Four-year Institutions Research Articles

Navigating High School as an Early College Student: How Institutional Agents Support First-Generation College Students

ABSTRACT In this study, we sought to understand how institutional agents at an Early College High School (ECHS) supported first-generation college students (FGCS). Our findings highlight how institutional agents were able to support students’ transitions from an ECHS to two- and four-year institutions. We also discussed the skills, mediated by institutional agents, which were critical in fostering the college-readiness of FGCS. We conclude with discussing implications for how educators can support the increasing number of first-generation college students as they pursue and transition through postsecondary education.

Marketing higher education on YouTube: a content analysis of college promotional videos

ABSTRACT Colleges and universities in the United States spend over $2 billion annually on marketing and advertising. Increasingly, higher education institutions are turning to social media platforms, such as YouTube, to showcase their recruitment videos; however, to date, this body of persuasive messages has not been systematically surveyed. This study content analyzed a random sample of 251 videos promoting four-year institutions across the US that are accessible on YouTube, focusing on key persuasive factors, including the primary persuasive appeal used in the video, whether the persuasive message was stated directly or conveyed implicitly, and whether the presentation style was exposition- or narrative-based. Taking an integrative approach to content analysis, viewer responses (i.e. number of views, number of ‘likes’ and comments) were also captured and used as outcome variables in the current study. Our analysis revealed that college promotional videos tend to be brief, expository messages that explicitly encourage enrollment at the advertised schools. Additionally, institutions often promote their brands by foregrounding user imagery.

Sources of Self-Worth in U.S. College Students: A Grounded Typology

Abstract: In light of the mental health crisis facing American college students, it has become vital to determine how students derive their self-worth. This endeavor is particularly important because research has found that internal sources of worth correlate with better mental health than self-worth derived from externally contingent sources. Although past work has identified various sources, it did not set forth a comprehensive theory of college student worth sources. Thus, this study engaged a grounded approach to begin that process. We interviewed 142 undergraduate students at eight geographically diverse, four-year institutions and asked, “What makes you feel worthwhile or valuable?” A grounded theory analysis surfaced eight distinct sources of worth ranging along a continuum from more external to more internal sources, including (a) accomplishments or accomplishing, (b) affirmation from others, (c) relationships or relationship support, (d) helping others, (e) relationship with God, (f) contributing to making a difference, (g) innate worth, and (h) virtue (outside of helping others). In addition, we found that most of these only became sources of worth when combined with particular virtues or practices. Thus, we propose a grounded typology that recognizes these nuances. We then make suggestions for how student affairs practitioners can foster internally contingent self-worth.

It Helped Push Me Through the Class’: Community College Student Perceptions of the Role of Instructor Immediacy Behaviors in Completing an Online Course

For decades, the number of students enrolling in online courses has been increasing, and this trend toward online education has been further intensified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The completion rate of online courses is not as high as in-person instruction, and researchers and practitioners have long been invested in identifying ways in which online education can be optimized. One dimension of online education that has received scholarly attention is the transactional distance that exists between students and instructors, which, if not appropriately minimized, can lead to a variety of negative student outcomes. Scholars have also identified a variety of verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors that can help online instructors decrease this transactional distance and promote a variety of positive student outcomes. To date, the study of immediacy behaviors in online college courses has focused primarily on four-year institutions utilizing quantitative methods. As complement to this research, we interviewed 12 community college students to better understand how a particular set of immediacy behaviors (i.e., a “welcome” phone call, sending personalized emails, using humor, creating videos, and sending “check-in” emails) influenced students’ desire and ability to remain in and complete an online course. Implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed.

Defining evolution: exploring students’ conceptions of evolution in introductory biology courses

BackgroundUnderstanding evolution is an important part of undergraduate biology education. Despite its importance, however, students often struggle to understand evolution, often holding preconceived notions of what evolution is. Here, we investigate how students in both majors and non-majors introductory biology define and conceive of evolution at the start of the semester for a two-year college and a four-year university near each other. We analyze open-ended responses to an in-class activity on the first day of the semester that asked students to define evolution, generating insight into how students are thinking of evolution prior to any formal instruction on evolution in college.ResultsOur analysis of over 300 student responses reveals that students hold diverse conceptions about evolution, with some students perceiving evolution in the context of evolutionary processes while other students define evolution by referring to perceived evolutionary consequences. In addition, we identify multiple non-normative conceptions about evolution, including students viewing evolution and natural selection as synonymous and not recognizing other evolutionary forces, and find that very few students likely have developed mental models linking evolution and genetics. In addition, we find few differences between how students at the two- and four-year institutions perceive evolution, and similarly few differences between students in a majors and non-majors introductory biology, suggesting that these conceptions of evolution are widespread at the beginning of introductory biology, regardless of major or institution.ConclusionsWe situate our results in the existing literature examining student conceptions of evolution, with our results extending past work that has primarily relied on more closed-ended questions or focused on specific evolutionary concepts (e.g., natural selection). Our results largely align with past work on student thinking of evolution but provide a broader, more holistic perspective at the ideas and framework that students are drawing upon when introductory biology instructors first introduce the term ‘evolution’. We conclude our paper by discussing implications for the biology education research community as well as instructors.

