American Community College Research Articles

Integrated instruction framework for information literacy

In response to a college required programme review, the Portland Community College Library undertook a case study of its information literacy (IL) programme in order to understand and illustrate clearly how the programme addressed levels of IL competencies throughout the curriculum. Content and qualitative analysis were used in reviewing curriculum documents to identify emergent patterns of IL skills and concepts within the college disciplines and certificate programmes. Analysis of the college’s course outcomes revealed distinct differences as well as trends across the curriculum for faculty expectations of information conceptualisation, information seeking strategies and research methods. Following this analysis, a Research Support Framework was devised as a template for guiding lower division undergraduate students’ progression through several cognitive domains of IL. Course Specific Research Support Forms were created to map, in specific detail, how library instructional objectives match up with individual course outcomes as well as with the college core outcomes. Combining a critical thinking taxonomy with a continuum of skills, progressing from pre-college level readiness towards academic literacy, generated a developmental approach to IL instruction. This also illustrated the necessary preliminary steps for students’ progression and knowledge gaps which may frequently arise and must be resolved before further progression is possible. Discussions between librarians and content faculty are now supported with a much more precise view of what is developmentally appropriate IL instruction for particular courses. The framework is especially applicable to students in their first two years of college. The unique situation of American community colleges means that first-year seminars are not usually possible, and the curriculum can often be as much vocational as academic. This versatile and developmental approach to IL instruction ensures the embedding of IL throughout the curriculum, providing students various and cumulative learning experiences. It will also encourage leading discussions with four-year colleges about alignment and realistic IL targets for students who intend to transfer for completion of their baccalaureate degrees. This article is based on a paper presented at LILAC 2013.

Bringing Community Colleges to Tunisia

AbstractThis chapter focuses on the country of Tunisia and explores the possibility of bringing aspects of the American community college to the country to bring about needed reform and relief from unemployment.

Democracy’s College: The American Community College in the 21st Century: Framing the Issue

In this manuscript, the guest editors of the EPAA Special Issue on “Democracy’s College: The American Community College in the 21st Century”: a) introduce the background, history, and context of community colleges in the larger higher education landscape; b) summarize the three research papers and two video commentaries that were peer-reviewed and selected for inclusion in this special issue; and, c) discuss the individual contributions and major themes across the selected papers. Their importance is discussed in terms of each paper’s insights for the general research on this topic and each paper’s potential to inform community college research, practice, and policy.

A SOCIAL APPROACH FOR THE CONCEPT OF KNOWLEDGE GATEKEEPERS: THE CASE OF THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This article aims to expand the concept of knowledge gatekeepers from his role as an agent that can provide the access to heterogeneous and complementary knowledge to a particular social environment. This is an exploratory research focused on the study about the relationship between social capital and the notion of the knowledge gatekeeper in the case of the American community colleges. The hypothesis raised by this study is, according to the context, the concept of knowledge gatekeeper can be expanded. Besides allowing the expansion of the concept, the context defines the relevance of a knowledge gatekeeper for the development of its surroundings. DOI: 10.18226/23190639.v1n1.05

<em>A Balancing Act: Impacting and Initiating the Success of African American Female Community College Transfer Students in STEM into the HBCU Environment</em>

