The relatively little amount of time that some college students spend reading their textbooks outside of the classroom presents a significant threat to their academic success. Using Prenksy's (2001) digital game-based learning (DGBL) principles and Astin's student involvement theory as frameworks, the purpose of this true experiment was to…

Career pathways, comprised of stackable credentials and a coherently aligned sequence of programmes of study, are being hailed as an effective means for promoting postsecondary attainment and upward mobility, particularly for low-income and low-skilled adult workers. However, concerns have been raised regarding whether this strategy accomplishes…

A convergent mixed methods research design addressed the extent of benefit obtained from reading culturally inclusive prompts (i.e., four brief essays written by Latino authors) to improve essay writing in a developmental (pre-collegiate) English course. Participants were 45 Latino students who provided quantitative data. Chi square analysis…

Beginning in 2013 and spanning four research articles, we have implemented an empirical analysis protocol for honors education that is rooted in demography (Scott; Scott and Smith; Smith and Scott "Growth"; Smith and Scott, "Demography"). The goal of this protocol is to describe the structure and distribution of the honors…

This dissertation explores the ways that instructors at a community college perceive instructor-student rapport in online and face-to-face classes. While instructor-student rapport has been shown to play an important role in student retention and success (Benson, Cohen, & Buskist, 2005; Granitz, Koernig, & Harich, 2009; Murphy &…

The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), is an uncommonly comprehensive and long-term program designed to address low graduation rates among community college students. MDRC has been studying the effects of ASAP on low-income students with developmental (remedial) education needs at…

The Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), developed by the City University of New York (CUNY), is an uncommonly comprehensive and long-term program designed to address low graduation rates among community college students. MDRC has been studying the effects of ASAP on low-income students with developmental (remedial) education needs at…

Each academic year, the number of international students attending colleges and universities in the United States increases. Of the nearly 1 million international students coming to the United States for education, just under 10% enroll at community colleges; international student-athletes are among that total. In addition to the cultural and…

This study analyzed the effectiveness of a minority male mentoring program at a public two-year institution of higher education in South Carolina. To assist in investigating the successfulness of African American males at the institution, data regarding graduation rates, grade point averages, developmental course completion, and campus involvement…

Developmental courses are offered at most two year and four year colleges and universities in order to meet the instructional needs of students who have shown skill deficiencies based upon test scores in the areas of reading, English, or mathematics. The purpose of developmental reading courses at the postsecondary level is to increase students'…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare faculty and student perceptions of "student engagement" at a mid-Atlantic community college to determine the level of correlation between student experiences and faculty practices in five benchmark areas of student engagement: "academic challenge, student-faculty interaction,…

This study examined the difference in thriving levels in a sample of 346 community college students at one institution compared to the national norms and determined the degree to which peer support contributes to the variance in scores on the Thriving Quotient (Schreiner, 2012). Thriving is defined as full engagement in college experiences on an…

This issue of "Policy Insights" reviews the results of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education's annual survey of tuition and fees at public colleges and universities in the WICHE region and discusses related policy implications. (Data from the survey were published in November 2016.) Overall, tuition and fees in the WICHE…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictors of community college transfer student success. Through exploring student demographics and background characteristics (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender, first-generation student status, socioeconomic status, number of transfer credit hours, attempted/completed credits), significant predictors of…

This qualitative dominant, mixed methods research study examined student and instructor perceptions of technology used to mediate learning in a community college environment. Methods of data collection for this study included a questionnaire with Likert scale and open response items, student and instructor interviews, and an analysis of a random…