Two-year Institutions Research Articles

Academic Librarians Examination of University Students’ and Faculty’s Perceptions of Open Educational Resources

A survey of 2,574 students and 1,157 faculty members across ten institutions of postsecondary education in the state of Utah was conducted by the Utah Academic Libraries Consortium. Survey items were created to understand the influence of textbook costs on student academic behavior and the viability of faculty adopting open educational resources (OER) as a solution to the cost of textbooks and the possible need for librarian support of OER. Two-year and four-year institutions were compared to identify differences that might exist between them. Most students felt that their academic success was negatively impacted by textbook cost, particularly at two-year institutions where students registered for fewer courses because of associated textbook costs. Faculty survey findings showed that adjunct professors were more likely to require a traditionally copyright-restricted textbook. Approximately 90% of participants indicated they would be willing to use suitable OER for their course, and almost half of survey participants expressed a desire for help finding these resources.

The Effects of Rising Proportions of Adult Students on Graduation Rates at Public, Two-Year Institutions

ABSTRACT Two-year public colleges serve roughly one-third of undergraduate students in the United States, and, like other types of colleges across the country, they face shifting population demographics. Additionally, completion rates at two-year institutions have received political and scholarly attention within states and across the nation in recent years. This study examined how the proportion of adult students, those 25 or older, influenced the graduation rates of two-year, public institutions. Based on multiple regression techniques using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the results of the study indicated that graduation rates decreased by less than 1% when the proportion of adult students increased by 1%. The results also revealed a negative relationship shared between graduation rates and the proportion of female students, part-time students, and the Pell Grant recipients.

Early College High School/Dual Enrollment 2.0

Urban and Metropolitan Colleges and Universities often serve a population that can benefit from an early college strategy. Colleges serving first-generation and low-income students often have lower retention and graduation rates than their peer institutions, as students from large urban public high schools can struggle to navigate the college classrooms and support system. While students may have achieved respectable GPAs and test scores in their high school buildings, they can fail to translate these skills at the college level, finding themselves on academic probation or worse. As researcher Anthony Jack has described in his landmark study, The Privileged Poor, students coming from large, urban districts are doubly disadvantaged by their experiences in schools; the skills that have allowed these students to get through their high schools are counterproductive at the college level (Jack, 2019).
 Using an evidence-based approach, programs being launched now by colleges and universities focus on the core missions of early college and dual enrollment programs, connecting youth less likely to attend college directly out of high school with powerful programming that propels them towards successful completion of degrees and to the start of their career. This article presents perspectives from a range of institutions (high school, two-year institutions, four-year institutions, and philanthropic investors) that are rethinking these models to maximize community impact and affordability to students and families.

Creating a Pipeline: Engineering Success of African American Female Students in STEM Using Student Support Services and Faculty Support at Community Colleges in Massachusetts

Two-year institutions became the place for many marginalized groups to develop or enhance skills, especially many subgroups not admitted to four-year institutions. African-Americans were allowed to attend schools during the twentieth century, but very few accepted them on their college campus. As the workforce demands changed, women headed to college and universities to receive education and gain skills sets, but not welcomed by their male counterparts. The open-access of community colleges allowed women to enroll in substantial numbers and becoming the lead gender to represent community colleges.

Reconciling Intent with Action: Factors Associated with the Alignment between Transfer Intent and Coursework Completion Patterns among Two-Year College Students in STEM

ABSTRACT In this study, we explored the alignment between initial transfer intent and subsequent course-completion patterns among 1,668 first-time STEM-aspiring students at two-year institutions. Using survey and transcript data, we conducted latent profile analysis and subsequent path analysis that revealed five distinct course-completion patterns: Trailing/Time-Out, Non-transfer-Focused, Transfer: STEM Concentrated, Transfer: Humanity/Social Science Con-centrated, and Transfer: Developmental Education Concentrated. Students’ math and science self-efficacy, academic engagement, and transfer-oriented interactions moderated the alignment between initial transfer intent and later course completion patterns. Based on the findings, we discuss the importance of cultivating strong academic self-efficacy and building effective advising practices to help students actualize their transfer intent.

