This evaluation study had three main aims: 1) to examine how an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Summit can be used to promote First Year Experience (FYE) instructors' sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness within the context of the FYE program at a community college; 2) to examine how an AI Summit might guide FYE program development; and 3) to…

The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine to what extent a difference exists in first year experience (FYE) pass rate and persistence of summer to fall enrollment based on utility value intervention (UVI) participation among college students enrolled in FYE classes at a community college in the Midwest United States.…

How can two-year colleges ensure that all students can access quality career navigation opportunities that inform their studies and position them for meaningful, family-sustaining work? That is the challenge being addressed at Boston's Bunker Hill Community College through a college-wide initiative known as Ethnographies of Work (EoW). The…

As state budgets are continuously tightened, and state dollars dwindle to cover only the bare necessities, resources must be carefully examined and utilized to increase efficiency and effectiveness; one such area in which higher education institutions must concentrate on allocating and streamlining resources is to increase the retention and…

Colleges implement success courses to improve student outcomes. Since expanding its curriculum to include nine success courses, Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC)--a multi-college community college district in rural, southeastern Illinois--has not determined the efficacy of these courses on student success. The purpose of this study was to…

Essential Employability Qualities, also known as soft skills, are becoming just as important for new college graduates to demonstrate during the hiring process as job-specific skills (Hart Research Associates, 2018; National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2018). A review of the literature reveals that employers (Ahmad, 2019; Chhinzer &…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive research was to explore how students described their experiences within a semester-long, new-student orientation program as contributing to their year-to-year re-enrollment at a community college in Arizona. Two research questions guided the stud. Exhaustive review of prior research indicated the…

There is rapidly growing research on the multiple benefits of nature-based experiences. Some institutions of higher education have incorporated these types of experiences in areas such as building design, travel offerings, residential programs, green spaces, field trips, wellness centers, and freshman orientation programs. Unfortunately, urban…

Persistence, along with retention and completion initiatives, are the focus of institutions of higher education, especially community colleges. There are initiatives that focus on student success that start at orientation and revolve around connecting the student to the college. Students often arrive on campus with a minimal understanding of the…

This nonexperimental, longitudinal panel study was designed to test the predictive capacity of a grit intervention within a first-year seminar course that targeted academically underprepared students at a Mississippi community college. Extant pre- and post-grit scores for developmental students enrolled in the first-year seminar were analyzed for…

The first year of a student's college education commonly presents new and challenging demands, which requires concentrated institutional support. The diverse population of community college students in particular, typically face increased obstacles on the journey to degree completion. First-year Experience courses have been established as a…

Retention rates have been an ongoing concern for higher education institutions for the last few decades, and there has been extensive research conducted to determine the root cause of this decline especially among underserved student populations. Black and Hispanic communities are rapidly growing and are expected to be the majority races within…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to focus on the descriptions and roles of community college administrators and faculty who shared their experiences during the planning phases for implementation of Guided Pathways to Success reform in a Southwestern states community college district. The study discerned which GPS model…

While community college is often seen as an avenue that provides access to higher education to a greater part of the population, community colleges have struggled with improving retention, persistence, and degree completion. Research highlights the importance of helping students develop a sense of belonging at the institution, which has been found…

College retention is a primary focus within many institutions of higher education; however, retention efforts have largely been unsuccessful in impacting first-year completion rates and eventual degree attainment. Drawing on research that demonstrates the value of a strong faculty-student relationship and an engaging classroom environment, this…