IntroductionHistorically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) play a critical role in the educational experiences of African Americans. Of the top 20 leading producers of African American bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, all but three are HBCUs (Borden & Brown 2004). In 2010, HBCUs were the source of 17.6% of all bachelor's degrees to African Americans but 19.2% of the bachelor's degrees to African Americans in STEM fields. HBCUs are also a relatively more important source of STEM degrees for African American women than African American men. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF, 2013), 15.8% of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees awarded to African American women in 2010 were from HBCUs, compared to only 14.5% of bachelor degrees in STEM fields awarded to African American men. Coupled with these findings is the large number of African American women enrolled in our nation's community colleges. According to NSF (2013), there has been almost a 50% increase of African American females at community colleges. This insinuates that a large portion of African American female STEM talent will be entering the HBCU environment through the community college environment. For the purpose of this study Black and African American will be used interchangeably throughout.Given the aforementioned statistics on the underrepresentation of African American females in math- and science-related areas, and the role of community colleges and HBCUs in the success of African American females, it is surprising that the literature is bleak regarding the representation of African American female community college transfer students who are enrolled at HBCUs and their overall experiences as a transfer student in STEM. In fact, Hawkins (2013) asserted that according to the Association of American Community Colleges and the Center for the Study of Community Colleges data on the number of community college students who transfer to HBCUs aren't tracked (para. 13). With a large representation of African American students entering four-year HBCUs through the community college environment, examining and exploring the experiences of this population will assist in highlighting factors that positively impact their successful transfer from the community college into the four-year HBCU environment. This study draws attention to a very unique population-African American female community college transfer students in STEM disciplines at a four-year HBCU.The literature is explicit regarding the need to increase the representation of students of color in STEM in the United States. This urgency emerges from the current shortage of competent individuals in math- and science-related fields. The projection that minorities will represent about half of the resident United States population by 2050 (Ortman & Guameri, 2009) makes this population a viable option for fulfilling many of the jobs in the STEM workforce. Even with this urgency, completion rates for African-American, Hispanic, Native American and low-income students are lower than the overall numbers in STEM-related areas (Bailey & Alfonso, 2005, p. 5). This indicates that we are losing a very talented population of students of color at every educational level and in many STEM content areas. Additionally, the National Science Foundation revealed that female and minority students are behind compared to their male and race majority counterparts in achieving degrees in the STEM areas (NSF, 2013). More specifically, female participation in engineering and computer science remains below 30% and since 2000, the representation of underrepresented minorities has remained flat in the physical sciences and has dropped in mathematics (NSF, 2013).Using the Triple Quandary Theory (Boykin & Toms,1985) and its interplay among three tenets: (a) mainstream experience, (b) Black cultural socialization and (c) the minority socialization experience; the purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of seven African American community college female transfer students who are currently enrolled at an HBCU in a STEM bachelor's degree program. …

<em>Who's Got Next: SOTA's KEMET Academy as a Model to Improve the Community College to PhD Pipeline</em>

The authors present Sisters of the Academy's (SOTA) adaptation of the KEMET Academy model, an academic and cultural enrichment program for African American students attending underresourced schools, to strengthen the pipeline for community college students from undergraduate through professional school. The KEMET model was designed by SOTA members and affiliates at a Southern land-grant institution and implemented over a five-year period as a competency-based program to increase the numbers of secondary students who chose to enter undergraduate schools. The programmatic outcomes yielded the KEMET Competencies Associated with Success for Rural Youth (CASRY). The authors believe that the CASRY framework may be applied to efforts at levels beyond the K-12 to four-year college transition. The KEMET Model components, combined with SOTA 's conceptualization of socialization, presents a comprehensive, culturally competent, value specific, model that can be used to prepare and socialize African American community college students.Keywords: community college pipeline, outreach, competencies, SOTA, Black undergraduatesIntroductionTo a great extent, much of the discussion and research related to African American youth and young adults has been restricted to their portrayal as social problems. In the very same contexts where youth struggle with poor educational opportunities among other social challenges, there are African American youth displaying high levels of competence, cognitive productivity, and aspirations toward higher education. As a result of few investigations on these healthy and resilient young people, little knowledge has been developed related to their motivation(s), life trajectory planning, and attitude or aspiration formation. Limited research exists about these youth, who despite socioeconomic challenges, experience success, feelings of hope and self-worth, resilience and competence, and academic achievement. This is also the case as it relates to Black students and their successful transition from community college to four-year colleges and beyond.Many young African Americans begin their higher education matriculation at community colleges. Of Black undergraduates in the United States, 49% are community college enrollees (Mullins & Phillippe, 2013). This figure would suggest that there might be an equivalent undergraduate enrollment and moreover similar levels of baccalaureate degree attainment. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence suggests that students who would gain the most from accessing the benefits of postsecondary education are often directed to options other than community colleges, including newly burgeoning for-profit institutions which appear to heavily recruit among the populations upon which this article is focused. But even those who make it to community colleges, as the authors will discuss later in this article, face barriers to successfully traverse pathways between community colleges and senior colleges. This is particularly the case for marginalized Black students.The authors present Sisters of the Academy's (SOTA's) adaptation of the KEMET Academy as a model for strengthening the pipeline for community college students into undergraduate, graduate, and professional study (Davis et al., 2011). KEMET (Knowledge and Excellence in Mathematics, Equilibrium, and Technology) Academy was implemented as a competency-based program to increase the numbers of secondary students who choose to pursue undergraduate study. The programmatic outcomes yielded the development of the KEMET Competencies Associated with Success for Rural Youth (CASRY), a set of skills that benefit rural youth (and all young people) and aid in achieving goals that require adaptation and persistence. The authors contend that the KEMET model may be applied to efforts at levels beyond the K-12 to four-year college transition. This article presents the KEMET model as an organizational mechanism used for socializing African American students and is aimed at enhancing the community college and beyond pipeline. …

