Program Features and Implementation Strategies that Make Community College Student Success Programs Effective and Equitable: A Systematic Review

Recently Published Dissertations on Community and Junior Colleges

Health care organization leaders and policy makers seeking ways to reform the delivery of health care have become increasingly interested in transformational change. To foster understanding of how organizational transformation occurs and to stimulate further research, we report findings from a systematic review of empirical research on transformational change in the health care and non-health care literature, with a focus on the antecedents, processes (or paths), and outcomes of transformational change. Fifty-six studies, of which 13 were in health care, met our selection criteria. With one exception, all were published since 1990, indicating the recent upsurge of interest in this area. Limited differences were found between health care and non-health care studies. Available research documents the multiplicity of factors affecting change and the complexity of their interactions, but less information is available about the processes of transformational change than about its antecedents and consequences. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Background/Context Based on well-established evidence that certain student success skills and college knowledge are closely associated with academic achievement, persistence, and completion, community colleges increasingly implement various types of first-year student success courses and programs. However, by looking only at the distal impact of program participation, the question of whether these programs actually influence those mediating skills of college success has scarcely been investigated in the higher education literature, let alone which program features may be determining factors. Purpose/Objective This study examined the scope and design of community college student success courses to address which program features relate to learning objectives of student success skills, college knowledge, and engagement. Population/Participants/Subjects Participants were students and instructors drawn from 47 student success course sections at 42 public community colleges in 24 states, representing all U.S. geographic regions. Research Design The study adopted a multimodal research design, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods while primarily relying on quantitative analysis. Data Collection and Analysis Students in selected student success course sections completed a pre- and postsurvey. Instructors participated in a structured interview and provided course syllabi. Course design information was quantitized and merged with student-level data to model variation in learning outcomes as a function of course features, according to an activity theory conceptual framework. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Conclusions Findings from this research point to several recommendations for practice by highlighting the reality that one term may be too little to learn some student success skills and that particular features of course designs may result in unintended adverse effects. Results indicate that structural elements are the most impactful features and that the skills-based curricular features that receive the most attention may be in fact the least influential features in realizing desired skills and knowledge outcomes. The study points to methodological ways forward to further explore and unpack the relationship between success course design features and educational outcomes.

Assessing learning in technology-rich maker activities: A systematic review of empirical research

Transracial adoption is a relatively new and controversial practice in South Africa. We undertook a systematic review of empirical research by adhering to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guideline. A comprehensive literature search was conducted on research, both peer-reviewed and unpublished academic work, between January 1991 and April 2021. We report on the scientific nature, rigour, quality and scope of studies of the items found and outline the themes which emerge from the empirical research. These include attitudes towards transracial adoption, the experiences of adoptive parents and transracial adoptees as well as recommendations for practice. Different theoretical paradigms, variable methodology, small sample sizes of poorly defined target groups impact negatively on comparability and generalisability of results. This research fails to engage with the specificities that might impact on successful outcomes for transracially adopted families and guide professional practice including post-adoption support. Developing this research field will require large-scale studies on the outcomes for transracial adoptees and adoptive families, and research using the comparable methodology and theoretical frameworks. Such research can guide local policies and practices in South Africa and will enhance the international research into transracial adoption.

Given the nature of the discipline, it might be assumed that clinical psychology is an ethical profession, within which effective ethical decision-making is integral. How then, does this ethical decision-making occur? This paper describes a systematic review of empirical research addressing this question. The paucity of evidence related to this question meant that the scope was broadened to include other professions who deliver talking therapies. This review could support reflective practice about what may be taken into account when making ethical decisions and highlight areas for future research. Using academic search databases, original research articles were identified from peer-reviewed journals. Articles using qualitative ( n = 3), quantitative ( n = 8) and mixed methods ( n = 2) were included. Two theoretical models of aspects of ethical decision-making were identified. Areas of agreement and debate are described in relation to factors linked to the professional, which impacted ethical decision-making. Factors relating to ethical dilemmas, which impacted ethical decision-making, are discussed. Articles were appraised by two independent raters, using quality assessment criteria, which suggested areas of methodological strengths and weaknesses. Comparison and synthesis of results revealed that the research did not generally pertain to current clinical practice of talking therapies or the particular socio-political context of the UK healthcare system. There was limited research into ethical decision-making amongst specific professions, including clinical psychology. Generalisability was limited due to methodological issues, indicating avenues for future research.

