Recently Published Dissertations on Community and Junior Colleges

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Background/Context Although numerous studies have emerged shedding light on community college student success, the enduring role of social capital is often overlooked. Furthermore, when conceptualizing social capital in the community college context and its diverse student population, age represents a unique form of diversity in these institutions that warrants further exploration. Purpose This research identifies the sources of social capital and the relationships between different sources of social capital and community college success, taking into account how the identified sources and relationships may vary based on age through the following questions: First, what are the major sources of social capital among first-year community college students, and how do sources of social capital vary based on age of students? Second, how do different sources of social capital influence first-year community college success? Third, how do influences of social capital on first-year community college success vary based on the age of students? Research Design Our study drew on Coleman's conceptualization of social capital, along with survey, administrative, and transcript data from three 2-year colleges in a midwestern state. We performed factor analysis with invariance tests to investigate the sources of social capital among community college students and how the identified factor structure may vary by age. We further conducted a logistic regression to examine the relationship between social capital and community college student success across age. Findings Our findings indicate that social capital needs to be conceptualized differently for community college students across age because they indeed drew on multiple forms of social capital differently, and the sources of social capital that emerged in turn were related to student success in varied ways. Students under the age of 24 relied on institutional agents and academic interaction as dominant forms of social capital, whereas those over the age of 24 relied on significant other's support. Students under the age of 24 were more likely to succeed if they frequently visited advisors for academic reasons. A low or high level of support for schoolwork was related to a higher chance of success for students between 24 and 29 years of age. For the students who were over 30 years old, a moderate level of engagement in their learning network and discussions with academic advisors was related to the lowest level of dropping out. Conclusions This study extends the social capital model by illuminating the varying types of social capital that students of different age groups engage with, particularly in the community college context, and pushes the boundaries of the knowledge base on how social capital functions in relation to student success in postsecondary education. The findings also elucidate new directions for research, policy, and practice in regard to cultivating and maximizing networks and information for community college students of all ages.

According to the U.S. Census (2000), 42 percent of adults in the United States between the ages of 25 and 64 have no more than a high school education (authors’ calculations). Unfortunately, however, most new jobs and the vast majority of jobs that pay wages sufficient to support a family require at least some education beyond high school (Carnevale & Derochers, 2003), and low educational attainment is associated with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Community colleges are an important entry point to postsecondary education for adults with no previous college education or even a high school diploma. In Fall 2002, for example, adults between the ages of 25 and 64 represented 35 percent of fulltime equivalent (FTE) enrollments at two-year public colleges, compared with only 15 percent of FTE undergraduate enrollments at four-year public institutions (authors’ calculations, based on U.S. Department of Education, 2001). Moreover, more than two-thirds of the community college students who entered postsecondary education at age 25 or older were low income (authors’ calculations based on “Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study” [BPS:96/01], 2003) The potential of community colleges to serve as a “pathway” for lowskill adults to college and career-path employment, therefore, is evident. Across the nation, several major projects are underway whose goal is to develop policies and practices supportive of this role. Funded by national foundations, these initiatives include the Ford Foundation’s Bridges to Opportunity initiative and the National Governor’s Association’s Pathways to Advancement project, funded by Lumina Foundation for Education. Despite this interest, relatively little is known about the unique experiences and the educational and employment outcomes of adults who enter community college with limited education. We do know that their experiences and outcomes differ from those of traditional college-aged students. Compared with community college students who enrolled soon after high school (at ages 18-24), those who start later (at ages 25-64) are more likely to earn a certificate and less likely to earn an associate degree. The late starters are also far less likely to transfer to a four-year institution and earn a bachelor’s degree. Indeed, among students who entered a community college for the first time in 1995-96, 60% of older first-time students did not earn any credential or transfer to a baccalaureate program after six years, compared with 40 percent of younger, first-time students (authors’ calculations, based on BPS:96/01, 2003). This Brief summarizes findings from a new study that seeks to fill information gaps about older community college students. Researchers used student record information from the Washington State Community and Technical College System to examine the educational experience and attainment as well as the employment and earnings of a sample of adult students, five years after first enrolling. The students in the sample were age 25 or older with, at most, a high school education. The study was conducted by staff at the Washington State Board of Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), with assistance from the Community College Research Center, as part of Ford’s Bridges to Opportunity initiative. Its goal was to provide educators throughout Washington’s community and technical college system with a detailed profile of their low-skill adult students, who make up about one-third of the approximately 300,000 students served by the system annually. The study also sought to identify the critical points where adult students drop out or fail to advance to the next level in order to help SBCTC staff stimulate thinking among educators throughout the system about how to bridge those gaps and thereby facilitate student advancement.

