Community colleges are viewed as essential in the preparation of skilled science professionals in the U.S., and research regarding instructor impacts on student attitudes toward science are timely and relevant. This study explored specific instructor characteristics and pedagogical behaviors and their influence student engagement, confidence, and…

This paper explores the implementation of student-centered and social justice-based teaching methods that promote a classroom atmosphere of equity, inclusion, and positivity by prioritizing students' emotional and psychological well-being in relation to the course content. This paper argues that creating a classroom atmosphere in which students…

Despite evidence suggesting that standardized tests are an imperfect measure of academic readiness, many community colleges across the country rely on them alone to determine student course placement. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced campuses to transition to remote operations in spring 2020, proctoring in-person placement tests became…

The state of Michigan has set a goal to increase the percentage of residents with a postsecondary degree or credential to 60 percent by 2030. Achieving that goal will require a concerted, strategic, and multipronged effort. Today, less than 50 percent of residents have attained a postsecondary degree or credential. While making college more…

This qualitative study of students in mid- and later-life (MLL; age 40 and older) sought to address the role faculty play in facilitating student success and how institutions support faculty, especially adjunct faculty. Adjunct faculty teach a majority of classes at community colleges but are not provided the same professional development…

Recent research based on the Dweck's mindset theory has shown that persons with a growth mindset who believe traits such as intelligence are malleable may put forth more effort and have greater academic success than those with a fixed mindset. However, little research has been conducted on mindsets of college students, many of whom enter…

"Current Term Enrollment Estimates Report" Series is published every January and May by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It provides national enrollment estimates by degree level, institutional sector, enrollment intensity, age group, gender, major field as well as state-level enrollment estimates. Starting in fall…

Transferring to a four-year institution is an important pathway to student success. Many students who enroll in community college intend to transfer to a four-year institution and subsequently earn a bachelor's degree. However, few students ultimately do, with low-income students transferring at lower rates than their peers. The Texas Transfer…

The Tuition and Fee Report is produced annually by the Colorado Department of Higher Education to provide detailed information on the tuition and fee rates at Colorado's public institutions, as well as to give context regarding the state funding environment in which tuition and fee rate-setting occurs. Colorado has mirrored national trends over…

Community colleges have traditionally been considered forerunners in their provision of distance education opportunities for higher education students. Recent data from distance education research at several community colleges, however, indicates students taking online courses in the community college setting are often not being supported at…

Background/Context: Transfer from community colleges to selective four-year institutions is an issue that assumes great importance for the democratization of postsecondary education. Yet research on what influences transfer to selective four-year institutions is surprisingly sparse. Transfer research typically lumps four-year schools receiving…

The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) Research Center reports that 48 percent of all students begin their postsecondary education at community colleges--15 percentage points more than the number of students who begin their postsecondary education at four-year public institutions. It's easy to explain why. Access is easier because admission is…

Classrooms, both by design and by accident, have been used to teach and reinforce certain ethics and ideologies. Examining the actual structures of a classroom one can recognize forces often hidden or considered background revealing how students and instructors together are culturally bound by educational spaces. Considerable research exists that…

The article describes enrollment, retention, and institutional expenditures on instruction, academic support, and student services at community colleges in Tennessee and Oregon after these states implemented Promise scholarship programs. This article highlights that college attendance and choice among recent high school graduates changed after the…

Informed by Black feminist thought and intersectional feminism, this study examined the lived experiences of 12 Women of Color on community college STEM education pathways. Participants were current and former community college STEM students, whose narrative interviews were analyzed using Patricia Hill Collins's domains of power framework.…