Background and Purpose. Researchers have studied both academic and nonacademic reasons why some graduate students do not complete degrees.6,7 Attrition at the graduate or professional education program levels usually is the result of nonacademic reasons.6,18,20 These reasons may include personal or family illness, divorce, financial problems, or modification of professional goals resulting in a decision to change majors. While student-to-student relationships are important, it has been shown that faculty-to-student relationships are more important.24 Open communication and relationships between faculty and students may help students identify necessary resources earlier, allowing them to solve personal as well as family and professional issues, and complete progress through graduation. Five components related to student success have been identified.25 These components include academic programming, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interactions, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environments. Institutions that have high levels of student academic and social engagement also report high student satisfaction and graduation rates.25 The purpose of this case report is to present one model of a student success program (SSP) developed at the University of North Florida (UNF), for its Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree program. The program was based upon a review of the literature related to attrition in graduate programs and included the 5 components related to student success identified above. Effects and outcomes of the SSP on the DPT education program at UNF are analyzed and presented. Case Description. During the 2006-2007 academic year, the UNF program transitioned to a DPT program. Twenty-five students were admitted to this cohort. Five of them did not complete the program. Of these 5, 3 students dropped out for academic reasons, 1 dropped back and graduated with the class following this cohort, and 1 decided to change her major to nursing. This resulted in an 80% graduation rate, below the national average of 89%, as reported by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Outcomes. After a SSP was created and implemented, student retention significantly improved. Twenty-six students enrolled in the UNF DPT program in the 2008 fall semester participated in the SSP. All 26 students successfully completed the first semester and graduated with a rate of 89.3%. Discussion and Conclusion. It is important to remember the significance of non-academic support as well as academic support. One of the most significant components to the SSP is the Team-Based Learning (TBL) model. It reinforced all the components of a successful learning community, engagement of all students, and early assessment leading to early identification of at-risk students allowing for more timely intervention. The faculty at UNF continues to use the same admissions criteria used in previous years. The SSP has been continued and the projected graduation rate for the next class, who are finishing their second year, is 96.9%. This rate is well above the initial retention rate and the national average.

Rosenbaum, J. E., Deil-Amen, R., & Person, A. E. (2006). After Admission: From College Access to College Success. New York: RussellDOI: 10.1177/0091552108327071After Admission: From College Access to College Success examines student and college success from an organizational structure perspective and argues that problems students experience during their academic journey can be minimized by using intentionally supportive procedures and processes. To demonstrate how private occupational colleges minimize barriers that students experience, authors Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person compare and contrast public, accredited 2-year community colleges from a large metropolitan area with private occupational colleges that offer accredited associate's degrees in the same occupational fields. The authors compare the practices of these institutions with regard to support structures and services they provide to aid in student success. This book is written from the perspectives of three educators: a professor of sociology, education, and social policy (Rosenbaum); an assistant professor of education (Deil-Amen); and a doctoral candidate in human development and social policy (Person). More than 190 authors and works are referenced in this book, making it a rich compilation of both quantitative and qualitative research results.Recognizing that the United States has moved toward universal access for college, as exemplified by the open-access policy of community colleges, the authors identify methods to help community colleges reshape practices and processes in a contextrelevant manner. Because these students at these institutions tend to be the first in their families to attend college, their lack of knowledge about college culture as well as their need to develop soft skills can have negative implications for their success. These challenges, combined with socioeconomic strain, demands outside of college, and the need for realistic graduation timelines, all play a role in student success or failure. The authors argue that student characteristics have changed dramatically yet institutional processes have not. Specifically, Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, and Person challenge community colleges to abandon the concept of individual student deficiencies as a prime reason for student failure and to consider institutional, structural, and procedural changes as a potential avenue to reverse the dismal success rate of community college students.The authors dispute the notion that community colleges engage in a cooling-out process while also demonstrating how warming up does not necessarily serve students well in the absence of appropriate support structures. They question the nonstigmatizing approach mat is often used in today's community colleges with regard to remediation, suggesting that ineffective information leads to confusion for students who are not aware that they may not earn degree credit in remedial courses. According to personal testimonies, students sometimes unknowingly enrolled in noncredit remedial courses only to learn after a semester or more that the courses in which they were enrolled did not fulfill graduation requirements. For students with limited financial resources, this constitutes a devastating misunderstanding.A variety of additional topics are explored in the volume, including problems community college students face regarding the amount and delivery of needed information, students' lack of social and cultural capital, community colleges' limited and ineffective use of advisory boards to support programs and student connections, minimal career services, and a lack of adequate institutional commitment for job placement services. Comparisons between the two types of institutions are made, indicating that private occupational colleges structure their student support services in a way that minimizes these challenges for their students. Although private occupational colleges work from a charter-building perspective, which helps them build beneficial connections for their students, community colleges rely on the traditional, credential concept with little regard to the market value of degrees and the additional needs of their graduates. …

Editor's notes

The definition and description of student success programs in the literature (e.g., orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.) suggest underlying programmatic similarities. Yet researchers to date typically depend on ambiguous labels to delimit studies, resulting in loosely related but separate research lines and few generalizable findings. To demonstrate whether or how certain programs are effective there is need for more coherent conceptualizations to identify and describe programs. This is particularly problematic for community colleges where success programs are uniquely tailored relative to other sectors. The study’s purpose is to derive an empirical typology of community college student success programs based on their curricular and programmatic features. Data come from 1047 success programs at 336 U.S.-based respondents to the Community College Institutional Survey. Because programs might be characterized by their focus in different curricular areas and combinations of foci, we used factor mixture modeling, a hybrid of factor analysis and latent class analysis, which provides a model-based classification method that simultaneously accounts for dimensional and categorical data structures. Descriptive findings revealed extensive commonalities among nominal program types. Inferential analysis revealed five factors (types) of program elements, combined in unique ways among four latent program types: success skills programs, comprehensive programs, collaborative academic programs, and minimalist programs. We illustrate how the typology deconstructs nominal categories, may help unify different bodies of research, and affords a common framework and language for researchers and practitioners to identify and conceptualize programs based on what they do rather than by their names.

Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) systems offer several learning affordances, that is, characteristics that can elicit learning behaviors promoting learning outcomes in educational contexts. In particular, the immersive and interactive properties of these systems represent a strong opportunity to support the effective learning experiences. The present review aims at mapping IVR systems’ use in K‐12 and higher educational contexts and investigating their effectiveness in facilitating learning in terms of knowledge attainment and retention and motivational outcomes. The synthesis of the reviewed studies (n = 18) show that IVR can support a number of activities and experiences that in turn improve learning and motivate students to fulfill educational goals by eliciting their interest and engagement with the learning materials. The main advantage of IVR seems related to the possibility for users to have first‐hand experiences that would not be possible in the real world, simultaneously offering unique opportunities for experiential and situated learning, as well as promoting students’ motivation and engagement. Despite the promising findings, the reviewed studies present several methodological flaws: non‐randomized trials, small sample sizes, unbalanced samples and non‐validated measures. This in turn makes it difficult to generalize from these results. Future research is needed to investigate the unique opportunities of IVR in education. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? There is an increasing use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) in different fields, including education. Experiences in IVR promote sense of presence, sense of embodiment, while supporting attentional and emotional engagement. What this paper adds? The paper outlines the learning affordances of IVR both at cognitive and affective level. The results of our systematic review show that IVR is a promising technology that can positively influence the students’ learning achievements and motivation to learn. The paper presents also a critical analysis of the included papers, which results in recommendation for future research and practice. Implication for practice and/or policy. The paper makes evidence‐based recommendations for teachers as well as researchers in the field. It introduces affordable and easy‐to‐use devices that meet the affordances of IVR for improving learning.

High impact practices (HIP) are evidence-based teaching and learning tools which improve learning and student engagement. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of HIP in undergraduate introduction to exercise science classes. The student experience in introductory major courses can impact their persistence and success in the discipline, thus the use of HIP in these courses can be formative. It was hypothesized that the number of HIP used would differ based on institution type, instructor type, and class size. It was also hypothesized that collaboration would be the most frequently used HIP due to ease of implementation in the classroom. Faculty were electronically surveyed about the type and number of HIP used in their introductory course and information relative to instructor status and class size. The sample included 182 courses. Institution types were classified as either four-year public institutions ( n = 68), four-year private institutions ( n = 97), or community colleges ( n = 17). The most common instructor type was tenured/tenure-track ( n = 100), followed by full time term ( n = 39), adjunct ( n = 2), and different instructor types teaching the class ( n = 41). Class sizes were grouped in the following categories: 0-25 students ( n = 84), 26-50 ( n = 71), 51-75 ( n = 11), 76-100 ( n = 3), 101+ ( n = 13). Instructors reported an average of 1.3 + 1.2 HIP were used in the courses. There was a significant difference between the number of HIP used and institution type (F (2, 41.73) = 3.98, p = 0.026). Instructors at four-year public (1.03 + 0.98; p = <0.001) and four-year private (1.26 + 1.14; p = 0.005) institutions reported incorporating significantly fewer HIP than instructors at community colleges (2.12 + 1.58). There was no significant difference between number of HIP used and instructor type (F (3, 5.106) = 2.56, p = 0.166). There was a significant difference between number of HIP used and students per section (F (4, 13.37) = 4.54, p = 0.016) with 0-25 student sections (1.4 + 1.18; p = 0.024) and 26-50 student sections (1.32 + 1.20; p = 0.043) having significantly more HIP used in the courses than courses with 101+ student per section (0.62 + 1.17). At the 123 institutions where it was reported that HIP were used, 79.7% used collaboration ( n = 98). These data identify the use of HIP more frequently in introduction to exercise science classes with fewer than 50 students and those taught at community colleges. As many students may begin their degrees at community colleges, this use of HIP can be supportive of students remaining in the degree track. Further, the use of HIP, such as collaboration, in smaller classes may encourage relationships that may also help students feel more positively about the degree. No funding or support mechanism was used for this project. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Bibliography

A narrative review was developed to add to the discussion and dissemination of research on community colleges. The review adds to existing work by synthesizing and critiquing the empirical research to date specific to three of the most prevalent programmatic efforts presently seen on community college campuses: (a) learning communities, (b) student success courses, and (c) supplemental instruction. Empirical investigations or evaluations of student success programs from academic journals, conference presentations, dissertations, unpublished policy reports, and book chapters were identified, summarized, and critiqued. The review concludes with a proposed research agenda to advance research on program effectiveness at community colleges and implications for practice.

Student affairs and student services practices are concepts that can replace traditional models of student development, now emphasizing student identity, student voice, and emancipatory advocacy. A new identity is suggested to replace the title for student affairs professionals and student affairs programs in community colleges: student success professionals and student success programs.