"Stackable" credentials offer opportunities for college students to start by earning short-term credentials in vocational and technical fields, then stack additional credentials as they progress in careers, building skills in the classroom and in the workforce. Stackable credentials come at a cost: colleges expend resources in developing…

A high school diploma is no longer the path to financial stability; a person needs at least a postsecondary degree or credential to earn a median income (Carnavale, et al. 2019). Community colleges need to work to create opportunities for all students, including those that may enter school as an adult, and not straight from high school, to attain…

Reverse transfer associate degrees are credentials retroactively awarded to current bachelor's degree seekers, combining four-year credits with credits previously earned at a community college. Using administrative data from Tennessee, we use a difference-in-difference design to compare students before and after receipt of a reverse transfer…

Reverse transfer associate degrees are credentials retroactively awarded to current bachelor's degree seekers, combining four-year credits with credits previously earned at a community college. Using administrative data from Tennessee, we use a difference-in-difference design to compare students before and after receipt of a reverse transfer…

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between vocational/ technical education (VTE) and economic growth in Nigerian. This purpose is motivated by the consideration that human capital development through enrolment in vocational and technical education is expected to stimulate economic growth. Quantitative correlational research…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that study individual investment in human capital and the incidence of economic shocks. I use administrative data to answer these questions, developing and applying structural methods to analyze individual choices in combination with a careful consideration of research design. Chapter 1 studies the…

The purpose of this explanatory sequential study was to identify factors associated with Pell grant recipients' persistence in a community college setting and to understand the influence of institutional actors on the formation of academic capital. Students completed a survey designed to measure the formation of students' academic capital (St.…

Economic development theory focuses on a country's human capital development which is its greatest resource. Human capital development is the empowerment of citizens which comes through education and training. A major player in this process is Community colleges which its mandate is to bridge the skills gap and attend to the academic needs of its…

If community colleges are to remain relevant, they must be future-oriented, and responsive to demographic and labor force shifts. The Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back initiative (G3) was implemented during the 2021-22 academic year to retain economically disadvantaged students, improve community college completion, and help students graduate into…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how community college women's basketball coaches use their leadership abilities to develop different types of capital in their Black women college athletes on the West Coast of the United States. This study used the Community Cultural Wealth model and Psychological Capital framework…

The overarching purpose of this study was to explore the post-transfer factors contributing to transfer shock. More specifically, this study sought to understand what academic normative differences exist between community college and transfer institution contexts and how these differences induced transfer shock. The study focused on STEM majors…

This study provided in-depth personal insight into the phenomenon of the mentorship experiences of community college presidents to provide a view into how their interaction has impacted them to help provide guidance to other potential mentors. Study participants represented community colleges in North Carolina. Community colleges, colleges, and…

The purpose of this study was to better understand the extent to which a Public Charter High School and a Two-Year Community College leveraged their partnership and committed resources towards expanding access to concurrent credit career and technical education programs. The goal of this partnership was to invest in the human capital of high…

Community colleges and universities increasingly offer entrepreneurial training to reach a larger portion of underrepresented students. This paper offers insights into what techniques mentors should employ to increase entrepreneurial self-efficacy among their mentees, particularly for diverse community college students. Using a five-week, social…

This book examines access, lifelong learning and education for all, which have been policy preoccupations in all countries for more than half a century, but have been overlaid and pushed aside by the development of mass higher education. The authors examine what has been achieved, what lessons have been learnt and what still remains to be done,…