Community colleges serve the most diverse student populations in higher education yet have some of the lowest levels of faculty diversity in higher education. Retaining community college student cohorts through transfer/graduation is a goal, yet attaining this goal has been elusive, particularly for underrepresented minority (URM) community…

Current science education efforts emphasise the need to train students to understand the nature of scientific work. In geosciences, training students to understand how science works does not only promote their interest and community engagement in the field, but also has the potential to promote awareness and ethics. However, instructional…

Completion rates for Latinx students are unacceptably lower than White and Asian students (NCES, 2019). Shapiro et al. (2017) reported that the completion rate for Latinx students attending community colleges was 33%, while the completion rate was 45% for White students and 44% for Asian students. This literature review aimed to discover the root…

This scholarly research project details the creation of a virtual 8-week mindfulness meditation workshop for community college students. The purpose of this action research convergent parallel mixed methods study was to examine the effects and impacts of an online mindfulness meditation college student group on student stress coping, resilience,…

Previous CalYOUTH memos suggest that the overwhelming majority (upwards of 85%) of youth in California foster care who go to college first attend an in-state, public, 2-year college. The current memo takes a closer look at the types of colleges that foster youth enroll in, including average retention rates and the number of semesters completed at…

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) single mission is graduating students who can go on to attain higher-paying jobs. The state's funding formula was specifically designed to hold TSTC accountable to accomplish this mission. Texas statute stipulates that TSTC will offer "courses of study in technical-vocational education for which there is…

Across the United States, more than half of entering freshmen discover they are ineligible for college-level coursework each year, most commonly in math. The readiness gap is widest when considering students at nonselective two-year colleges, and students who are black, Hispanic, or from low-income families. It often spells disaster for students…

Active instructional approaches have been demonstrated to result in greater student achievement, prompting institutions to transition to more active learning environments. However, little work has been conducted to specifically measure the retention of knowledge gained. The purpose of the research presented here was to test assumptions regarding…

Students arrive in college with significant prior knowledge including misconceptions that hinder their ability to learn new concepts correctly. Misconceptions, or "alternative beliefs," have been widely studied in the physical sciences at higher education institutions; however, there is a paucity of research concerning the community…

While there has been a surge in the number of adults entering accelerated academic programs at colleges and universities over the last decade, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of adult learners in these programs who persist and achieve their degrees. This work sought to develop a detailed model for helping faculty and…

With the rapidly changing demography of the United States, there is a need for greater attention to expanding opportunities and reducing barriers to education for all. This article focuses on one of the nation's fastest-growing immigrant groups--Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). A case study of a program at a community college shows…

Disparities exist among Latinos in educational attainment. These disparities are magnified when comparing their access, persistence, and degree attainment to their Caucasian and Asian American counterparts. The purpose of this quantitative study is to discover the impact of cultural competence among academic advising professionals as it relates to…

Retention and student graduation rates are a major concern for community colleges nationwide. As student dropout rates continue to climb and graduation figures languish, many studies have been conducted to investigate the causes of student attrition. Numerous reports have found faculty advising to be a contributing factor in student retention,…

While preparing students academically for vertical transfer to four-year colleges has traditionally been viewed as the major responsibility of the home institutions, there is a growing consensus that the receiving institutions play a critical role in facilitating the transfer process and in supporting students' academic success after transfer. The…

This quantitative correlational study included an investigation of potential factors effecting high attrition rates in postsecondary online courses. Online learner-instructor interaction was examined by assessing instructor response times (RTs), student satisfaction, and final course grades at an online two-year postsecondary institution. A sample…