Early Findings of a Study Exploring the Social Media, Political and Cultural Awareness, and Civic Activism of Gen Z Students in the Mid-Atlantic United States [Abstract

BackgroundEarly adulthood is a turning-point for educational attainment and family formation. Our understanding of whether family formation predicts educational attainment is incomplete for two growing populations: unmarried families and community college students. This study examined whether family formation among college students ages 18–24 predicts educational attainment at ages 25–32.MethodsWe test our hypothesis using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health attending community college (n = 1,530) and 4-year college (n = 2,897) in 2001 with graduation outcomes measured in 2008: certificate or above, associate’s degree or above, and bachelor’s degree or above. We estimated adjusted relative risks of each level of educational attainment using multivariate Poisson regression with robust standard errors controlling for pre-college grade-point average, test scores, college expectancies, demographics, socioeconomic status, and health risk behaviors.ResultsFour-year college students with children were 23% less likely to have earned a BA 7 years later than students without children [adjusted relative risk (ARR) = 0.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.68, 0.89)], but community college students with children did not differ from students without children in attainment of certificate or above, associates or above, or bachelors or above [ARR = 0.93 (0.77, 1.13); 0.85 (0.67, 1.09); 0.61 (0.36, 1.04)]. Community and 4-year college students who were willing to leave college for marriage were, respectively, 71 and 21% less likely to have attained a bachelor’s or above than students who did not endorse leaving college for marriage [ARR = 0.29 (0.10, 0.83); 0.79 (0.67, 0.94)].ConclusionCommunity colleges may accommodate students with families better than 4-year colleges. Young adults who plan to start families during college may have higher educational attainment if they begin in community college. Colleges should reinforce persistence attitudes and provide material supports so that students do not perceive incompatibility between marriage and college completion.

Staley, C. (2010). Focus on Community College Success. Boston:DOI: 10.1177/0091552109337254Focus on Community College Success sets out to provide students with the tools to help them through the community college process and into their careers. The textbook style of this book brings the reader through 13 chapters of basic but vital skills ranging from getting the right start (chapter 1) to your future (chapter 13). Constance Staley, the author of Focus on Community College Success, skillfully integrates the knowledge she gained from more than 30 years of teaching into 13 case studies that give essential tools to aspiring and new community college students.Staley features diverse community college students in case studies that exemplify the real-world topics covered in each chapter. Each chapter is structured in a similar pattern, beginning with a list of objectives and then moving on to a readiness quiz (a short quiz that examines the reader's previous knowledge of the chapter content), an introduction to the students and the case study, questions about the case study, advice from the author on pertinent content contained in the chapter, and a reality check quiz (a short quiz that examines knowledge of the chapter content after it has been read). Chapters 1 through 5 explore issues related to starting on the community college path, setting goals, becoming aware of learning styles, managing time and energy, and thinking critically. Chapters 6 through 10 focus on developing technology skills and doing research; engaging, listening, and taking notes in class; developing memory; honing reading and study skills; and learning test-taking skills. Chapters 1 1 through 13 consider the processes of building relationships, choosing a major and career, and creating a future.Focus on Community College Success incorporates online resources and technology. Students are encouraged to download mp3 -format audio summaries of each chapter at a specific Web link provided at the end of the chapter. Throughout the text, students also are guided to an online resource center for online assessments, chapter practice quizzes, and video introductions to students featured in each chapter.The text covers many topics related to surviving the academic and personal aspects of attending college. Regarding academics, students are given guidance in understanding the course syllabus, studying for tests, and taking effective lecture notes. However, the text also includes topics that consider the student holistically, such as motivation and monitoring physical and spiritual health. Key topics designed for the young adult reader include fiscal responsibility, choosing a career path, and advice for noncompleters. Other topics relevant to a young adult authence include technological advances that shape students' college experiences (e.g., online social communities such as Facebook and appropriate management of text messaging).Current and prospective community college students are often first-generation students who may have difficulty finding the guidance and advice needed to feel engaged and successful in the community college environment (Horwedel, 2008; McConnell, 2000). Research has reported that 61% of students entering community colleges are first-generation students (Calkins, 2005). Increasing students' awareness of programs offered on campus opens opportunities for students to use the programs available to them. For example, students are often drawn to the community college mission of access and low cost, and they may benefit from programs such as financial aid and on-site daycare programs. But too often these students are unfamiliar with the process of obtaining assistance in these areas. Focus on Community College Success provides answers to frequently asked financial aid questions as well as contact information for the federal student aid information center. Moreover, the author illuminates how to obtain a free copy of the U. …