The Road to Becoming a Scientist: A Mixed-Methods Investigation of Supports and Barriers Experienced by First-Year Community College Students

BackgroundAlthough a long line of research has been devoted to transfer pathways in general, there remains limited work on the capacity for community colleges to cultivate STEM baccalaureate transfer. In particular, both quantitative and qualitative evidence is extremely sparse on how STEM-aspiring students beginning at community colleges experience supports and barriers on their journey to pursue a STEM baccalaureate.PurposeThis mixed-methods study addresses the question: What salient factors are associated with beginning community college STEM students’ decisions to transfer into baccalaureate STEM programs, and how do students describe the supports and barriers they experienced specifically pertaining to these factors?Research DesignGuided by the STEM Transfer model, we carried out this research using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. We incorporated survey, administrative, and interview data from three large two-year institutions in a Midwestern state. We applied Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques to identify factors associated with beginning community college STEM students’ decisions to transfer into baccalaureate STEM programs. Based on the factors that emerged from ANN, we analyzed the interview data to give meaning to the identified factors using students’ rich descriptions of their experiences.FindingsResults from the ANN revealed that students’ initial attitudes toward science was the most salient factor related to transfer in STEM. Following that, GPA, students’ initial attitudes toward math, transfer capital, being employed full time, major declaration, science preparation in high school, income levels above middle level, and transfer efficacy also turned out to be important variables shaping students’ transfer in STEM. Qualitative results further illustrated how the factors from the ANN exerted their impact.ConclusionsThis mixed-methods research illuminated significant factors shaping the road to becoming a scientist, as well as how those factors manifested their influences within the contexts of students’ educational journeys. Through this approach, we were able to establish the significance of influential factors without presuming directionality and leverage the interview data to disentangle how these factors functioned independently and together in sophisticated and nuanced ways. Our study brings forth a deeper understanding of community college students’ STEM pathways, including the many plot twists and processes involved to overcome challenges and maintain progress.

Instructional Practices of Part-Time Faculty at Two-Year Institutions: Observations and Implications

This paper attempts to shed more light on the teaching practices of part-time faculty members and their impacts on community college students. It has been found that part-time faculty members employ traditional teaching practices compared to full-time faculty members. These teaching practices have, to varying degrees, negative effects on community college students. It has also been found that some of the compelling factors that hinder part-time faculty from utilizing effective teaching practices are institutional and departmental policies and practices. This paper identifies some gaps in the literature and calls future studies. It delineates a couple of recommendations aiming at improving the teaching practices of part-time faculty as well as their working condition.

The Effects of Need-Based Financial Aid on Employment and Earnings: Experimental Evidence from the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars

In this paper, we leverage the random assignment of a need-based financial aid grant offer—the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars (FFWS) grant—and several sets of administrative records to provide experimental evidence on the effects of the grant offer on students’ in-state employment and earnings. For students in four-year universities, our results demonstrate significant employment reductions in the two years immediately following the aid offer as well as in the sixth, seventh, and eighth after receiving the randomized grant offer. We also find the aid offer to reduce these students’ in-state earnings throughout the full eight-year period we study. However, we show that the aid offer increases student grade point average, suggesting that the employment and earnings reductions during students’ in-college years are attributable to a reallocation of time and effort away from employment and toward coursework. For students’ post-college years, we provide suggestive evidence that the reductions are attributable to a combination of two mechanisms: 1) Reduced loan debt offering greater financial flexibility when selecting among employment options, and 2) Offer-induced outstate migration. We find little evidence that the FFWS grant offer affects the labor market outcomes of students in two-year institutions, although the effects for students in technical colleges are significantly more positive than the effects for students in two-year colleges in the University of Wisconsin System.

Reaching Rural Students: CARE Principles to Promote Student Engagement in College Biology Courses

Instructors at rural, two-year institutions have many insights that can inform biology instruction at other colleges to promote rural students' success in the sciences. We present four principles, derived from three case studies of experienced rural instructors, to consider when teaching rural students. These include connecting to students' lives, being attentive to their needs in and out of the classroom, having a rigorous curriculum, and providing expansive learning opportunities. These principles capitalize on the strengths of rural students rather than their shortcomings.

It’s Not Just the English Department: Reimagining Relations between Two-Year and Four-Year Institutions across English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies

It’s Not Just the English Department: Reimagining Relations between Two-Year and Four-Year Institutions across English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies

Two-Year Community: Building Engagement in STEM Through Career Courses at Two-Year Institutions

Two-Year Community: Building Engagement in STEM Through Career Courses at Two-Year Institutions

The Contingency Professor, the Tenured Professor, and the Generalist: Life as a Community College Political Scientist

An academic career at a community college is in a number of ways quite different from a career at a four-year university. From the emphasis on teaching and pedagogy to the absence of the “publish or perish” imperative (at least in most parts of the country), community college professors often navigate an array of challenges different from those navigated by university professors. Indeed, this is certainly the case with political scientists at community colleges. In this article, I address two important issues that are common in academic life at the two-year institution: (1) the role of contingency faculty and the transition from that to full-time/tenured status and (2) the importance of teaching across the subfields in political science at the two-year level.