Different Missions of Community College Systems in Two Different Countries: Community Education in Taiwan Versus Vocational Education in Turkey

Long seen as adaptive, responsive, and flexible higher education institutions in the face of educational, economic, and social changes, the American community college model has been adapted in many parts of the world. However, the extent to which the American community college model could be successfully adapted and implemented depends on the political, educational, and socioeconomic contexts of each country. Therefore, to better understand how the American community college model has been adapted by other countries requires critical analysis of these systems case by case. This article aims to critically analyze how American community college models are adapted in other countries, particularly focusing on the systems in Taiwan and Turkey. The article starts with a literature review on the community college systems around the world and the accompanying challenges that these countries face in the adaptation process. Before presenting the Taiwanese and Turkish community college models in detail, their American counterparts are introduced to provide a theoretical/conceptual context for understanding international case studies. This article concludes with discussions on the commonality and differences of this form of higher education in Taiwan and Turkey and highlights emerging themes that draw attention to community college researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.

Identifying fit of mission and environment: Applying the American community college model internationally

AbstractThis chapter discusses the exporting of the American community college model and the importance of identifying a good “fit” with local partners.

Book Review: Gateway to Opportunity: A History of the Community College in the United States

J. M. Beach Gateway to Opportunity: A History of Community College in United States. Herndon, VA: Stylus Publishing, 201 1. 195 pp. $29.95 (paper). ISBN 978-1-57922-452-3J. M. Beach's Gateway to Opportunity? A History of Community College in United States explores formation and historical evolution of community college to better understand how this social institution has changed and how these changes will affect its future. Although substantial literature exists on history of American higher education, in general, relatively little attention has been given to institutional history of community college. Beach's focus on community college as an evolving social institution offers a perspective not found in earlier literature.More specifically, book addresses historical challenges institution experienced in attempting to realize its commitments to comprehensive mission, student access, institutional effectiveness, and greater financial security. Beach also examines community college's experience in addressing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic issues. Beach considers these challenges and issues from perspectives of faculty members, administrators, state officials, local communities, and students. This broadbased approach is warranted given his belief that the ultimate effectiveness of any institution of education is enabled or constrained by social, economic, and political context in which it operates (p. 132). As Beach's primary focus is historical institutionalization of community college, he does not provide an extensive description of organization, as is found in other works such as Cohen and Brawer's The American Community College (2008).Gateway to Opportunity is divided into four chapters. In chapter 1, Beach explores creation and institutionalization of junior college and focuses on period from 1900 to 1980. He begins with a brief discussion of origins of U.S. higher education and social, political, and economic factors that led to establishment and development of junior college under leadership of political and educational progressives. Beach explains that nation's educational system was embedded with contradictions that resulted in institutions created not only to educate but also to sort students into predetermined social classes based on economic status, race, and gender (p. 8). From this point, author discusses differing historical opinions regarding purpose and mission of junior college and dilemma of institutionalizing a college designed to both prepare students for transfer to a 4-year university and deliver vocational training. Chapter 1 includes a discussion of issues of segregation and equality as junior college slowly evolved into a comprehensive community institution as centralized state higher education planning emerged in 1960s.In chapter 2, Beach reviews period from 1 980 to 2000, specifically New Left critics and their pointed assessment of community college. Beach provides concise and thoughtful reflections on research by Clark, Zwerling, London, Weis, Pincus, and Brint and Karabel. Beach then describes responses to New Left critics offered by several scholars including Dougherty, Levin, and Cohen and Brawer. This presentation of varying views on institutionalization of community college offers a unique contemporary account of how this debate unfolded in literature. Chapters 1 and 2 provide insight into major themes and debates concerning institutionalization of community college and related funding and faculty issues. However, for Beach, it appears that scholarship of institutionalization had relatively little to do with instruction, and his discussion offers only limited insight into instructional issues. …