References

Learning about evolution is a foundational part of biology education, but most current studies that explore college student evolution education are conducted at universities. However, community college students tend to be more diverse in characteristics shown to be related to evolution education outcomes. To explore how studies involving university students may generalize to community college students, we surveyed students from seven community college (n = 202) and nine university (n = 2288) classes. We measured students’ evolution interest, acceptance, and understanding, and for religious students, we measured their perceived conflict between their religions and evolution. Controlling for state and major, we found that community college students had similar levels of evolution interest as university students but perceived greater conflict between their religions and evolution. Further, community college students had lower evolution understanding and acceptance compared with university students. Religiosity was a strong factor predicting community college and university students’ evolution acceptance. However, unique to community college students, evolution understanding was not related to their macroevolution or human evolution acceptance. This indicates that, although some results between community college and university students are similar, there are differences that have implications for evolution instruction that warrant the need for more evolution education research at community colleges.

A Companion to the philosophy of technology

Course Shopping in Urban Community Colleges: An Analysis of Student Drop and Add Activities

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to inform policymakers on current gambling beliefs, motives, and behaviors of both community college and university students in an effort to evaluate the extent of problem gambling in the overall college student population. To examine differences in gambling and problem gambling between community college and university students, 398 community college and university students completed a series of gambling-related surveys. The surveys captured types and frequency of gambling and assessed for gambling beliefs, motives, and correlates of problem gambling, as well as problem gambling treatment exposure. Students were screened for problem gambling using the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). In addition to comparative analyses of gambling differences between college types, a logistic regression model was developed to further examine significant associations of at-risk/problem gambling. Having an alcohol and/or other drug (AOD) problem and being under a doctor’s care during the past 12 months because of physical or emotional problems brought on by stress were significantly associated with at-risk/problem gambling. Also significant, community college students were found to be 38.5% more likely to engage in at-risk/problem gambling than university students. Community college students experience a significantly higher rate of at-risk/problem gambling than university students (30.7% vs. 22.0%). Epidemiological data presented in this report have the potential to aid in the development of needed gambling addiction services for community college students.

This paper describes a summit on Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape organized by a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and held at the Carnegie Institution for Science on December 15, 2011. This summit followed a similar event organized by Dr. Jill Biden, spouse of the Vice President, and held at the White House in October 2010, which sought to bring national attention to the changing missions and purposes of community colleges in contemporary American society.1 The NRC/NAE event built on the White House summit, while focusing on the changing roles of community colleges in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. An in-depth summary of the summit was prepared by the NRC and NAE for publication in late Spring 2012 by the National Academies Press (NRC and National Academy of Engineering, 2012 ). This paper provides a synopsis of that report, which is available at www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13399, and emphasizes how we can use the report to improve STEM education for our students, but also how much progress still needs to be made to realize this ideal.

Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is a feeling of illegitimacy or fraudulence despite evidence to the contrary. Most people experience feelings of impostorism in their lifetime, and it has been associated with several outcomes in the literature. Although there is some evidence higher education may facilitate feelings of IP, community college students have been largely excluded from the literature. The current study expanded the research by examining the prevalence of IP in community college (CC) students and analyzing differences based on demographic variables: gender, under-represented minority (URM) status, first-generation status, Pell Grant eligibility, and disability. Comparisons were made between CC students and students in their first or second year at a public four-year university. The effect of demographic variables and possible interactions were also explored in the total college student sample. The relationships between self-reported grade point averages (GPA), intent to persist, and IP were investigated to see if IP or GPA were predictive of intent to persist. This study utilized a quantitative non-experimental design to examine survey data. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (Clance, 1985) and a short demographic questionnaire were given online to 829 participants. The CC students comprised 63.3% of the sample, and they were from three different community colleges. A factorial analysis of variance was selected to examine group differences. A t-test was conducted to look at IP differences between CC and four-year university students, and a multiple linear regression with correlational analyses were utilized to look at the relationships and predictive power of GPA, IP, and intent to persist. Results showed most CC students indicated frequent feelings of impostorism. There were no significant differences between CC and the four-year university students. Students with a diagnosed disability had significantly higher levels of IP in both the CC and the total college student sample. There were also significant differences based on URM. There were no significant interactions. IP was correlated with intent to persist and IP levels were found to have some predictive value for intent to persist; self-reported GPA did not.

