This mixed-methods study delves into rural community service-learning (CSL) partnerships, shedding light on the complexities and dynamics of collaboration between colleges and rural communities. Through quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews, the research amplifies the voices of rural community partners, emphasizing the crucial role of…

Research consistently describes the large percentage of community college students who struggle to meet their basic needs such as food and housing. These challenges may be exacerbated for students in rural communities. At the same time, we are also learning more about the connection between addressing students' basic needs and improving their…

With costs rising, traditional college student populations shrinking, and pundits predicting that huge numbers of colleges will close in the next few decades, small colleges cannot afford to pretend that business-as-usual can sustain them. This book offers five emerging models for how small colleges can hope to survive and thrive in these very…

A workforce with highly developed communication skills, also known as career and life skills (CLS), is critical to America's ability to compete in the technologically advanced global and capricious economy. Although the number of college graduates entering the workforce is rising, there remains a perceptible gap in their communication skills,…

This study examined the experiences of undergraduate student leaders at a small, private institution of higher education in the New England region and specifically how those undergraduate students made sense of their experiences as student leaders and the impact that had on their career readiness based on the competencies identified by the…

What do you do when employees want sustained, in-person, dialogic learning opportunities, but the realities of their work prevent participation in such learning events? Microlearning can offer an important solution to this conundrum but also requires careful navigation between design recommendations, learner preferences, learning objectives tied…

The problem with retention has led researchers to study the causes of attrition and ways to improve successful outcomes. Students define having positive faculty-student relationships that are therapeutic as a way to enhance successful academic outcomes. The problem that was addressed in this study is that there is a limited understanding of…

Beginning at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education experienced a sea of change in reduced enrollment, altered course delivery models, and increased need for student support. While observing staff's actual impact on the student experience during this time, this study will address the question, "How do professional staff in small…

Small, private colleges provide an essential element to the landscape of higher education, offering intimate class sizes and high touch experiences for traditional college populations. Led by an institutional president, who sets strategic initiatives, while working with senior-level staff and faculty to accomplish mission, the president of a…

The focus of this paper is to promote the awareness of higher-education administration and faculty of the opportunities presented by developing and implementing lean operational models in their institutions. The paper provides a brief account of the author's observations of small liberal arts colleges that are operating in non-efficient models. It…

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that lead to the disproportionality of the graduation rates of African American and Latinx students at College X. This qualitative case study utilized interviews with faculty, staff, and administrators, document analysis, and site observations to study a small Midwestern college, College X.…

This quantitative study sought to identify faculty perceptions about job satisfaction at one small, private university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and the connection to intent to stay at the same institution. This study was a conceptual replication study, patterned off Rhone's 2010 doctoral dissertation study, "Faculty…

The purpose of this study was to understand the development of teacher preparation at small denominational colleges. Hope College, a college in the Midwest, was used as an illustrative case study to examine this question. A qualitative organizational analysis using case study methodology was used for this research and followed an interpretive…

Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs) are not typically mission-bound to serve Latinx students. In addition to examining structural changes that embrace an HSI designation, we argue that curriculum is critical in truly serving a diverse student body. Using the case of a small, rural HSI, we describe the process and product of making meaningful…

The purpose of this study is to understand how strategy and strategic decision-making have contributed to financial strength at those small, private, non-profit, less-selective, tuition-dependent institutions with small endowments that have established financial stability. Interviews were conducted of participants at three institutions, including…