Book Review: Community College Leadership and Administration: Theory, Practice and Change

C. Nevarez and J. LWood Community College Leadership and Administration: Theory, Practice and Change (Education Management Series, Vol. 3). New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2010. 290 pp. $35.00 (paper). ISBN 978-1-4331-0795-5.In an effort to prepare new leaders for the contemporary challenges facing American community colleges, Carlos Nevarez and J. Luke Wood offer a distinctive approach to the study of these institutions. The authors frame their presentation as deconstructing and constructing new approaches to how community college leadership is viewed, practiced and envisioned (p. viii). They speak with considerable authority; Nevarez is director and associate professor of the doctorate in educational leadership program at California State University, Sacramento, and Wood serves as the statewide co-coordinator of the Arizona Program for Policy, Ethics, and Education Leadership. The book consists of 12 well-documented chapters, with introductory questions and supporting graphics. Furthermore, each chapter includes a case study created by a college CEO to illustrate the complexities and dilemmas faced by such leaders. There is also an accompanying website with additional materials.The chapters could be clustered into three broad categories: overview of community colleges, leadership, and demographics and programs. The first two chapters begin the overview with a discussion of the vision, mission, and historical legacy of community colleges. The authors explain that an understanding of these elements is essential for those who aspire to leadership positions. In chapter 1, their community college core principles model (p. 3) shows graphically how vision informs the mission, functions, and operations of any college. Chapter 2 provides an excellent discussion of the social and philosophical forces that led to the establishment of these colleges and outlines seven periods of development, with challenges faced in each period. Chapter 10 addresses governance by examining the roles of governing entities at the national, state, and local levels, and the internal and external forces and ideological differences that affect the way the colleges are governed. The authors emphasize that leaders must participate in the governance process to effect change in their institutions and at various policy levels.Also in the overview cluster, chapter 9 focuses on finance, a critical component in understanding these institutions. Unfortunately, it is one of the less satisfying sections of the book. Revenue streams, expenditure categories, and student financial aid are described, although not in as much detail as might be desired and with some curious omissions. For example, in the section on financing college for students, there is no mention of the annual survey of college costs conducted by the College Board(TM), an important information source for policy makers. Moreover, the authors devote only one sentence to how states fund their education services through either sales taxes or property taxes. The consequence for states that rely on sales taxes is to create a structural deficit in the state budget, a practice that contributes to the colleges' chronic underfunding. Still other omissions are fund-raising, corporate partnerships, and entrepreneurship, all of which are skill areas new leaders must demonstrate.Chapter 12 on emerging trends also fits in an overview cluster. Drawing the discussion back to the sixfold mission of community colleges, the authors conclude their book with a brief review of challenges facing the colleges: open access, comprehensive educational prograniming, community service, teaching and learning, lifelong learning, and student success.A second cluster of chapters centers on leadership, the book's core theme. Nevarez and Wood rightly assert that effective community college leaders must base their practice in both knowledge of leadership theories and experiential knowledge. In chapter 3, they offer definitions of leadership, discuss leadership styles, and summarize three key leadership theories: trait, behavioral, and contingency/situational. …

Traits, Commitments, and College Satisfaction Among Black American Community College Students

Prior research has largely examined determinants of student satisfaction in four-year institutions and faculty job satisfaction in two-year institutions. The present study investigated the relationship between background traits, initial commitments, and satisfaction among African Americans attending two-year community colleges. Findings reveal that age is positively associated with satisfaction, while family responsibilities are inversely related to students' subjective evaluation of college. Regression results account for 13% of the variance in student satisfaction. Important implications for future research and practice are highlighted.

The American Community College: From Access to Success

Community colleges have taken center stage as engines of economic renewal. In his primer on this distinctively American institution, George R. Boggs highlights student learning as the engine within the engine.

Institutional effectiveness as process and practice in the American community college

AbstractInstitutional effectiveness is defined in light of the requirements of the six regional accrediting agencies, common terms are delineated, and the processes and practice of institutional effectiveness in community colleges is explored.