Less is more, or is it? Age and Gender Differences in How Students Build Momentum toward College Graduation

AbstractDo older community college students build momentum toward graduation differently than their younger peers? One-third of students in community colleges are 25 years of age or older, and these students tend to have lower rates of graduation than their younger peers. Yet, we know little about how the factors that influence college graduation differ across the wide range of ages found among community college students. Using multilevel statistical models to analyze data for Ohio’s community colleges, we investigate how the relationships between early academic momentum and the likelihood of completing a postsecondary credential vary by age. We disaggregate results by gender in light of prior evidence of differences in the educational experiences and outcomes of adult men and women. The measures of momentum, all observed in the first year in community college, include credits earned, credit success rate, enrollment continuity, passing college-level math, and passing college-level English. The college graduation outcomes, observed over six years, include earning a postsecondary certificate, earning an associate degree from a community college, and earning a baccalaureate degree from a four-year institution. We find some differences and some similarities in how older and younger students build momentum toward a postsecondary credential, and how these patterns differ for men and women, revealing fruitful opportunities to strengthen the outcomes of older students.

How Community College Educations Generate Both Science Capital and Science-Specific Transfer Capital Among Low-Income White Women Majoring in STEM

ABSTRACT Given current enrollment patterns that feature a predominance of women, community college enrollment may offer potential for increasing gender diversity in STEM fields if students transfer successfully to four-year institutions. While many do not transfer, those who do can increase their stocks of science capital while enrolled at community college. This project follows pathways of some of the low-income students who successfully complete transfers to four-year institutions, focusing on interviews with White women. While not positive in every aspect, community college enrollment offered these low-income interviewees time to build science-related social and cultural capital that then helped them to succeed in transferring to four-year universities and to support them in STEM fields they perceived as being male-dominated. All the students came from households with low levels of science capital and had not strongly considered majoring in STEM prior to enrolling in community college. Interviewees describe their time at community colleges as critical in allowing them to explore STEM fields, construct positive relationships with STEM instructors, improve their time management skills, and increase their STEM self-confidence. These increased stores of science capital were not sufficient to keep all the transfer students majoring in STEM fields but did support the educational trajectories of all transfer students. Thus, community college enrollment can give students time to incubate both science capital and science-related transfer capital, the latter being especially useful for low-income White women in STEM.

“To Make this Leap”: Understanding Relationships that Support Community College Students’ Transfer Journeys

For too many community college students, transferring to a four-year institution for a bachelor’s degree (i.e., vertical transfer) remains an unrealized aspiration. Prior research suggests that forms of capital can assist students in realizing their goals. Therefore, we sought to explore how relationships both within and outside of their institutions serve as sources of capital to support students’ vertical transfer journeys. Utilizing a qualitative research design, we applied Putnam’s (2000) two forms of social capital (bridging and bonding) and eight social support-related constructs from Moser’s (2013) expanded transfer student capital framework to data from focus groups and interviews with 33 pre- and post-transfer students. We found that participants actively constructed a patchwork of supportive relationships with both institutional agents and individuals external to the institution, which they utilized to search for, gather, and employ transfer capital. Our findings highlight that relationships outside of institutions are as crucial as relationships within the institution as sources of capital for vertical transfer students, suggesting a need to incorporate extra-institutional relationships into transfer capital frameworks and institutional initiatives to support transfer students. We also recommend institutions invest in programs designed to build students’ social and transfer capital.

