Undergraduate research (UR) is an integral part of the culture at Queensborough Community College, CUNY (QCC), an urban community college with a diverse student population. Since 2015, more than 400 students participate in undergraduate research experiences each year, working with more than 40 faculty mentors from several academic departments.…

Yakima Valley College--a two-year, Hispanic-serving institution in south-central Washington state--partnered with four-year universities, agricultural centers, businesses, and federal and state agencies to develop a streamlined undergraduate research experience in which students work closely with a faculty mentor in a science, technology,…

Despite research pointing to the crucial role nonacademic staff play in student success in higher education, large-scale reform efforts at community colleges and elsewhere typically focus little direct attention on interpersonal interactions between students and staff. Caring Campus is a program developed and administered by the Institute for…

Investing in community colleges is a central part of the Biden administration's education agenda, with the goal of strengthening America's middle class and opening the benefits of education to all Americans. CCRC has conducted 25 years of research on how community colleges can more effectively educate students and set them up to successfully…

Community colleges are expected to contribute to economic development efforts by implementing new programs that respond to the needs of business and industry. Program development is complex, especially for community colleges in rural areas where business and industry are scarce. This qualitative study explores the factors that influence successful…

This paper asks the question: Is now the right time to consider a statewide policy initiative to support increased access for Massachusetts community college students to paid internships that can help them improve their employment and earnings trajectory? Is this something that employers, colleges, and state leaders would see as a welcome…

Using research focused on best practices, focus group information, and data analytics, the Title V: Focus on Student Success (FOSS) Grant created a model for the development, implementation, and evaluation of a summer bridge program. Results included increased academic performance indicators in first-year Hispanic college students. Validation for…

Summer bridge programs support post-secondary success by providing intensive, short-term academic and social resources while introducing college expectations and the cultural contexts of the institution. They typically are offered in the summer between high school graduation and the first term of college and vary in content, program size and…

There is little discussion in the Design-Based Research (DBR) literature on how to design an intervention that has the potential to be highly effective. The act of designing is usually viewed as engineering something from theory or research on best practices. This paper challenges that universal belief and presents successful design as an…

National studies reveal that 50 percent to 70 percent of community college students are required to take developmental, or remedial, math courses upon enrollment, and only 20 percent of developmental math students ever successfully complete a college-level math course. Taking up the challenge is the "New Mathways Project" (NMP),…

The second annual implementation report for the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative in four states finds that: (1) colleges aligned pathways and supports with local needs; (2) students were satisfied with AO; (3) AO instructors grew more adept at team teaching; (4) colleges struggled to recruit adult education students; (5) states and…

Ranken Technical College, a small, private, non-profit, two-year technical college in St. Louis, developed a plan whereby at-risk students would be flagged, their needs assessed, and programs put into place to meet those needs. The desired result was a higher retention rate, especially among minorities. The following components were found to be…

There is a large body of well-conducted research that supports the value of freshmen orientation seminars in promoting the success of first-year students at community colleges. Orientation programs have been shown to improve retention, program completion, and the level of academic performance of these students. In addition to improving student…

An overview is provided of the development of quality/performance circles at Lakeshore Technical Institute (LTI), Wisconsin, and of the projects undertaken through the quality/performance circle program during its 3-year history. First, background information is provided on the use of quality circles in Japan and the United States, including…

In order to help students make the transition from high school to higher education, the Anne Arundel Community College's (Maryland) Supplemental Instruction with Mentoring Support provides a program of academic support for students enrolled in difficult required courses. The program also creates valuable opportunities for faculty professional…