Legal concerns in community college employment matters

AbstractThe American community college has posed, for a period of time, some distinctively unique concerns pertaining to legal issues. However, the most pressing legal issues facing community colleges now are those regarding personnel.

Ghosts in the Hallways: Unseen Actors and Organizational Change

When considering successful organizational change strategies, the prescriptions usually include some strong sense of leadership; a champion for the cause of change. Likewise there is often the suggestion of the requirement for a commitment to change on the part of others in the organization. Yet organizations and their associated actors are held in a social context which is both fluid and persistent at different times and locations. This study suggests that we may gain some useful insights about organizational change through following the breadcrumb trails that these actors leave in their stories about what they did and how change happened. Through employing actor network theory (ANT) and following the trails found in interviews regarding change at an eastern North American community college, this study explores the intersecting stories and persistent actors that contribute to the implementation of an organizational change strategy. This is an examination of the particular situation of a change leader who leaves the organization part-way through the story. In his account, it becomes discernable just how some actors become more or less persistent, indeed punctualized, allowing an examination of the manners in which such actors are able to enroll others in their cause. This tracing of how the messages and enactment of change (or lack of change) persist allows the uncovering of evidence concerning durable actors. This is especially poignant in situations involving invisible or absent actors such as this organization's retired Chief Executive Officer, and thus has the potential to reveal some important attributes of persistent actors in organizational change situations.

2010 Community College Futures Assembly Focus: Effective Leadership–Addressing the Graduation Challenge in the 21st Century

The Community College Futures Assembly has served as a national independent policy think tank since 1995. Its purpose is to articulate the critical issues facing American community colleges and recognize innovative programs. Convening annually in January in Orlando, Florida, the Assembly provides an interactive learning environment where tough questions are raised, critical issues are discussed, and policy implications are vetted. The focus for the 2010 Community College Futures Assembly is “addressing college graduation challenge through effective leadership in community colleges.” The focus of this special issue of the Community College Journal of Research and Practice underlines the best practices of 30 Bellwether trend-setting postsecondary higher education institutions.

Hispanic Community College Students: Acculturation, Family Support, Perceived Educational Barriers, and Vocational Planning

A multiple logistic regression model was used to determine the associations between the role of acculturation, perception of educational barriers, need for family kin support, vocational planning, and expectations for attaining future vocational goals against the demographic variables (gender, age, being the oldest child, the first to attend college, and generational status) of 219 Hispanic American community college students in precollegiate classes. The results indicate that students who are the first in their family to attend college will be less acculturated, seek out kinship support less, and have fewer positive outcome expectations. First-generation students have lower levels of acculturation, but have conducted more vocational planning and have higher expectations for the future. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Quality of Effort and Career Preparation Differences Between African American and White Community College Students

This study examined data from a random sample of 500 White students and 500 African American students who have taken the Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire to determine which factors in the environment impact their career preparation. The results showed that interaction with faculty had the strongest impact on career preparation for all students. Counseling services were significant for African American students. The African American students indicated they put more effort into student-faculty interactions and peer interactions than White students, and they reported greater gains in career preparation.

More than an open door: Deploying philanthropy to student access and success in American community colleges

AbstractFoundations of community colleges have only recently become part of the higher education landscape, and they present substantial opportunities for the support of student financial needs. Professionals in student affairs can team with foundation colleagues in important ways to provide development opportunities and resources where they are most needed.

Critical Resilience, Schooling Processes, and the Academic Success of Mexican Americans in a Community College

This qualitative study adds new dimensions to the traditional paradigm of resilience through the lives of five Mexican American community college students. The term critical resilience emerges as a result of using ideology from a feminist critical perspective. In-depth interviews, classroom observations, and focus groups were used to learn how this group of students overcame many obstacles and achieved success at Camino Real Community College (a pseudonym). The findings demonstrate that the participants’ critical resilience is promoted by focusing on the cultivation of a larger purpose connected to the social uplift of their families and communities. The author describes strategies situated within a sociocultural context used by the participants to cultivate a larger purpose. The strategies of “playing the game” and showing respeto (respect) shed light on the academic success of Mexican Americans who attend community colleges.