balance their democratic values of access with societal pressures to economically rationalize their existence. Within the growing movement of CC…

US colleges and universities have operated on the belief that academics need the freedom to question received wisdom, test new pedagogical methods, and produce knowledge that can be transparently shared for the public good. However, the same institutions are increasingly engaged in competition for resources through externally imposed…

There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the practice of academic capitalism at community colleges. The purpose of this case study was to examine how academic capitalism and neoliberalism are manifested in the mission, strategic plan, website, and perspectives of 24 mid-level administrators at a multi-campus suburban community college. Using…

Tuition-dependent colleges and universities face increasing competition for students. This study examined whether accreditation sanctions might serve as signals of quality and relate to enrollment. Results of a panel analysis showed enrollment declined for institutions after being placed on sanction with their regional accreditor. Specifically,…