In fall 2012, a public-minded privately held firm, Quad Learning (QL), partnered with two community colleges to pilot a new program dubbed "American Honors" (AH), which was designed to help academically talented community college students overcome the challenges of transferring to more selective four-year destinations. By fall 2018, QL…

Background: Community college leaders are now turning to social media/social networking sites for new avenues and opportunities to increase students' interaction, engagement, and collaboration with peers, faculty, and staff. Social media may be a particularly attractive option because it can provide a potentially effective and exciting mechanism…

The growth of online education has slowed down among community colleges, but it is still outpacing overall enrollment, while the quality of the education offered has improved from a pale imitation to a worthy competitor, administrators say. More than 5.5 million community college students enrolled in distance education programs in 2013-14,…

This study explores the expectations and early and subsequent realities of text-to-speech software for 24 nonnative-English-speaking college students who were experiencing reading difficulties in their freshman year of college. The study took place over two semesters in one academic year (from September to June) at a community college on the…

Museum exhibits can be a tool in experiential learning. While instructors have documented various methods of experiential learning, they have not sufficiently explored such learning from museum exhibits. Museum researchers, however, have long found a satisfying cognitive component to museum visits. This paper narrates the author's design to…

Objective: Given the current concern across the United States with improving community-college student outcomes, particularly in developmental education, understanding what students encounter inside developmental education classrooms is a necessary first step. Method: Drawing on data from a study of teaching practices inside developmental math…

This qualitative multi-case study explored undergraduate psychology students' experiences participating in creative drama activities the instructor/researcher developed to teach psychological concepts. The study was conducted in three introductory and developmental courses in a mid-western community college setting. Participants (cases) included…

Given the explosion of theoretical and empirical interest in the STEM gender gap in recent years, almost exclusively focused on four-year colleges, this paper primarily investigates the following question: How does the nature of the gender gap differ among two- and four-year college students, if at all? This study seeks to answer the following…

This qualitative phenomenological studied investigated the lived experiences of first generation Latino and Latina community college students who share common behaviors in their pursuit of educational attainment. Based on Tinto's (1994, 2002) persistence theory a narrative investigation collected data through interviews from 10 first generation…

Background/Context: As the cost of postsecondary education continues to rise, more students begin their postsecondary careers at a community college with the ultimate goal of upward transfer. However, there is limited evidence regarding how earning an associate degree prior to transfer shape transfer students' eventual success at baccalaureate…

This article describes how community colleges take on major changes as they undergo complete organizational redesign and streamlining of programming and services in the face of multiple challenges.

While developmental education in community colleges has the potential to prepare students for college-level work, its effectiveness and need is often questioned. Further, while Latinx students are overrepresented in developmental courses, there is a dearth of literature on their experiences in such courses and how to effectively serve their needs…

Community colleges play a significant role in guiding pathways to postsencondary degrees for Latinx/a/o students. To gain a greater understanding of ways Latinx/a/o students utilize community colleges as pathways to degrees, this article focused on institutional leaders, members of one community college professional assocation. An original survey…

This study examines the relationship between academic undermatch theory and the college-going decisions, experiences, and aspirations of first-generation, rural Hispanic community college students in the new destination meatpacking town of Winstead, Kansas. Ethnographic data from rural high school guidance counselors, community college faculty,…

This qualitative study examines the experiences of six Mexican community college transfer students attending a research-intensive institution in the Pacific Northwest. Using semi-structured interviews, the objectives of this study were to 1) understand how Mexican students made meaning of their transfer experiences and 2) how those experiences…