The Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges System (KCTCS) began hiring diversity officers throughout the system in the mid-2000s. These highest-ranking diversity officers (HRDO) on each campus led their college's efforts to comply with the statewide diversity policy. A phenomenological approach was used to discover how former HRDOs in KCTCS…

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 &…

Transfer student success is an increasingly important subject in higher education policy circles in recent years, and for good reason. Almost half of undergraduates attending Maryland's public four-year institutions transfer from the state's community colleges. However, transfer students complete bachelor's degrees at notably lower rates than…

This publication is a supplementary resource to MENTOR's long-standing program guidance document, "The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™" (ED594036). For over 20 years, the various iterations of that document (now in its 4th edition) have served as a starting point for community leaders and youth-serving professionals looking…

Limited research examines writing tutors' self-efficacy, or how tutors believe "in their abilities to produce given attainments" (Bandura, 2006, p. 307). This qualitative constant comparative study explored self-efficacy's impact on tutoring strategies writing tutors use in recorded digital tutoring conferences with community college…

World language study exposes students to more than just language; they are also exposed to different cultures. After graduating, students will be exposed to different languages and cultures in the workforce, and they must be prepared. Students often leave their language of choice after the one or two semester course requirement; it takes more than…

At a time when students of families living in poverty have experienced the worst of the economic trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, community schools have reemerged as a promising intervention for addressing lack of access to quality education and economic prosperity. Policymakers are making investments in scaling up community schools;…

With students, families, and the education systems that serve them still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a $3 billion state investment in community schools offers an opportunity for system transformation that can address urgent and persistent whole-child needs and their impact on teaching and learning. Although the possibilities…

Transfer policies and articulation agreements aim to provide seamless transitions between and across technical or community colleges and four-year institutions. While many articulation agreements exist at the institution- or system-level, states are increasingly setting statewide credit transfer requirements, ensuring all students enter their…

The Student Success Center Network (SSCN) Coaching Program engages community colleges in institutional transformation through institutional coaching. In the most recent phase of work, supported by Ascendium Education Group, Jobs for the Future (JFF) and Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI) engaged with grantee Centers in four…

With the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in 2004, it became law that every child age three to twenty-one with a disability in the United States had access to a free and appropriate education through services provided by certified special education teachers and therapists. As service providers, special education teachers are…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become common in many educational settings. A collaborative team (CT) is one component of a PLC. The purpose of this action research study was to examine the impact of a professional development innovation, Project Collaboration, which included a set of on-demand support modules for CTs to support…

Validation within higher education, "refers to the intentional, proactive affirmation of students. Validation, at the community college level, is closely linked to resilience, retention, as well as higher graduation rates. This research paper will address if students are able to find the validation that they require at the community college…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine undecided first- generation students' experience with academic advising at a community college and whether receiving advice from an academic advisor helped guide them towards a major. The researcher conducted one-on-one-interviews with ten students using a protocol based on three research…

African American women in executive-level leadership positions at three community colleges across southern New Jersey are underrepresented. Initial data found that women in five southern New Jersey community colleges make up 42% of executive leadership positions, where 38% are White women, and 4% are African American women. This data led to this…