Institutional Characteristics and Expenditures: Their Effects on Graduation Rates at Three Different Types of Community Colleges

ABSTRACT Apart from awarding associate degrees, two-year colleges (also referred to as associate colleges and community colleges) may vary distinctly in their disciplinary focus. Certain institutions offer more courses geared toward specific career fields, while other two-year institutions offer courses to prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions. Existing studies on graduation rates, however, did not differentiate institutions with different curriculum contents. In 2015, a new Carnegie Classification of associate colleges was introduced to organize two-year institutions by main curriculum contents: High Transfer, Mixed Transfer/Career & Technical, and High Career & Technical. This study explored how the characteristics and expenditures of two-year institutions with different curriculum contents impacted institutional graduation rates. The results indicated that both the institutional characteristics and the degree to which they influenced three-year graduation rates varied across the three distinct categories of associate colleges. Based on the results of the study and the surrounding scholarly literature, recommendations for practice are provided.

The Application and Hiring Process for Community College Faculty

This piece outlines the process generally used for hiring faculty at community colleges and offers advice for individuals seeking positions at two-year institutions.

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Developmental Courses at the Community College: An Unexplored Terrain

ABSTRACT The domain of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) has provided theoretical and empirical advancements to teacher education scholarship. Today, MKT is widely recognized as a critical component of teachers’ preparation, professional development, and experience. Early studies at the elementary level set the stage for defining, measuring, assessing, and augmenting this knowledge in pre-service and in-service teachers. Subsequent studies are demonstrating MKT’s significance in university and secondary teaching. Despite MKT’s growing influence in education, one institution that has been largely ignored is the community college. Given the community college’s role of remediation alongside the diverse and often underprepared student body it serves, we urge the mathematics education community to examine MKT in the context of community college developmental mathematics. Based on preliminary interviews with experienced faculty at two-year institutions (n = 12), we propose a provisional amendment to the domains of MKT – the Caring Map. We speculate that in order to make sense of developmental mathematics teaching at the community college, research is needed to determine the extent to which teacher caring supports mathematics teaching, student learning, and student achievement.

Along the Wayside

Along the Wayside

First-Year Seminars: A Comparison of Course Characteristics and High Impact Practices at Two-Year Colleges

Contemporary literature underscores the salience of First-Year seminars (FYS) in supporting the success of college students. The problem is that the research outlining the characteristics of FYS at two-year colleges is sparse, particularly when certain populations are required to enroll in these courses. There is little information about how these seminars vary to meet the needs of certain students. This study examined the characteristics of FYS at two-year institutions where academically underprepared students were required to enroll in a first-year seminar. The results and implications for practice are discussed in this study.

Two-Year Institution and Community College Web Accessibility: Updating the Literature after the 2018 Section 508 Amendment

ABSTRACTOn January 18th, 2018, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) required all federal aid-receiving institutions of higher education (Title IV) to publish web accessible websites for people with disabilities. To be compliant with federal law, Title IV institutions must now adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 standards at the Level-A and Level-AA threshold. This study examined the web accessibility of a random sample of 325 two-year Title IV institutions in the United States and found all institutions had at least one Level-A error on their homepage, potentially violating new ADA guidelines. This study also found private, for-profit institutions published the least web accessible websites, while public institutions published the most web accessible websites. Implications for future research and practice are addressed.

The Branch Effect: Understanding Multi-Campus Enrollment and Student Success

Higher education research pertaining to student descriptions and successes has classically been directed toward traditional four- and two-year institutions while those institutions referred to as “branch” campuses have been largely ignored. Our research used a cohort methodology to track a single group of students for six years to compare a branch to main campus of a large (>15,000 students) Midwestern university relative to demographic, academic, socioeconomic, and institutional variables. Overall, the branch campus was characterized by older students, a lower percentage of minorities, similar ratio of male to female, lower average high school GPA, a higher percentage of first-generation students, and a higher percentage of Pell-eligible students when compared with the main campus. Interestingly, both graduation rate as well as time to graduation of branch students was found to be less than main campus students—independent of all other factors in general linear modeling analysis that indicted both a 7% reduction in graduation probability but almost a one-year reduction in time to graduation tied to 100% enrollment at the branch campus. Variations observed in the effect of campus enrollment suggest additional work be conducted on this portion of the public higher education sector to better understand these relationships on a broader scale.

Alignment of the Carl D. Perkins Act: A Multi-State Study of Two-Year Institutions

Alignment of the Carl D. Perkins Act: A Multi-State Study of Two-Year Institutions