This research explored the concepts of Sense of Belonging and Campus Cultural Capital among first-generation transfer students who were accepted to attend the EOP Transfer Bridge Program in 2018 and 2019. The methodology employed for this study was a transformative and mixed methods design that utilized the lens of Student Validation and Critical…

Background/Context: Community colleges are seen as malleable institutions that work closely with high schools, vocational programs, employers, and community organizations to provide an education for all members of their local community. As an extension of the community, the education provided must address larger social changes (i.e., Affirmative…

The purpose of this case study was to understand how attending an undergraduate academic conference contributes to a student's sense of belonging, not only within their institution but also in the larger academic community. This research was informed by the literature on club participation in conferences and faculty/student connections. Through…

The community college, given its accessibility and affordability, has become the institution of choice for many African American men pursuing academic, vocational, and technical advancement. However, African American men attending community colleges are less likely to graduate and persist than their European American male and female peers. Limited…

Recent insights have underscored the role of context in cultivating intelligence mindsets' influence on students' academic outcomes. Psychological affordances of the social context may encourage an adaptive perspective (i.e., growth mindset). Expanding this novel area of investigation, we examined how students' sense of belonging, as an affordance…

This quantitative study investigated the impact of campus climate on the ethnic identity development and sense of belonging among Middle Eastern and North African/Southwest Asian and North African (MENA/SWANA) college students. This student population has largely been absent from research due to their classification as White in the U.S. Census and…

The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the perceived status of adjunct faculty and improve their sense of belonging and organizational inclusion in a community college English department. Adjunct faculty are the majority in public two-year campuses, yet they are not fully included in college activities or organizational…

Leeward Community College is committed to supporting Native Hawaiians, the Indigenous people of Hawai?i. It aims to become a "model indigenous-serving" institution (University of Hawai?i, 2012) as part of the University of Hawai?i system's efforts to empower Hawai?i's Indigenous scholars and their communities. This single-site case study…

This qualitative study discusses a phenomenological inquiry approach utilizing semi-structured interviews to understand how ten full-time Native American students experienced their sense of belonging at a rural community college. There are very few studies providing in-depth perspective on sense of belonging of Native American students attending a…

For many Blacks students, community colleges have long served as the top, low cost, postsecondary access point to a career that provides a livable wage, career growth opportunities, and the ability to support a family. Unfortunately, community college data has shown that Black male students are often the least successful demographic group…

For institutions around the world, mascots serve many purposes, such as raising school spirit and energizing sports teams. But mascots also can breed discord. In recent decades, some schools have been challenged to replace controversial Native American mascots while others have encountered resistance when introducing different mascot designs.…

Higher education institutions across the nation enroll a uniquely, diverse student body that possesses different perceptions of the campus environment. It can be expected that African Americans, Asian, Latino/a, and White students have differing perspectives regarding campus climate and culture based on their distinctive background, cultural…

Organizational dependence on part-time employees is a relatively recent trend across the modern landscape of the American workforce and is especially apparent in higher education. At community colleges across the country, as well as in North Carolina, there is a substantial reliance on part-time faculty employment. This is common practice in order…

A study at a community college undergoing renewal provided an opportunity to explore how members of various institutional subsystems differ in the ways they make meaning of organizational climate conditions. The researcher identifies and describes competing discourses relating to the signs and symbols of power, collaboration, technology, and…

Community college leaders commonly think of community college leadership in terms of rationality, expertise, power, negotiations, and legalisms rather than the more human, loving, symbolic, and transcendent dimensions of their work. Yet the giving of oneself to a common cause, to a higher calling, is the most important role community college…