Quality of Student–Faculty Interactions, Persistence, and the Mediating Role of Student Satisfaction

Rising student attrition, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in increased calls for higher education officials to better understand factors associated with increasing persistence rates, especially from the first- to second year of college. Though many studies have documented the influence of the frequency of student–faculty interactions on student persistence, less research has focused on the quality of those interactions, including potential mediating influences. To address these issues, this study used longitudinal data from 8,475 students among 44 four-year institutions to explore whether the quality of student–faculty interactions influences student persistence and whether student satisfaction mediates this relationship. Guided by theoretical models of persistence, we found that even in the presence of a range of potential confounders, students’ perceived quality of student–faculty interactions increased the odds of persistence to the second year of college. Furthermore, results from a Karlson–Holm–Breen (KHB) decomposition analysis suggest this relationship occurred indirectly through students’ satisfaction with the overall college experience.

Transfer Stigma: Development of a Multi–Dimensional Scale for Community College Transfer Students

ABSTRACT Transfer stigma refers to a type of stigma associated with students’ transfer status and/or their community college background. It plays a significant role in post-transfer adjustment and may negatively impact post-transfer outcomes such as retention and obtaining a baccalaureate degree. This study focused on quantitatively measuring transfer stigma among transfer students attending a four-year institution. Drawing from previous studies, we developed a 13-item transfer stigma measure and included it in a transfer student survey. The survey data was collected from 450 current transfer students at a public, flagship four-year university in Louisiana. Through an exploratory factor analysis and a confirmatory factor analysis, we revealed a four-factor structure of transfer stigma measures: internalized self-stigma, perceptions about community colleges, lack of support, and perceived judgment. Subsequent statistical analyses examined group differences in the degree of transfer stigma across various transfer student subgroups defined by transfer type, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and major.

Shifting to the online environment: exploring virtual and in-person collaborations between community college libraries and writing centers

Community college libraries and writing centers are natural partners due to their shared goals regarding academic support and student success, as well as their joint focus on the interrelated processes of writing and research. Research has shown that libraries at four-year institutions and writing centers collaborate in many ways, but little research has been conducted on collaborations at community colleges and whether these collaborations have moved to a virtual setting. Given the rise in online education at community colleges and students' need for developmental education in writing, this study used a qualitative survey approach to gain a better understanding of virtual and in-person collaborative efforts between writing centers and community college libraries. The survey was distributed via listservs and direct emails, with participation limited to those working at two-year institutions with writing centers. Survey findings demonstrated that library and writing center staff are implementing a variety of virtual and in-person collaborative efforts, such as student trainings, individual student appointments, the joint creation of online resources, and campus outreach. Practical implications for academic libraries and future directions for research are also discussed.

Driving Accessibility: Tarrant County College’s Online Campus Races Toward Accessibility for Online Courses and Communication?

This article presents Tarrant County College Connect Campus's initiative to enhance accessibility in online courses and communication. It highlights the challenges of compliance with state and federal accessibility regulations in higher education and the legal, financial, and human impacts of non-compliance. The study discusses the disproportionately lower accommodation rates for students with disabilities at two-year colleges compared to four-year institutions. The TCC Connect Campus Accessibility Roadmap (CAR) is introduced as a comprehensive approach to creating accessible learning environments, including continuous improvement plans to align with changing regulations and new technologies.

Performance-Based Funding and Certificates at Public Four-Year Institutions

Performance-Based Funding and Certificates at Public Four-Year Institutions

Classroom observational data: a professional development tool for introductory college mathematics instruction

Two groups of mathematics faculty, one from a four-year college and one from a two-year college, redesigned their respective introductory college mathematics courses following presentation of observational data regarding how faculty had been teaching the courses. This presentation emphasised how infrequently faculty teaching introductory college mathematics employed recommended pedagogical practices. This work was part of a multi-year federal grant project designed to increase the numbers of underrepresented students majoring in STEM disciplines. While the two teams developed very different redesigned course activities, in both instances the primary motivation for initiating the work was the information provided to faculty in a professional development workshop regarding how they had previously been observed teaching the mathematics content and how infrequently they utilised the pedagogical practices recommended by STEM education experts. The paper also highlights faculty resistance to curricular reform and enumerates some ways of addressing this resistance. The paper also discusses why faculty from two-year and four-year institutions resisted working together on course redesign and provides recommendations for future efforts addressing course redesign.

Exploring the Peer Tutor Experiential Learning Process

While peer tutoring is a valued experiential activity, little is known about the peer tutoring experience and its relationship to desired 21st century outcomes of college. This paper features the results from a multi-institution study of the characteristics and benefits of peer tutoring for tutors. The National Survey of Student Engagement was administered along with a set of experimental questions specifically designed to interrogate the process of peer tutoring at 30 four-year institutions. In general, peer tutors who identified as seniors in college showed patterns of engagement and gains in learning and personal development that exceeded substantially those of their non-tutor counterparts, especially for those who received training and feedback from supervisors. The findings have implications for tutoring program administrators, experiential educators, and others to enhance the effects of peer tutoring and other experiential learning activities.

