This study provides empirical evidence that PhD graduates working at community colleges feel less prepared than their counterparts employed in research universities. In addition, we find that perceptions of skills related to research are not predictive of feelings of job preparation for community college faculty. We offer recommendations for…

This dissertation explored the experiences of 16 new full-time community college faculty as they learned to understand and meet their work expectations. Informed by the literature on the preparation of future faculty and the dimensions of full-time community college faculty work, this qualitative study narrowed in on the experiences of new faculty…

It is not known if Registration Time (early or late) or if Student Term (first-time or continuing) have a main or interaction effect on Student Belonging. The purpose of this quantitative, comparative study is to determine if there is a statistically significant difference in Student Belonging between Registration Time, Student Term and the…

This capstone investigates the integration experiences of new faculty at Somerset Community College (SCC) through Organizational Socialization Theory (OST). Acknowledging the multifaceted challenges that new faculty encounter, ranging from adapting to an unfamiliar academic culture to navigating institutional policies and building relationships…

Transfer student capital encompasses the knowledge, skills, and experiences that transfer students acquire before transitioning to a new institution from their previous ones, communities, and cultures. This capital plays a crucial role in shaping their academic and social transition, identity development, and overall success in the new…

Early College High Schools (ECs) are growing in popularity as an affordable avenue for students to obtain up to an associate's degree while in high school in Texas. Using Merton's (1966) Anticipatory Socialization Theory, this study investigated how ECs shaped 13 graduates' social behaviors and norms while in high school, and then how they…

This doctoral study explores the preferences for professional development of community college faculty to understand and learn how to use the technology available for online classrooms. To understand and learn how to use the technology available for online classrooms, college faculty must learn how to use Web 2.0 tools properly to instruct…

The purpose of this study was to explore how an intergenerational group of music students (ages 16-71) mentored each other in an online jazz improvisation course. This study is framed in Dewey's notion of students sharing their knowledge and experiences with the teacher as facilitator and the following research questions guided this investigation:…

Strong, consistent nursing academic leadership is needed in this time of rapid technological advancement and constantly evolving healthcare environments, but the recruitment and retention of first-level nursing academic administrators can be difficult. Existing literature did not offer a complete picture of the social processes that nurse faculty…

This qualitative, multi-site, case study examined the personal and professional experiences of women of color who currently hold higher-level administrative positions at a Texas community college district and the role that Bicultural Socialization Theory played in their pathway to the leadership pipeline. Using interviews, campus observations,…

In a pilot study of an affordable and low-maintenance social media solution for adjunct faculty socialization or onboarding at the community college, interested adjuncts were offered the opportunity to participate in a social media-like experience made possible by the Moodle Social wall format plugin. Though qualitative data did not suggest this…

Objective: The purpose of this study is to better understand the lived experiences and familial culture that influence the college decisions and experiences of Mexican American students in a community college in Oregon. The research questions guiding this study are "What early schooling experiences affect the college experiences of Mexican…

The study reported used a Community of Practice (CoP) framework to implement a content-based peer feedback intervention. The goal of this work was to investigate the contribution of the peer feedback intervention influence on improving the writing skills of forty-six community college students in four classes; three classes received the peer…

This qualitative narrative study explored the lived experience of high achieving Black men who recently graduated from very highly selective historically White institutions (HWI). The research was guided by Nancy Schlossberg's (1989) theory of marginality and mattering and Shaun Harper's anti-deficit achievement framework. Building on the work of…

There is an emerging need to better understand how orientation practices and strategies affect a sense of belonging for new faculty members, especially the growing number of adjunct faculty hired at community colleges throughout the U.S. each year. Establishing an orientation process for newcomers helps to ensure that new members are better able…