As student diversity in higher education continues to encompass myriad groups that include numerous intersecting combinations of backgrounds, higher education actors must be aware of the changing dynamics of the 21st century student. These changes include growing numbers of previously incarcerated and formerly gang-involved students seeking higher…

Obtaining a degree from a community college could be the opportunity for students to advance their education or career. Nevertheless, nearly two-thirds of first-time community college students in the U.S. were required to take developmental mathematics courses. The problem was that approximately three-fourth of those students did not successfully…

This report analyzes how students were served by Benefits Access for College Completion (BACC), a 2.5-year initiative designed to increase access to public benefits (such as SNAP or Medicaid) for eligible low-income students. These crucial supports reduce students' unmet financial needs and help them finish school. Launched in 2011, BACC funded…

We explore possibilities for placing community college students in math using non-cognitive measures, such as indicators of motivation or students' educational plans. First, we use supplemental administrative data gathered during routine placement testing in a large urban community college district in California to conduct predictive exercises…

W.S. 21-18-202 (h)(iii) mandates that the Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC) develop performance benchmarks, outcome measures, and other performance indicators which serve as the basis for annual reporting to the legislature and the governor. The annual reporting must include, but is not limited to, the following measures: (1) student…

This national report reflects the current state of college student satisfaction at four-year institutions, two-year public colleges, and career and private institutions. It examines the satisfaction and priorities of more than 578,000 college students across the United States. The report details what students identified as their biggest issues…

The 2015-16 National Adult Learners Satisfaction-Priorities Report examines key findings for adult learners, including: (1) Trends in adult learner satisfaction and their likelihood to recommend their program to others; (2) Which factors contributed to the adult learner's decision to enroll; (3) Aspects of the student experience that matter to…

Community colleges (CC) are obvious places to recruit more women into computer science. Enrollment at CCs has grown in response to a struggling economy, and students are more likely to be from underrepresented groups than students enrolled in 4-year universities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008). However, we know little about why so…

Sometimes the best mathematics problems come from the most unexpected situations. Last summer, a Corvette raced down a local quarter-mile drag strip. The driver, a family member, provided the spectators with time and distance-traveled data from his time slip and asked "Can you calculate how many seconds it took me to go from 0 to 60…

This study uses a unique synthesized set of data for community college students transferring to engineering by combining several cohorts of longitudinal data along with transcript-level data, from both the Community College and the University, to measure success rates in engineering. The success rates are calculated by developing Kaplan-Meier…

The transfer rate from community college to four-year institutions has been dropping for the past 70 years. In the most recent statistics, the national rate of transfer is 23% (Cohen & Brawer, 2008). In the state of Alabama the transfer rate is approximately 4%, and in the rural counties of Alabama the transfer rate hovers around 1%. Many…

Summer bridge programs (SBPs) improve the likelihood that students will succeed in postsecondary education. The majority of SBP research has focused on programs designed for underprepared high school graduates rather than nontraditional populations (i.e., older, [General Education Diploma] GED-holders, parents, etc.). This study sought to address…

The thoughtful utilization of student course evaluation data has been documented in the literature as a way to significantly improve student learning outcomes and the overall quality of instruction. However, at many community colleges, course evaluations continue to be used only for summative purposes or as a generic measure of instructor…

Community colleges are the pathways for millions of Americans to gain valuable education and to access career opportunities leading to family-sustaining wages. Faculty, student services staff, and administrators must share in the responsibility for student success if we are to meet national completion goals and reach even more students. During a…

Many more community college students could succeed at four-year colleges and universities than are given the chance. Significant numbers of academically gifted community college students start their postsecondary education at two-year institutions for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with their ability. Once at community college, however,…