The signals we send: math placement and business major persistence among male and female college students

ABSTRACT We investigate large sex-based differences in persistence among business majors at a four-year institution. We follow students from admission through up to 10 semesters and examine the role of initial maths placement using a regression discontinuity design. For female students, we find placement in remedial maths coursework reduces the likelihood of graduating with a business degree by about 28% points. For males, we estimate the same placement either improves or has no effect on graduation rates. The mechanism for this difference appears to be differential selection by sex out of majors with higher maths requirements.

Rates, routes, and reasons for attending community college before medical school: An analysis of a subset of Southern California medical students

<abstract> <p>Community college (CC) has traditionally existed as a bridge between high school and a four-year, baccalaureate-awarding, university. With the ever-increasing number of CCs present in the United States and the rising numbers of applicants to medical school, there will inevitably be a substantial proportion of future physicians who have attended CC. Based on previous research, we surveyed the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine (UCISOM) student body to assess how many students had attended CC, when and why they attended, and if they intended to practice with underserved communities in the future. A total of 30 (28.6%) of the 105 survey respondents attended CC prior to medical school. Those students cited Academic Flexibility, Financial Reasons/Affordability, and the inability to enroll in a particular course at their four-year institutions as the top three reasons for attending CC. Ten of those students (30%) reported they were informed that attending CC would negatively impact their medical school application. Older students were more likely to attend CC, and there was no statistically significant correlation between CC attendance and the number of times one applied to medical school or between CC attendance and gender, race, ethnicity, and intention to practice in underserved communities. This article highlights the understanding of the effects of CC attendance on medical school admissions while comparing our sample of 105 UCISOM students to previous research studies.</p> </abstract>

Surveying the Syllabus: What Syllabi Communicate About Service-Learning at Four-Year Institutions

Seeking to advance knowledge and understanding of service-learning, this study analyzed how 270 syllabi from 193 four-year institutions that were recipients of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement communicated frameworks and expectations of service-learning courses. Findings revealed variance in how syllabi identified, defined, and discussed service-learning as well as differences in how syllabi communicated the work and expectations of service experiences tied to courses. Specifically, findings revealed that numerous terms and definitions invoked throughout syllabi are used to describe academic work linked to community-based experiences. Findings also revealed a lack of clarity within syllabi regarding community work (e.g., whether service was mandatory or optional, the time required in service, whether credit was awarded for service) as well as a lack of specifics on community partnerships. Through this survey of the field, syllabi were used to visualize service-learning practice, explore its contours, and raise pertinent questions that invite further examination about the field.

Increasing Access to a Four–Year College: Impacts of a California State University Guaranteed Admission Program on College Enrollment Rates

Guaranteed admission programs are a type of college access program that provide students who meet certain criteria (e.g., a minimum GPA) with guaranteed admission to one or more colleges. This paper studies guaranteed admission agreements between California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and its local school district to evaluate if smaller scale, local guaranteed admission programs have comparable impacts on college enrollment rates to previously studied state-wide programs. Employing a regression discontinuity (RD) design around the program’s GPA cutoff conditional on students satisfying other program requirements, this paper finds that the program significantly increased enrollment at CSUSM and at any California State University (CSU) and increased (not significantly) the likelihood of students enrolling at four-year institutions compared to two-year alternatives. In addition, the program disproportionally affected students from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g., first-generation, nonwhite, and low-income backgrounds), suggesting that local guaranteed admission programs also have the potential to increase representation at four-year public institutions and encourage underrepresented students to enroll at higher-quality postsecondary institutions. KEYWORDS: Guaranteed Admission; College Enrollment; College Admissions; College Access; Higher Education; California State University; Education Policy; Local Policy

Experiences of First-Generation College Students Attending Universities

Each year, institutions all around are working together to enhance the college student experience. Administrators work with campus departments to try to figure out the best ways to serve their students. As time has passed, college campuses have become more diverse and the needs of the students are decreasing. Colleges are now dealing with special populations and must find the best way to serve and support these students. One of the most increasing student categories colleges are seeing today are first generation college students. These are students who are the first in their family to go to college (Atherton, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of first-generation college students that attend four-year institutions with little to no resources available for their community. This paper will also share information as to how higher education professionals can better help first generation students adapt to the college lifestyle and succeed during their time there.