Lumina Foundation For Education has funded many efforts to improve the educational outcomes of students, institutions and agencies in higher education. In addressing systemic issues in education achievement--and specifically college completion--Lumina has been a leading organization supporting initiatives to understand and overcome the many,…

"Rewarding Persistence: Effects of a Performance-Based Scholarship Program for Low-Income Parents" examined whether community college students are more likely to persist in school if they are offered financial incentives tied to school performance. The study included 1,019 low-income parents enrolled at two Louisiana community colleges.…

First-year undergraduate students enter college with varying expectations, motivations, and goals and are being bombarded with messages about the importance of grades, sometimes to the detriment of learning. This descriptive, cross-sectional study employs LOGO II to describe the learning and grade orientations of first-year students and identify…

This study focused on degree-seeking baccalaureate-degree holders at one two-year technical institute in the Midsouth to determine why they chose to study at the two-year college and how they compared their two-year college experience with their baccalaureate educational experience. Findings indicated the technical college was their first choice…

Greater attention to the college and career readiness problem by state leaders and policymakers could drastically boost the numbers and percentages of students who graduate from high school ready for college and career study. This chapter traces the author's work in developing California State University's Early Assessment Program, an initiative…

This limited study provided the first step in exploring existing information mined from a statewide community college Student Information System (SIS) regarding blended, online, and face-to-face instructional methods courses. The purpose was to explore the retention claims of blended instructional method courses, retention of face-to-face and…

The education of under-prepared college students is a topic that interested and motivated this researcher to conduct a study on learning communities and measuring change in writing apprehension and locus of control of developmental students at a community college. Higher education is generally viewed as a place for the intellectually elite.…

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to increase understanding of the career perspectives of 12 Mexican American, re-entry women who were attending a community college. The questions guiding this investigation were: (a) How do Mexican American re-entry college women describe their career decision-making experiences, (b) What do…

Despite the fact that work is a fundamental part of life for nearly half of all undergraduate students--with a substantial number of "traditional" dependent undergraduates in employment, and working independent undergraduates averaging 34.5 hours per week--little attention has been given to how working influences the integration and engagement…

Retaining and aiding students on academic probation is a concern for all institutions of higher education. Students placed on academic probation by Rockingham Community College (RCC) have been encouraged to participate in an intervention program since the summer of 2006. When treated as an aggregate, the data regarding the program indicates that…

In the face of 21st century economic challenges, community colleges must contend with complex pressures on their mission. The dueling missions of academic transfer and workforce preparation must sustain and grow the American economy in a global market and simultaneously meet the promise to community college students--open access to quality higher…

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda that seeks to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional level. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, higher…

Skill shortages in the area of computer network troubleshooting are becoming increasingly acute. According to research sponsored by Cisco's Learning Institute, the demand for professionals with computer networking skills in the United States and Canada will outpace the supply of workers with those skills by an average of eight percent per year…

There is substantial work being done--in California and nationwide--to develop college readiness standards; expand concurrent enrollment programs; communicate clearly about the key cognitive strategies necessary for postsecondary success (e.g., analytical thinking); improve student supports; and implement other approaches to improve students'…

Academic dishonesty is not new, but recent research reviews and the media indicate that its prevalence is on the rise and that it erodes public confidence in academia. Such loss can be ill afforded at at time when the costs of education are increasing, and both federal and public funding are decreasing. The author discusses: (1) What is academic…