Community colleges are the gateway to higher education for many students who would otherwise have limited access to college, particularly those who are from low-income households or are ethnic minorities, firstgeneration college students, or immigrants. Yet only about one-third of all community college students receives any degree or certificate even eight years after initial college enrollment. And credit accumulation and completion rates are even lower for minority and low-income students. Meanwhile, community college student outcomes, as measures of college effectiveness, are of increasing concern for institutional accountability. The Bush administration and many legislators in Congress would like to hold postsecondary institutions to higher standards of accountability, just as they have done with elementary and secondary schools. Institutional reporting requirements to the Department of Education now include data for graduation rates overall and broken out by gender and race/ethnicity. More than half of all states take into account the performance of public colleges when determining higher education appropriations. The use of completion rates as the primary yardstick for accountability puts pressure on community colleges to improve student outcomes. Yet, community college advocates have resisted the use of completion rates either as an accountability measure or as a normative goal. They argue that many community college students only want to learn new skills or enroll for personal enrichment – goals for which such students may obtain tangible benefits. Further, many factors that may create barriers to student completion are beyond the control of colleges, such as a student’s poor academic preparation. Because community colleges must accept all eligible students seeking to enroll, they often have student populations comprised of individuals who would not be admitted to more selective institutions or who may have many challenges to graduation. For such reasons, standard completion measures such as graduation rates may judge community colleges unfairly. Still, measuring institutional graduation rates can provide useful information about differences among colleges, such as leading researchers to identify policies and practices that might promote student success at those colleges with higher relative rates. For an individual college, analysis of its completion rates can be an important way to measure the effectiveness of its policies and practices relative to other similar institutions. This Brief summarizes a research project, conducted by the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and one component of a Ford Foundation-funded study on minority degree attainment at community colleges, which used institution-level data to analyze the effect of community college characteristics on student performance. The study provides an important first step in identifying the institutional factors – characteristics, policies, and programs – that contribute to improved educational outcomes for community college students.

Reviewed by: Rural Community Colleges: Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the Heartland Jane McEldowney Jensen, Associate Professor Pamela L. Eddy and John P. Murray (Eds.). Rural Community Colleges: Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the Heartland. New Directions for Community Colleges, No. 137. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007. 120 pp. Paper: $29.00. ISBN: 978-0-7879-9720-5. Driving down the highway across the United States, you may pass a road sign for a local community college. The farther you are from any major city, the larger that sign will probably be. This is because community colleges are important to rural communities as Pamela Eddy and John Murray's edited volume helps us understand, providing real examples from across the country, introducing new ways to view existing data, and calling on researchers and policymakers to pay attention to what the authors call the "rural differential." The first two chapters introduce the new Carnegie classification of institutions which provides a typology of rural, suburban, and metropolitan community colleges. This typology, as David Clothy and Stephen Katsinas explain in the first chapter, is critical to our understanding of differences among community colleges and the serious issues they face, particularly with regard to resources. Along with an accessible introduction to the Carnegie classification scheme and how it has changed, this portion of the text identifies ways in which the new data allow comparative analysis appropriate for community colleges relative to variables like unduplicated headcounts and campus size. Charles Fluharty and Bill Scaggs contend that these variables matter in terms of economies of scale and the ways that rural community colleges are asked to respond to multiple missions, sometimes as the only institution in the area with the social, economic, and political capital to do so. Michael Miller and Daniel Kissinger's description of the contributions these colleges make to their rural contexts in Chapter 3 is a significant piece in itself as the authors help us understand what it means to be rural—beyond population statistics. Yes, rural community colleges serve areas with low population density, but they also do so as one of the few social engines available to their regions. The authors describe the ways that these colleges provide leisure education, cultural enrichment, and economic development in addition to traditional educational opportunity. Furthermore, each institution must fulfill all these roles in a way that identifies with their community as "both a place and a process that involves symbolic, cultural, and personal interaction" (p. 28). The next set of chapters introduce some of the practicalities of rural community college administration: attracting the right kind of president, developing local and state leadership to build sustainable communities, recruiting faculty, and helping them be successful. Jay Leist argues in Chapter 4 that presidential searches should be accurate and honest, asking directly for leadership skills suitable to the local needs of the college rather than searching for generic leaders who may not understand or appreciate local challenges. He provides a useful sample position advertisement to demonstrate his point. [End Page 515] Similarly, Murray and Eddy, in Chapters 6 and 7 respectively, contend that faculty members are more likely to stay if they value the attributes of their rural locations and if the particular challenges of rural faculty appointments are recognized and supported. Both authors recognize that rural instructors share the challenges of underprepared students and heavy teaching loads with their community college peers nationally, but they also acknowledge the sometimes isolating and often rewarding aspect of teaching in rural locations. Identifying and recruiting faculty and administrators to rural community colleges is difficult but critical to the role of the community college as catalysts for economic renewal. Because of the rural campus locations, this human capital must often be home-grown. Molly Clark and Ed Davis provide an example of the MidSouth Community College Fellowship Program, a regionally specific partnership to provide leadership development which includes a curriculum of rural sociology, rural community and economic development, rural government administration, public program evaluation, regional economics, and applied regional economics. Related examples of leadership development from the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) and the Rural Public Policy Roundtable are referenced in the final chapter. The last few chapters of...