This Snapshot Report is based on the cohort of fall 2011 entering students extracted for NSC Signature Report #14: A National View of Student Completion Rates. There were two major changes from prior versions of the report on completion rates that pertained to cohort definitions: (1) All-years look-back for prior enrollments: Data limitations in…

Accounting students are under-performing at learning foundational principles from traditional instructional pedagogy. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study is to provide a better scholarly understanding of the effectiveness of cognitive load theory as applied to the accounting classroom by examining the relationship between the…

Successful teaching practices from ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) with a hybrid, synchronous, in-person format using HyFlex technology should be applied to Developmental English courses, especially in rural areas or wherever the student population frequently encounters transportation issues to overcome barriers to completion and…

The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to re-story the experiences of a first-year music teacher with regard to race and class. Johny was a first-year high school guitar teacher in the southwestern United States who identified as Hispanic and was raised in a family with a lower income. He was also a first-generation college student whose path…

Language learning classrooms are sites of discovery not only of language, but of identity, culture, and community. The pedagogical approach described here, critical media work (CMW), integrates language teaching and social issues by using media literacy as a bridge. CMW explores antiracist discourse in popular media (digital and analog) to…

The following report summarizes critical lessons learned from case studies conducted by ATD examining how adaptive courseware is implemented at public community colleges as well as how courseware is used in particular disciplines to better serve students. The lessons learned represent the work of hundreds of faculty and staff, and administrators…

In Assembly Bill (AB) 705, assessment and placement practices in California Community Colleges (CCC) should maximize the probability that students who enter credit-bearing English as a second language (ESL) course sequences complete degree and transfer requirements in English within three years. The three-year timeframe begins when a student…

As the COVID-19 pandemic has proved, maintaining student financial wellness is key to keeping students enrolled. The Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) was administered a year and a half into the pandemic, during a time when vaccinations were allowing schools to return to in-person learning, but the pandemic was continuing to have a strong…

Postsecondary students face a myriad of complex financial decisions and tasks, such as financing their education, choosing a major with a return on investment, budgeting, and crafting repayment strategies for credit card and student loan debt(s). With respect to student loans, many borrowers feel "burdened by the repayment process" and…

Student placement test records, course enrollments, and other student-level data collected by community colleges are vital for evaluating the outcomes of students in developmental education (dev-ed) courses. Researchers and policymakers rely on this information to examine the impact of existing programs and assess ongoing reforms to dev-ed -- the…

This study was conducted to understand the reading challenges of underprepared college students. A sample of the participants was enrolled in supplemental literacy programs because they were deemed not ready for reading and writing in college. Community college participants completed a series of measures that assessed foundational skills for…

Through interviews with nine Latina/o students enrolled in a 2-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), this study examined their interactions with faculty utilizing validation theory as a guiding framework. Findings demonstrate the critical role faculty serve as validating agents and the importance of supporting 2-year HSIs faculty to practice…

This study compares two instructional methodologies: extensive reading plus output activity and intensive reading plus grammar-translation with regard to improvement of non-English major EFL learners' reading comprehension and fluency development in a Japanese junior college. It identifies the minimum number of words an individual should read for…

Single measures of college performance fail to reflect the mix and diversity of students served. First-time students vary widely in terms of their readiness to succeed in college. Higher education environments (ecosystems) also vary widely and afford students differing admission and transfer opportunities. These factors confound college completion…

A challenge that community colleges continue to face is how to strengthen the education they provide in ways that lead to increased college completion and equity in student outcomes. Information gleaned from the Center's survey research and student focus groups over nearly two decades has produced the awareness that substantial improvement in…