The values and benefits of introducing undergraduate research to the college curriculum are both recognized and advocated in the literature. Although the community college environment may not appear to be favorable for undergraduate research projects in STEM fields, a dynamic and visible group of students, who take their path extremely seriously,…

College Success, Freshman Seminar, College 101, or University 101--all of these courses have the common theme of providing students with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to be successful in navigating higher education. This might mean attaining a certificate or degree, or in some cases, transferring to a four-year institution. While…

This narrative inquiry brings together a re-emerging interest in the civic mission of higher education and inquiry about individual civic identity development, with a lens focused on the currently underrepresented voices of community college students. The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of the meaning that community college…

Geography of opportunity research has identified places with few or no college options: so-called "education deserts." This study extends this geography of opportunity research, exploring how geographical constraints affect students' choices, particularly the choice to attend a for-profit college. Using the Education Longitudinal Study…

Inequity in workforce programming has been historically difficult to address for community colleges trying to meet labor market demands. Even a concentration on placing Black and Latino students into high-demand jobs is not much use when those opportunities sit at the lower end of the wage scale. Yet, access to life-changing careers remains an…

Community college completion has been proven to be a ticket to a middle-class life. Moreover, we know that poverty causes educational barriers, including community college completion. Community colleges across the nation are identifying significant equity gaps between students from poor versus middle-class or affluent households. One solution to…

In response to concerns about the additional costs and time-to-degree associated with traditional developmental education programs, several states and postsecondary systems have implemented corequisite reform where academically underprepared students take both a developmental education course and college-level course in the same subject area…

Students who attend two-year institutions are not always academically prepared for the level of work that is required to be successful. Two-year institutions determine students' readiness for college-level mathematics courses using one of three placement methods. However, few empirical studies have investigated which placement methods are most…

State Seals of Biliteracy (SoBL) are a growing trend and present a promising method of serving an increasingly bilingual population. Currently, state SoBLs have been available almost exclusively at the high school level. An Oregon community college initiated the opportunity for students to study and receive the state SoBL in higher education. The…

Objective: In view of the values of individualism and competition embedded in neoliberalism and global capitalism, this paper seeks to illustrate empirically students' instrumentalism in higher education, and to explore how far such instrumentalism could be conceptualized as student alienation. Method: The illustration relies on experiences of…

A 2019 report from the American Council of Education revealed stark inequities in higher education between minority students and their white counterparts (Espinosa et al., 2019). Of particular concern was the performance of Black students, who had continued to underperform in every measurable metric. Therefore, with this knowledge and the renewed…

Using a framework of socioemotional development, this study focused on understanding the socioemotional states of 20 undocumented/DACAmented students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study describes multiplicitous and predominantly negative socioemotional states and stressors and provides new insights for higher education institutions to better…

We investigate whether student participation in undergraduate research--a high impact practice at TBR community colleges--has an effect on (1) academic performance; (2) probability of graduation, university transfer, and student departure; and (3) time to completion, transfer, and departure. Using enrollment, graduation, and course-taking data on…

Even in this endemic period, the California Community Colleges continues to make progress toward meeting its Vision for Success goals, established nearly five years ago to set a path to increase certificate and degree attainment, improve transfer and close equity gaps. This report details the goals outlined in the system's Vision for Success and…

Community colleges play a key role in driving talent development in the United States, producing workers with the kinds of training that employers need while enhancing economic mobility for students. There has been a push among policymakers at the federal and state levels to hold community colleges accountable for the employment outcomes of their…